In Good Company (9 page)

“I will agree that my past employment disasters are a mark against me, but my many dismissals have never been caused by me not performing my job to the best of my abilities, and those abilities are quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”

Everett quirked a brow her way.

Millie began fiddling with the folds of her apron. “I’m not explaining very well, am I?”

“I don’t believe we can consider anything you’ve said thus far as an actual explanation.”

“I should just start at the very beginning, from clear back in the day when I first went out into service.”

“Clear back in the day?”

“Well, yes, because I went out into service when I was twelve, and since I’m twenty-four now, that was certainly clear back in the day.”

His stomach immediately turned a little queasy. Millie was the same age as Caroline, but whereas Caroline had been enjoying school, social events, and traveling, Millie had been put out to work when she’d been little more than a child.

“ . . . and then, when I got fired as a lowly kitchen maid, all because I wasn’t the best potato peeler in the world, I thought I was going to be out on the streets since I didn’t have a penny to call my own.”

“You were a kitchen maid?”

Millie frowned. “Have you not been listening to a word I’ve said? Yes, I was a kitchen maid, an upstairs maid, and I even worked in the stables once. I had to disguise myself as a boy for that position, which, surprisingly enough, wasn’t much fun. It even turned a little scary when the head groom discovered my little bit of subterfuge, which means
deception
, by the way, and threw me out of the stable.”

It took a great deal of effort on Everett’s part not to laugh, but there was something vastly amusing about Millie’s habit of spewing out words and definitions. He’d never known anyone who was so fascinated with the dictionary, but he forced all lingering amusement aside when he noticed she’d taken to scowling at him. “Sorry,” he managed to say. “Continue, if you please.”

“As I was saying, I’d been turned out without a reference and didn’t know how I was going to obtain another position. But then I met Reverend Thomas Gilmore.” Millie smiled. “I
believe you’ve made the acquaintance of that delightful gentleman as well.”

Everett returned the smile. “I have indeed, and from what little I know about the man, he seems to be a kind and sensible soul.”

“That’s exactly right.” Millie settled back against the settee. “He makes a habit of looking out for the underprivileged, and I was certainly that on the day I met him. He took me under his wing, found me a place to live, introduced me to Lucetta, and later, Harriet, and began to help me develop a plan for my life.”

Millie bit her lip, a surprisingly endearing action. “I thought for certain Reverend Gilmore wouldn’t be of much help in that regard. But it soon became clear that he has a distinct talent for planning people’s lives. After questioning me for hours about my life, especially the time I spent in the orphanage, he concluded that my calling was not in cleaning but in looking after children.”

“You grew up in an orphanage?”

“Why else did you think I was sent out to work at twelve?”

“I thought perhaps your parents needed help with expenses.”

“My parents died when I was an infant.”

Everett simply stared at her for a long moment as a clear sense of horror spread through him. He’d never been without the support of his parents, and as he considered that Millie had never even known hers, well—

A pat on his knee had him blinking back to the conversation at hand.

“There’s no need for you to feel distressed about my upbringing, Everett. Children lose parents all the time, and it could have been much worse for me. I could have landed in an orphanage that sends children out to work in one of those dismal factories instead of placing me as a domestic.” Her gaze suddenly
sharpened on his face. “You don’t own any of those factories, do you?”

“I invest mostly in land, not factories.”

If anything, the sharpness of her gaze increased. “Is any of that invested land in the Five Points area?”

“Ah . . .”

“Because I’ve been told,” she continued before he could fully respond, “my parents lived in a tenement slum in Five Points. Due to the dismal conditions the slumlords allowed there, an influenza epidemic spread from one building to the next—an epidemic that I’ve been told killed my parents.” Her eyes narrowed. “You
don’t
own any of the land the slumlords operate on, do you?”

Raising his gaze to peruse a bookcase lined with leather-bound books he couldn’t remember having read in the recent past, if ever, he took a moment to consider his response. There was no denying that the properties he owned were extensive, and some of that property was located in the Five Points area. Nevertheless, in his opinion, there was a vast difference between a slumlord and himself. Slumlords might erect shoddy buildings on land that Everett owned, but the slumlord, and the slumlord alone, was the one responsible for stuffing as many people as possible into those buildings. All Everett did was collect a monthly fee for the use of the land he and his family had owned for generations. But, he didn’t think it would benefit him to admit that to the woman sitting next to him, a woman he desperately needed to keep in his employ.

He pulled his attention away from the books and settled it on Millie again. “My family has a diversified list of properties that was acquired over many years—starting with my great-great-grandfather after he got out of the fur business. Because of that, I can’t say with complete certainty, without digging into my ledgers, exactly what land I might own in Five Points.”

Millie’s brows drew together. “You would have me believe that you don’t know what specific parcels of land you own, and that you had a great-great-grandfather?”

“Everyone had great-great-grandfathers, Millie, including you.”

“Well, yes, of course, but I don’t even know what my mother’s maiden name was, and only think my father’s surname was Longfellow.” She waved a hand at him when he drew in a breath. “Again, there’s no need for you to feel bad about my lack of a family . . . so getting back to yours—how did your great-great-grandfather go about the difficult business of setting himself up in fur trading?”

Relieved that the conversation seemed to be safely traveling away from the whole Five Points subject, Everett settled more comfortably on the settee. “Family legend has it that my great-great-grandfather was a very determined young man, traveling here from England all by himself when he was in his early teens. He then somehow managed to align himself with different tribes of Indians, and his business grew from there. After he became successful trading his furs, he must have decided it was time to take his newfound wealth and invest elsewhere, and that’s when he began acquiring land.”

“And that’s what you do to this day—acquire land?”

“Though I have started businesses here and there, I mostly manage the collection of rent from the land we already own.”

Millie began to slowly inch away from him. “Then you
are
somewhat like a slumlord.”

Everett opened his mouth to deny the statement, but then swallowed his denial as the thought struck him that Millie’s accusation might just have a tiny bit of truth to it. While he wasn’t responsible for the shoddy housing slumlords rented out to the poor, his bank accounts were filled with money that had come out of the meager pockets of the poor, which—

“Maybe you should reconsider how you earn money,” Millie said quietly.

Shaking out of thoughts that were most likely ridiculous, because he wasn’t
truly
a slumlord, Everett forced a smile. “My investments are completely legitimate, Millie, but enough about them and enough about me and my family. I still find myself curious about how Reverend Gilmore came to the conclusion you were well-suited for working with children.”

For a second, he thought she wasn’t going to answer him, but then she shrugged. “He’s a man of the cloth, Everett. He turned to God and eventually came to the conclusion that God had selected me to work with children because of my experiences in the orphanage.” She smiled. “I thought he was a bit out of his mind because I wasn’t exactly a supporter of God at that particular time. In my mind, God had taken away my parents, so I really had no reason to put any trust in Him.”

“But you changed your opinion about that?”

“It took a while, but Reverend Gilmore kept at me, encouraging me to attend church, and grow my faith. I still struggle at times, when I try to reason out why my parents died, but—”

“How splendid to see the two of you getting along so well, although . . . I must say it’s not exactly wise for either of you to sit quite so closely together without some manner of chaperone present.”

Everett shifted his attention from Millie and discovered Abigail strolling into the room, holding a stuffed bear in her arms. She immediately picked up her pace, arrived directly in front of him a second later, and without a by-your-leave, thrust the bear into his arms before she plopped down between him and Millie on the settee.

“This is cozy, but would have been completely unnecessary if only the two of you had kept the children around to keep an
eye on the situation.” Abigail caught Everett’s eye. “And speaking of the children, I have an entire carriage filled with toys your Mr. Macon helped me pack up, but I think the children will want to help us unload everything. May I assume they’ve simply gone off to the kitchen for a treat and will be returning to the library promptly?”

“Millie’s tied them up in the nursery.”

Abigail’s eyes widened. “How . . . delightful. Although that seems like a rather unusual method of keeping track of children.”

“Millie’s apparently teaching them some type of lesson, something she was also evidently doing when she bested them in a game of walking the plank. Quite honestly, I’m hoping the children aren’t scarred for life from that troubling experience.”

Abigail beamed his way as a touch of relief filled her eyes. “Well, of course she’s teaching them something of worth, Everett, and I have to admit that I’m now somewhat disappointed I clearly missed so much fun this morning. I’ll just have to console myself with the idea that I won’t miss additional fun and games in the future, since I’ve decided to join you in Newport.”

“What?” Everett and Millie asked at the same time.

Abigail glanced at him and then at Millie. “I’m going to take the expressions residing on both of your faces as unmitigated joy over my decision to travel to Newport.”

“I have no idea what
unmitigated
means, but I do know that there’s no need for you to travel to Newport,” Millie said. “I’ll be watching the children the entire time, and you’ll have absolutely nothing to do.”

“Oh, I think I’ll be able to find
something
of worth to occupy my days.” Abigail folded her hands in her lap. “Besides, there’s every need for me to travel with you, because you really do need a chaperone.”

“I’ve never brought a chaperone with me before when I’ve taken on a nanny position.”

“And look where that landed you—dismissed every time.” Abigail nodded to Everett. “You understand, don’t you, the need for me to travel with Millie as her chaperone, especially since Millie’s a lovely young lady and you’re an eligible gentleman bachelor?”

“None of the nannies I’ve employed over the last few months have come with their own chaperones” was the only thing he could think to reply.

Abigail’s brow disappeared beneath the brim of her fashionable hat. “Millie’s different.”

Everett couldn’t help himself—he laughed. “Oh, I don’t think there’s any disputing that, but she’ll be surrounded by the rest of my staff once we reach Newport, so she truly has no need of your chaperoning services.”

“Are you uninviting me?” Abigail demanded.

“I didn’t realize I’d extended you an invitation in the first place.”

“This is going to be much more difficult than I anticipated,” Abigail mumbled. And right there and then, he finally understood exactly what the lady was up to.

Heat traveled up his neck and settled on his face. “I realize you must be feeling rather smug, given the outcome of the whole Oliver and Harriet business, Abigail. But you’re completely off the mark if you’re turning your matchmaking skills my way because—”

“You’re committed to Miss Dixon,” Millie finished for him, leaning forward to catch his eye, her leaning allowing him to see that her face had turned rather heated as well. “You’ll have to forgive Abigail, Everett, because she doesn’t seem capable of resisting the allure of matchmaking. Do know, though, that
I’m fully aware of the fact that a nanny is never considered an appropriate option for a matchmaking scheme with someone of your social status.”

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that,” he said, immediately regretting the words when Millie’s eyes narrowed and temper flashed through them. “I mean . . .” He stopped speaking when she raised a hand, cutting him off.

“There’s no need to say anything else, Mr. Mulberry, because, believe me, I understood exactly what you meant.” Millie rose to her feet. “And you should be further relieved to learn that I do not care to discuss this particular subject ever again.” She sent him a nod. “I’m, again, only a nanny, you’ll only ever be my employer, and . . .” She directed a nod Abigail’s way. “You’re destined to remain disappointed, at least in regard to your matchmaking plans for me. Now, if everyone will excuse me, I’m off to resume my duties as
only
the nanny, which entails . . . untying the children.”

With that, and with her head held high, Millie marched out of the room, leaving him all alone with an obviously disappointed and very disgruntled Abigail Hart.

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