Pansy put the vase down on the polished surface of the piano. It looked really nice with its colorful sprays of blossoms. She turned back to the Danvilles.
The gentleman stood smiling at her, while his bride hid her face behind his shoulder. Pansy thought the young girl was really silly. If she, Pansy, was being kissed by her husband she wouldn’t care who saw her.
She skipped down the steps and past the couple, her heart giving a little jump when Mr. Danville gave her a knowing wink. She grinned in answer, and darted from the room, practicing how she would tell Gertie about her encounter.
She found her friend in the dining room, setting new candles in the candlesticks. “Where have you been?” Gertie demanded, the moment she set eyes on her. “I’ve been waiting for you to help me in here.”
“Mrs. Chubb asked me to take the flowers into the ballroom.” She let out a giggle. “You’ll never guess what I saw.”
“Madam was dancing with Clive.”
Pansy stared at her. “What?”
Gertie shook her head. “I was teasing, that’s all. What did you see, then?”
Still confused, Pansy told her about the honeymoon couple. “Mr. Danville winked at me when I came out of there,” she said, smiling at the memory. “I do wish Samuel had been there to see it.”
Gertie laughed. “You don’t really think that would make him jealous?”
Pansy tossed her head. “Maybe not, but I know what would. Lenny asked me out and I’m going, too.”
Now it was Gertie’s turn to stare. “Who the hell is Lenny, then?”
“He’s the lad that works on the roof with that big Irishman.”
“Mick Docker? Saucy blighter he is and all. Mrs. Chubb said he was whistling at the maids all day.”
Pansy thought it better not to mention that Lenny had whistled at her. “Well, anyway, Lenny asked when my afternoon off was and I told him it was tomorrow so I’m meeting him by the gate and we’re going for a walk.”
Gertie pursed her lips. “So what if he gets fresh with you?”
“Fresh?”
“You know, what if he tries to take advantage of you. What’re you going to do then?”
Pansy laughed. “I’m only going for a walk with him, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, don’t let him lure you into the woods. There’s all sorts of horrible things he could do if he got you in the woods.”
Pansy didn’t like the sound of that but she wasn’t about to let Gertie know she was upsetting her. “You’re teasing again,” she said, without too much confidence. “It’s too cold to walk in the woods, anyhow.”
“You’d go walking in the woods with Samuel, though, wouldn’t you?”
“Samuel wouldn’t ask me.”
“Well, if he did.”
“I dunno.”
“You’d be daft not to go with him.” Gertie turned back to the table and set another candle in its stick. “If you want a man you have to grab every opportunity he gives you.”
Pansy shivered. She’d be only too happy to do anything Samuel asked, but she wasn’t so sure about Lenny. Maybe she’d made a mistake promising to meet him after all. Then again, she didn’t exactly promise. All she’d done was nod her head. That could have meant anything.
She had no time to dwell on the problem, however. Gertie thrust a bundle of candles into her hands. “Here, finish these for me. I have to get ready to meet Dan. We’re going for a walk on the pier this afternoon and I have to put more pins in my hair or it’ll blow all over the blinking place.”
“Isn’t it a bit cold to go walking on the pier?”
“Nah.” Gertie headed for the door, throwing words over her shoulder. “I’ll have Dan to keep me warm, won’t I.” Laughing, she disappeared into the hallway outside.
Sighing, Pansy stuck a candle into the silver candlestick. It would be so nice to have someone to keep her warm. Especially if it was Samuel. At least that giddy Ellie wasn’t there to get in the way.
Pansy felt a stab of guilt. Ellie was missing, possibly hurt or worse. She felt sorry for that, but part of her hoped that Ellie never came back. She had enough trouble keeping Samuel’s interest without some frivolous little twerp grabbing his attention. No, it would be a lot better for all of them if Ellie Tidwell never came back to the Pennyfoot ever again.
Samuel was waiting in the carriage right in front of the main entrance when Cecily hurried down the steps a while later.
Shivering as the wind nipped her nose, she waited for him to open the door, then clambered up onto the seat and sank back against the creaking leather.
The cold seeped through her thick woolen coat and every layer of clothing underneath. Wishing she’d brought her shawl for extra warmth, she glanced out of the window as the carriage jerked forward.
The gray ocean churned up white foam on the waves racing to shore. That meant an east wind, which could bring a cold snap to the southeast coast. Cecily tugged her collar closer to her throat. They would have to stoke up the fires in the bedrooms, as well as the library, dining room, and the bar. The ballroom had no fireplace, but usually there were enough people dancing to keep everyone warm enough.
Thank goodness they’d just had the coal shed filled up. They would need lots of it to keep all those fires going. Thinking about the coal shed reminded Cecily of her meeting with Stan Whittle, the coal man. He’d been in a dreadful hurry, and had become quite impatient with her while she was preparing his payment envelope. She never had liked the man, but his rudeness yesterday had been inexcusable.
The attitude of workmen lately was quite deplorable. It upset her no end to have to accommodate them. In the old days, when she owned the Pennyfoot, Baxter served as the manager and dealt with all the tradespeople that came to the hotel. Now she was forced into that unenviable position and it didn’t sit well with her at all.
The carriage jerked, sending her forward and jolting her out of her thoughts. She heard Samuel shout out something as the carriage lurched to a halt, then the horse’s hooves clicked on the pavement again and once more they sailed smoothly on their way.
Another of those dratted motorcars, Cecily thought, as she caught sight of the gleaming white machine trundling past her window. All that banging and smoking, and they were constantly breaking down. They caused more problems on the road than any skittish horse might. That was the price they paid for progress.
Ellie’s house lay just on the edge of town, for which Cecily was most thankful. Badgers End was little more than a village, but at this time of year the High Street resembled one of the busy shopping streets in nearby Wellercombe. It would take forever to get the carriage through a crowd of determined pedestrians, intent on getting their Christmas shopping done before the shops closed.
Cecily peered out the window as the carriage jerked to a stop. They had pulled up outside a small white gate and fenced front garden with neatly trimmed hedges and wellpruned fruit trees. The carriage door opened and Samuel offered her a hand as she prepared to climb down.
Catching sight of a black smear on his coat, she frowned. “You must ask Mrs. Chubb to remove that stain, Samuel. It looks most unsightly.”
Samuel rubbed a hand across his chest, smearing the smudge even more. “Sorry, m’m. I didn’t notice it until I was sitting waiting for you in the carriage. Didn’t have time to change it, did I. I’d been cleaning out one of the motorcars. It was covered in dirt and I must have rubbed my hand across me like this.”
He dragged his fingers across his chest again and Cecily uttered a cry of protest. “You’re just making things worse, Samuel. Do try not to touch it again until you can give it to Mrs. Chubb to clean.”
“Yes, m’m. Sorry, m’m.” Looking contrite, Samuel helped her to the ground. “If you’ve got a minute, m’m, I’d like to ask you something.”
Impatient to talk to Ellie’s mother, Cecily gave him a quick nod. “Very well, but do hurry. I’m catching cold standing out here.”
“Yes, m’m.” Samuel pulled off his cap and started rolling it up in his hands. “Well, it’s like this. I found this stray dog. It’s been lurking around the stables, looking for food, I reckon.”
“Oh, Samuel.” Cecily shook her head. “I do hope you didn’t feed it. We’ll never be rid of it if you did.”
Samuel looked down at his feet. “Well, yes, m’m, I did.” He looked up again, his eyes wide and pleading. “She’s a really good dog, m’m. Doesn’t cause no trouble, comes when I call, and she’s caught three rats since she’s been
