Mandie Collection, The: 4 (45 page)

“Look! A lake!” Mandie exclaimed, rushing to the edge of the water to look.

“Not so close, Mandie. You can’t swim, remember?” Celia warned her friend.

“I know that,” Mandie replied. “But this is a surprise, finding a lake this big on the baroness’s property.”

“I suppose this is still her property down here,” Jonathan remarked.

A voice behind them startled them, and they turned around to see Rupert standing there.

“Of course this is my grandmother’s property, and I would not advise you to go swimming in it. It is very deep,” Rupert said with a smirk. He turned to Mandie and added, “And you can’t swim, eh?”

“We are not planning to go swimming anywhere, Rupert,” Mandie told him. “So it doesn’t matter whether I can swim or not, do you understand?”

“I understand you cannot swim,” Rupert replied, quickly turning to go back up the pathway.

The three young people stood there silently watching until he disappeared from their sight.

“Oh, he’s always snooping on us,” Mandie said, stamping her
foot, which caused Snowball to meow and jump around at the end of his leash.

“And we’re always snooping on him. Fair enough?” teased Jonathan.

“But he
needs
to be snooped on,” Mandie protested. “Anyhow, let’s go back to the castle.”

“And walk around inside to see if we can find any of the other guests,” Celia added.

The three young people roamed around the corridors of the castle, opening doors here and there, until they finally found themselves in another section. Everyone else seemed to be staying there. They met up with several nicely dressed ladies going down the hallways and some of the doors were open. They could see the occupants inside. Everyone they saw looked rich and well-dressed, Mandie decided.

No one paid the young people any attention until they arrived at the end of a long corridor and passed the last door, which stood wide open. A beautiful young girl about Mandie’s age was sitting on a settee looking out into the hallway. When she heard the three talking in the hallway, she jumped up and came to the doorway.

“Oh, you must be the other American guests,” the girl exclaimed in an American accent. “I haven’t found any other Americans to talk to. Have you?”

“No, we haven’t seen any others that we could identify as Americans,” Mandie replied, staring at the girl’s elaborate hairdo and her expensive red silk dress, which set off her dark curls. She had dark eyes and long black lashes.

Jonathan spoke up, “You are from New York, right?” He smiled knowingly.

“Well, how did you know?” the girl asked with a gasp. “Yes, I am from New York. My name is Dorothy McSwain. What’s yours?”

“I am also from New York,” Jonathan replied with a grin. “That’s how I know the accent when I hear it. My name is Jonathan Guyer and these are my friends, Mandie Shaw, from North Carolina, and Celia Hamilton, from Virginia.”

“I am so glad to meet all of you,” the girl said in a bubbly voice. “I came with my father, and he has already gone off somewhere and left me here to rest up for the dinner party, but I can’t rest when there’s so much going on.”

“Neither can we,” Mandie replied as they stood there in the doorway. Snowball cavorted at the end of his leash. “We’re making our own tour of the castle. Want to come along?”

“Oh, definitely,” Dorothy said. “Just let me hang up this dress I had pressed for tonight.” They watched as she picked up a frothy pink dress from a chair and hung it on a peg on the end of the huge wardrobe. “There. Now I’m ready.” She came into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

“Let’s go this way. We haven’t been down this hall,” Mandie said, leading the way into a cross hallway. The others followed. Mandie found the girl was taller than she was and she had to look up a little to talk to her. “Have you been here before?”

“Never,” Dorothy replied. “But my father has, many times. And the baroness and Rupert have visited us in New York.”

“And they have visited my father in New York when I was away at school,” Jonathan told her.

“So you know Rupert,” Mandie said.

The girl laughed and said, “Yes, I know Rupert. I know a little too much about Rupert.”

“So do we,” Celia spoke up.

“Did you know that he is engaged to marry Elsa Wagner, and that she and her aunt, Madam Schiller, are here?” Mandie asked.

“I knew he was engaged,” Dorothy said as they walked along. “But I didn’t know his fiancee is here. I met Elsa when she came to New York. I don’t think she really wants to marry Rupert.”

The three stopped and looked at Dorothy.

“She doesn’t?” Mandie asked. “We don’t think Rupert wants to marry her, either.”

“He doesn’t?” Dorothy exclaimed. “Then why are they getting married?”

“We understand it was all arranged,” Mandie went on. “Rupert will inherit the title one day, and evidently the baroness can use Elsa’s money to preserve this place.” She watched the girl’s reaction.

Dorothy frowned and said, almost angrily, “Money, money, money! That’s all some people think of. And over here in Europe, it’s titles, titles, titles! Thank goodness my father is not like that. He has plenty of money, but he couldn’t care less about it.”

“I would never, never marry anyone I didn’t love,” Mandie replied vehemently. “Money could not buy me.”

“If neither one wants to marry the other, maybe the engagement will break up, especially with what we know about Rupert,” Celia said.

“What do you know? Tell me, please,” Dorothy insisted.

Celia looked at Mandie and didn’t reply. Mandie frowned thoughtfully.

Jonathan answered the girl’s question, “We don’t have to tell you. Just wait till the dinner party tonight and watch for the fireworks.”

“Now you really have me curious,” Dorothy said. “Please explain what you’re talking about.”

“Sorry, we promised not to discuss Rupert,” Mandie said. “But you’ll see tonight.”

“I’ll tell you what I know about Rupert, if you’ll tell me what you know,” Dorothy offered.

The three young people looked at each other and shook their heads.

“I’m sorry,” Mandie said, and quickly changed the subject. “Have you heard the tale about the juniper tree here?”

“The juniper tree? What about it?” Dorothy asked anxiously.

“Well, it’s like this,” Mandie began, and she told the story she had heard about the tree.

Dorothy was impressed, and begged to be allowed to sit and watch it with them the next time they did. “Please let me know when you go out to watch it.”

“It’s too near the time we should get ready for tonight,” Mandie said. “But we’ll let you know when we go out again. We’d better go back to our rooms and dress.”

“Me too,” Dorothy agreed, and they went their separate ways at the intersection of the corridors.

Mandie called back to the girl, “Just remember to watch for the fireworks tonight!”

Dorothy waved back.

Mandie wondered what would really happen if the girl with the dark hair showed up after Rupert had warned her not to. She was looking forward to some excitement.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

UNINVITED DINNER GUEST

Mandie and Celia excitedly dressed in their rooms for the dinner party. They helped each other put their hair up, and by the time they were finished they looked like two young ladies, rather than two thirteen-year-olds who were always into some adventure.

Whirling before the long mirror in the bedroom, Mandie exclaimed, “I think I look pretty good!” She giggled. “But it’s only temporary, I suppose. Tomorrow I’ll be back down to earth.”

Celia surveyed herself beside Mandie. “Yes, we do look grown-up, don’t we? I wonder what Elsa will wear. Dorothy’s dress was sure pretty.”

“I can guarantee you their dresses aren’t any more expensive than ours, the way my grandmother and your mother spent money on our clothes for this trip,” Mandie replied, tucking in a wisp of blond hair that was already straying. “But then, money doesn’t amount to a hill of beans to me. I think a person can look beautiful even in inexpensive clothes.” She perched on the lid of the new trunk that had been sent down from the attic.

“Right,” Celia agreed. She looked at her friend and added, “Don’t you wish Joe could see you now?”

“Oh, but Joe doesn’t care about finery. He’s—he’s—just plain old Joe, I guess you’d say,” Mandie told her. “That’s why I love him.”

Celia stared at Mandie. “You love him?”

“Sure,” Mandie replied with a slight blush. “I love him, and his father Dr. Woodard, and you, and Jonathan, and all my friends, don’t you?”

Celia said with a smile, “Why, yes, I do. I even love Robert.”

“Robert Rogers from Mr. Chadwick’s back in Asheville?” Mandie asked.

“Of course,” Celia said, still smiling.

“Oh, Celia, I didn’t know,” Mandie said excitedly. “Are you going to marry him when you grow up?”

“Mandie, that’s many years away, and I hope to meet lots of other boys during that time. Who knows?” Celia replied.

There was a knock at the door. Mandie hastened to open it. Jonathan stood there in the latest fashion for young men.

Mandie teased, “Well, who are you?”

“And might I ask the same question? I was looking for Miss Shaw and Miss Hamilton, and here I find two beautiful young ladies in their rooms,” Jonathan replied. “However, the substitutes will do just fine, if I may escort them to the drawing room.”

Mandie and Celia giggled. Jonathan joined them. As their laughter subsided, Mandie caught her breath and said, “I can guarantee you I’d much rather be wearing my old calico and apron like I do back home, but then I would embarrass my grandmother among her wealthy friends.”

“I like getting dressed up. It gives me self-confidence,” Jonathan told her. “But come now, we don’t want to be the last ones to enter the drawing room.” He held out both arms.

Mandie quickly shut the door to her bedroom while Snowball was curled up asleep on the bed. She hoped Olga would bring him something to eat tonight.

With a girl on each arm, Jonathan found his way to the drawing room.

They might call it a drawing room
, Mandie thought,
but it looks more like a huge ballroom
. The orchestra was already softly playing classical music. Guests were moving about, exchanging greetings.

“Do you see Rupert?” Mandie softly asked her friends as they looked about.

“No,” Jonathan replied, shaking his head.

“I don’t see anyone I know—your grandmother, Elsa and her aunt, or Uncle Ned. Well, yes, there is the baroness standing at the doorway down there,” Celia said, pointing. “Apparently we were supposed to come in that door.”

“That’s all right,” Mandie said. “We don’t want to move along that long line of fancy strangers, do we?”

“But, Mandie, this dinner is given in honor of all the guests. We should do things right,” Jonathan said.

“He’s right, Mandie, let’s go back out into the hallway and come in that door where the baroness is standing,” Celia said.

“Well, all right,” Mandie consented with a sigh.

At the other doorway the three found Mrs. Taft, Senator Morton, and Uncle Ned waiting for them. Dorothy was also there with a tall man who was evidently her father. She exchanged greetings with them.

“Amanda, I was afraid you’d be late, dear,” Mrs. Taft said, turning to her granddaughter. “We must go through the line now. On your best behavior.”

Mandie rolled her eyes at her friends as the three followed Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton through the doorway. There they found the baroness, Rupert, Elsa, and her aunt in the receiving line. Baroness Geissler spoke in German to them and Rupert quickly interpreted.

“My grandmother says she is honored to have you in her home and wishes you an enjoyable evening,” Rupert said.

As Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton replied, Mandie was sure she heard Rupert add, “That doesn’t include my wishes,” under his breath as they moved along. She gave him a sharp glance and he tossed his head and looked the other way.

As they mingled with the crowd in the room, Senator Morton spoke to Jonathan, “I have checked on your relatives in Paris again. They have returned and immediately gone away on another assignment. They got our message, however, and responded that they would contact us when they return to Paris.”

“Thanks, Senator Morton,” Jonathan said with a smile. “Sooner or later I suppose we’ll be able to communicate with them.”

Dorothy joined them as the adults moved away. “I do believe we are the only young people in this crowd,” she said.

The three looked around and Mandie said, “I think you’re right. I’m so glad we met up with you.”

“I am glad I met all of you,” Dorothy replied. She was radiant in her bright pink dress that swept the floor. An air of confidence surrounded her. She was used to such social doings. “Jonathan, you promised fireworks at the dinner tonight. When does this happen?”

“Any minute,” Jonathan said, with his mischievous smile. “Just keep your eyes and ears open and I’ll let you know when.”

The three young people kept a close watch on the crowd for the appearance of the dark-haired woman whom Rupert had forbidden to come to the dinner. Mandie saw Rupert moving about and speaking to various people here and there, but there was no sign of the woman—yet.

Before long the baroness led her guests into the great dining hall for dinner. Mandie noticed that there was plenty of room for all the many, many guests. She and her friends were seated alongside Dorothy, and Uncle Ned sat across the table from them. He wore the formal clothes that he had used for their visit to the White House for President McKinley’s second inauguration. Mandie could sense that he was uncomfortable in such apparel, as she was also ill at ease in these gatherings of wealthy people that her grandmother took her and her friends to. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

The dinner seemed to go on for hours, until finally the baroness rose and asked her guests to return to the drawing room for entertainment. All four of the young people rose with a sigh of relief and followed the adults.

The well-known soprano (whom Mandie had never heard of) was already on the little stage at the end of the room, and as soon as everyone found a seat the woman began her rendition of old German songs. The young people fidgeted and looked about the room for any sign of the dark-haired woman. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying the music.