Mandie Collection, The: 4 (19 page)

Helga appeared in the doorway with instructions from Mrs. Taft. She asked that they go downstairs to the parlor immediately.

“Oh, shucks,” Mandie sighed, as the others rose to follow the maid. “We would have to leave now, when we had just figured out what the problem must be.” She picked up Snowball and followed the others.

“We can come back if you want to,” Jonathan told her.

“Let’s do, as soon as we get a chance,” Mandie said.

She wondered why her grandmother had sent such an urgent message. It wasn’t time for tea. What could she want?

CHAPTER THREE

STRANGERS ARRIVE

Mandie’s thoughts stopped immediately when Helga showed them into a parlor where the adults were waiting. There sat dear Uncle Ned in his deerskin jacket! He was all smiles as Mandie thrust Snowball into Celia’s arms and ran across the room to embrace her Cherokee friend.

“Oh, Uncle Ned, I’m so
glad
to see you! You just can’t imagine how glad I am to see you!” Mandie cried excitedly as he put an arm around her and pulled her down onto the settee next to him.

“Papoose all wound up?” Uncle Ned puzzled, smoothing Mandie’s long blond hair. “See papoose just yesterday! What excitement about?”

Mandie caught a brief glimpse of Helga standing in the hallway outside the room. She looked at her grandmother, and then the senator. She gave Jonathan and Celia a knowing look as she replied, “I can’t tell you right now, Uncle Ned. We can talk about it later.”

Her remark made Mrs. Taft stare curiously at Mandie, so she quickly resumed speaking before her grandmother could ask any questions. “Uncle Ned, you should see the outside of this house! And the grounds and the gardens—and everything. And, oh yes, the beautiful horses. You’d love the horses!”

Uncle Ned smiled broadly. “I see these horses, Papoose. I ride horse from town. I leave him at stable.”

“You rode a horse all the way from town? You must be tired!” Mandie said.

She jumped up suddenly and stopped Helga in the hallway. “The housekeeper said she would have a room prepared for Uncle Ned in the east wing. Do you know if the room is ready?”

Helga smiled at her. “Indeed it is, miss. Does the gentleman wish to go to his room now?”

Everyone overheard the conversation, and Uncle Ned rose to join Mandie and Helga in the hallway. “Yes, I clean up now.”

“I’ll go with you, Uncle Ned,” Mandie said. “I just want to see where your room is.”

“Amanda!” Mrs. Taft spoke sharply. “Let Uncle Ned have some time to himself. You can wait for him here.”

Mandie stopped in the doorway and pleaded, “But, Grandmother, I only want to see where his room is. I’ll come right back. I promise.”

“I’ll go with her, Mrs. Taft,” Celia volunteered, handing Snowball to Jonathan.

“I sense something afoot here, Amanda,” Mrs. Taft said. “If you are planning another one of your escapades in this house, you’d better forget it right now. You and Celia return here immediately after you see where Uncle Ned’s room is. No secret planning!”

“Of course not, Grandmother. And thank you,” Mandie said, as she and Celia followed Uncle Ned and Helga.

Mandie didn’t want Helga to hear any of her conversation with Uncle Ned, so they spoke very little. Helga led them to a suite next to the girls’.

“You’ll be right next door to us!” Mandie exclaimed.

“Does the gentleman wish anything else?” Helga asked Uncle Ned.

“No. Thank you,” he replied as they all stepped inside the luxurious suite.

“The bathroom facilities are right through this door,” Helga explained, crossing the sitting room to open a door on the far side. The bathroom was modern and up-to-date for 1901. “If you need anything else, I am at your service.”

Helga bowed slightly and left the room. Mandie watched through the open door as Helga went on down the hallway. Then she grabbed Uncle Ned’s hand.

“Uncle Ned,” she said, “things have been happening around here!” Mandie described the events of the night before while Celia listened.

“Today we found out about the tower that the stable boy says is believed to be haunted,” Mandie continued. “Was that what you were talking about when you said there was a mystery about this house?”

Uncle Ned smiled and sat down on the settee. The girls joined him. “Papoose, these all tales,” Uncle Ned replied. “Must be answer to haunted tale and noises Papoose hear. We find answer.”

“I knew you would help us, Uncle Ned,” Mandie said gratefully. “We have not told Jonathan about last night, because we weren’t sure if it was he who was trying to scare us. Do you think we should tell him?”

“Yes. Yes. With all haste tell Jonathan boy,” Uncle Ned answered. “Look at face. See if he guilty. I think not so.”

“We will, Uncle Ned,” Mandie said, standing up to leave. “We have to go now. Do you think you can find your way back through all these hallways and doors? We could wait for you.”

“No, no. Papoose promise grandmother come back. Go now. I find the way,” he said, waving the girls out of the room.

“Thank you, Uncle Ned. I’m so glad you’re going to be next door to us,” Mandie called back to him as she and Celia hurried into the hallway.

“Mandie, what are we going to do about this mystery?” Celia asked as they walked along.

“We need to talk to Jonathan, like Uncle Ned said, and then we need to discuss all this in detail with Uncle Ned. He can help us, I know,” Mandie told her.

“Don’t forget what your grandmother said about becoming involved in an adventure in this house,” Celia reminded her.

“Oh, I know, but we aren’t going to become involved in anything. We’re just going to figure out what’s going on,” Mandie assured her.

“But if we’re going to figure out what is going on, then won’t we be involved in whatever it is?” Celia wondered.

“We won’t do anything wrong, I promise you,” Mandie said.

“Someone might hear us if we go into the hallway at night to check on strange noises,” Celia said. “And if we find a way to get into the tower, won’t someone see us?”

“Don’t worry about it, Celia. I’m sure Jonathan will help us. And we’ll just have to be real careful not to get involved,” Mandie said.

As they neared the bottom of the stairway to the first floor, they saw the housekeeper talking to a man and a woman at the front door.

“The Thalers are not in residence at the moment,” the housekeeper said as she stood with the door partly open. “I am sorry, but you will have to return when they are here.”

“But, madam, Mrs. Thaler invited us to be her guests whenever we happened to be in the area,” the man said quickly.

“We were planning a visit several months from now, but our plans didn’t work out, and we were not able to let them know we would be coming early,” the woman added.

“I am sorry, but Mrs. Thaler left no orders for me and I am not in the habit of admitting complete strangers without her permission,” the housekeeper insisted. “Now, if you will please come back when she returns.”

“When will that be?” the man asked.

“They have been called away on an emergency. I do not know when they will be home,” the housekeeper replied. She started to close the door.

Mandie and Celia stood quietly on the bottom step listening and watching.

“Please wait,” the man said, sticking his foot out to keep the door from closing. He set down his luggage and pulled a folded paper from his pocket. Handing it to the housekeeper, he said, “You see, here is the note we received from Mrs. Thaler. Please read it.”

The housekeeper scanned the note and immediately relented. “Why did you not show me this in the first place?” Mrs. Hedgewick asked. “You may come in.”

The housekeeper showed the couple to a long bench, and asked them to wait while the maid prepared rooms for them.

Mandie and Celia quickly went on their way before anyone caught them eavesdropping.

“I wonder who they are?” Mandie asked as they walked toward the parlor. She stopped suddenly. “Do you think they’ll be put in the wing with us?”

“Let’s be real slow, and watch and see,” Celia whispered.

“That would take too long. Mrs. Hedgewick has to find the maid to prepare the rooms, and then she has to come back down for the people. And Grandmother will be wondering where we are!”

“You’re right,” Celia agreed. “We can’t wait any longer.”

As soon as they entered the parlor, Mrs. Taft said, “Amanda, I think you’d better take Snowball out for a stroll. I don’t see a sandbox anywhere.”

Jonathan was holding on to Snowball’s leash, but the kitten was walking in circles and softly growling.

Mandie hurried to snatch him up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said.

“Me too,” Celia added, following Mandie into the hallway.

They passed the strangers sitting on the bench, and quickly made their way outside, leaving the front door open.

Mandie let Snowball down in the yard immediately, and looped the leash around a hitching post. She and Celia sat down on the stone steps where they could keep an eye on the strangers inside.

Suddenly Jonathan joined them on the steps. “I thought I’d see what you were up to,” he said. “Who are those people inside?”

“We don’t know,” Mandie whispered, glancing to see if the couple was looking at them.

In a low voice Mandie told Jonathan what they had overheard.

“Are they Americans?” Jonathan wondered.

Mandie and Celia both shook their heads. “I don’t think so,” Mandie said. “They speak English, but they have an odd accent.” She noticed Helga speaking to the couple, who rose from the bench. “Helga is taking them upstairs.”

The three watched as the guests struggled with their luggage. It was almost more than they could carry. Mandie quickly unhooked Snowball’s leash from the hitching post and picked him up.

“Let’s see where they’re going,” she told her friends.

Mandie led the way with Celia and Jonathan close behind her. They waited until the strangers reached the top of the stairs, and then quickly followed. They arrived at the upstairs hallway in time to see Helga lead the couple in the direction of their rooms.

“They’re going to be put in our wing!” Mandie whispered. The three managed to follow out of sight.

Arriving at the prepared suite, Helga opened the door next to Jonathan’s and showed the strangers inside. The young people looked at each other and turned back down the hall the way they’d come.

“So they’re going to be next door to you, Jonathan,” Mandie said when they were far enough down the hall not to be heard.

“That’s all right,” Jonathan said. “Maybe I’ll find out who they are and why they insist on visiting the Thalers’ when they aren’t at home.”

“That is really strange,” Mandie said.

“But we’re here without the Thalers, too,” Celia said.

“That’s different,” Mandie said. “We didn’t know until we got here that the Thalers weren’t home—even though they were expecting us.”

When they came to the top of the staircase, they paused for a moment.

“I suppose we’ll at least find out their names when we go to the dining room for the noon meal,” Jonathan said, looking at the big grandfather clock on the landing, “and that’s not long from now.”

When the young people returned to the parlor, Uncle Ned was there, too. Mrs. Taft was saying, “I thought this place here in the country would give us all a chance to relax after all the sightseeing we’ve done since we got to Europe.”

Mandie and her friends took seats nearby, and Mrs. Taft immediately asked, “Did you see the new guests? I wonder who they are?”

“We don’t know, Grandmother,” Mandie said, explaining how the strangers had been greeted by the housekeeper and then finally admitted to the house.

“I wonder if I might have met them at sometime or other,” Mrs. Taft said.

“Did you see them, Mrs. Taft?” Jonathan asked.

“No, no, I didn’t. Uncle Ned told us about them. He just happened to be coming back to the parlor and overheard the maid telling them to follow her to their rooms,” Mrs. Taft replied.

“And do you know where their rooms are?” Mandie asked. “Helga put them right next door to Jonathan!”

“I understand the adult guests are usually put in the west wing where the senator and I are situated, and the youngsters like y’all are put in the east wing,” Mrs. Taft said. “And that’s where they put Uncle Ned because you requested it.”

“Therefore the housekeeper didn’t think they were very important,
right?” Mandie added, pushing Snowball off her foot, where he had decided to curl up and go to sleep.

“Evidently,” Senator Morton agreed.

“I would imagine they’ll be back down shortly and we’ll get to meet them,” Mrs. Taft said.

The housekeeper appeared in the doorway and spoke to Mrs. Taft, “The meal is on the table, madam. If you will please follow me...”

Mrs. Hedgewick showed them into a large dining room where two uniformed maids stood ready to serve from a sideboard. The long table was set with snow-white linen, expensive-looking china, sparkling silver, and shining crystal. Sunshine streamed in through floor-length windows, which were draped in deep green velvet. A huge painting of the Alps hung at one end of the room. Mandie spotted a painting of the Eiffel Tower nearby. She recognized it from her stay in Paris. There were other scenes from various countries in Europe.

As Mandie gazed around the huge room, Mrs. Hedgewick spotted Snowball at the end of his leash. “The animal! Take him to the kitchen! Quickly!” the housekeeper ordered one of the maids.

Mandie gasped, ready to defend her beloved kitten, when Mrs. Taft said, “Amanda, give the leash to the maid.”

“Yes, Grandmother,” Mandie said, handing the red leash to the younger of the maids. “Please bring him back when we’ve finished eating. I won’t know where to find him.”

“Of course, miss,” said the girl, smiling as she took Snowball. “I’ll see that he gets fed and back to you. Don’t worry.”

Mrs. Hedgewick was showing them to their places when Mandie noticed there were no place settings for the two strangers. She could tell her grandmother was also mentally counting the place settings.

“Are the other guests not dining with us?” Mrs. Taft asked.