The Mandie Collection (66 page)
Read The Mandie Collection Online
Authors: Lois Gladys Leppard
“
Your
ship line?” The captain almost choked. “Since when did this become
your
ship line?”
“I advise you to contact your head office on the wireless immediately,” she ordered. “Find out for yourself who owns this line and whose family has owned it for over a hundred years.”
The captain's face reddened and he took a step back. “I . . . I'm . . . terribly sorry, Mrs. Taft,” he apologized. “I never connected your name with the company, even though it is the same as the company's owner. I'm truly sorry for my oversight.”
At that moment Senator Morton appeared, catching the end of the conversation.
Mrs. Taft smiled at him. “We have finally located the boy who rescued Violet. And do you know who this boy's father is? The New York multimillionaire, Jonathan Lindall Guyer, the second!” she emphasized.
The senator turned to Jonathan. “
You
are Lindall Guyer's son? We'll have to let him know you've been found.”
“Oh no, Senator Morton,” Mandie said quickly. “Please don't do that. He's on his way to his aunt and uncle's home in Paris, and we promised to keep it a secret.”
“Amanda!” Mrs. Taft exclaimed.
The senator rested his hand on Mrs. Taft's shoulder. “Your granddaughter may be right,” he said, “after what we've heard about his home situation. Maybe we should at least wait until we dock.”
The captain spoke up, suddenly siding with Mandie. “You may rest assured, Miss Amanda, that I will not inform his father or anyone else if that is what you wish,” he said.
“Neither will I,” Senator Morton agreed firmly. “In fact, I occupy a double cabin, son, and you can come share it with me. I'll even pay your fare.”
“Ohâthank you, sir,” Jonathan gasped, tears in his eyes.
Captain Montrose excused himself and retreated quickly down the corridor.
“Of course, Jonathan,” the senator added, “there is one condition for my not informing your father. You will have to stay in our care when the boat docks until we can see what arrangements your father wants to make. He will have to be told when we get to London.”
Jonathan sighed, but nodded. “All right, sir,” he conceded. “I'm not in any position to ask any favors. I sincerely thank you for your generosity and kindness.”
The girls looked at each other and smiled, very pleased with the turn of events.
“Jonathan,” Mandie said, “I think it's great that you'll be staying with all of us. You did say you know your way around Europe, so you can show us everything!”
Mrs. Taft hugged the boy spontaneously. “We will be glad to have you, Jonathan,” she said. “I may not be a particular friend of your father's, but I think he has a very nice son.”
“Why, thank you, ma'am.” Jonathan smiled up at her.
“Senator,” Mrs. Taft turned to him. “I need a moment alone with my granddaughter. Will you see Jonathan to the dining room?” She smiled. “And thank you for taking the boy in.”
Senator Morton nodded and led the way to his room.
Mrs. Taft took the girls into her cabin and asked them to sit down. “Now, I want to make something perfectly clear,” she said firmly. “Having Jonathan with us will be a completely different situation than we had planned, and I will not tolerate any secrets or unladylike behavior on your part after we get off this boat tomorrow. Is that clear?”
She took a deep breath and continued, “I will not have my visit to Europe spoiled because of two young ladies bent on foolishness and having a good time. Any deviation from the strictest rules of ladylike behavior will not be tolerated. And if I have to speak to either of you about this again, it will be the last trip we ever make together.”
The girls sat wide-eyed, a bit surprised at Mrs. Taft's outburst, but relieved that she did not seem to be overly upset about the fact that Jonathan would be accompanying them until his father could be reached.
Mandie finally found her voice and answered, “Yes, ma'am, we will not disappoint you.”
“Nowâ” Mrs. Taft brightened. “Let's see how pretty you girls can make yourselves for dinner,” she said.
“Yes, ma'am,” the girls chimed in unison, relieved the conversation was over.
As they entered their own room, Mandie smiled. “We'll be ready in no time, Grandmother.”
Once she shut the door, Mandie leaned against it and looked up. “Oh, thank you, God, for taking care of Jonathan,” she said.
The next morning the passengers were informed they would dock in London that evening, after dark. The girls were too excited to eat much all day. They kept running out onto the deck to see if they could catch sight of any land. And with the pressure off to keep Jonathan's identity a secret, they could really look forward to their stay in London.
After dinner Jonathan, who looked like a different boy since he'd stayed in the senator's cabin and was able to bathe and change his clothes, joined the girls at the rail. Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton were close by. Suddenly the ship's horn sounded loud and clear in the warm summer air.
Mandie jumped, startled by the sudden blast. She held her squirming kitten tighter in her arms.
“They've spotted land!” Jonathan said excitedly. “That's what it means when they sound the horn.”
The girls hugged each other and would have danced around the deck for joy, if Mrs. Taft hadn't been there watching for ladylike behavior. The full moon was lighting up the deck, but they couldn't see very far ahead in the gathering darkness.
Mandie looked around. “I wonder where Lily and Violet are,” she said. “I hope we see them before we disembark.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Taft spoke up. “They had to go down to the steerage section to get their luggage. I did promise them we would stop by their aunt's house for a visit while we're in London. I understand she lives clear out in the countryside.”
“Thank you, Grandmother,” Mandie said. “That will be so much fun!”
By now most all the passengers were out on deck, and it was getting difficult to move around. The girls were glad they had come out early, so that they had a place at the railing.
Suddenly Celia squealed, pointing. “I see lights!”
Mandie peered ahead, barely able to make out the faint lights in the distance. “It's so dark,” she said, squinting. “How will we ever find the hotel?”
“There are public carriages to rent that take you to the hotel,” Jonathan explained. “The Majestic Hotel is quite a distance from the dock.”
“You know where it is?” Mandie asked.
“Well, I've seen it. I've never stayed there,” he replied. “Remember, I've always lived in schools when I've been in England.”
As they gazed, wide-eyed, the lights grew bigger. The ship's foghorn sounded again and again as they slowly reached the harbor and the ship finally pulled into dock. The gangplank lowered and people bustled forward, everyone talking excitedly.
Snowball's claws dug into Mandie's blouse. The crowd seemed to make him nervous.
Mandie was too excited about getting to London to scold the kitten. “Am I dreaming? Pinch me!” she said to Celia.
Celia pinched her, and Mandie pinched her back. “No, we're not dreaming,” they said together, giggling.
“All right, girls,” Mrs. Taft said. “Let's conduct ourselves as young ladies now, not children.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Mandie nodded, smiling at Celia.
Having moved to the top of the gangplank, everyone waited for a chain to be lowered so they could descend. The captain held a lantern, ready to bid farewell to the passengers.
Suddenly there was a stirring and commotion in the crowd. Someone was coming up the gangplank, waving a piece of paper. It was too dark to tell who it was, but Mandie could hear the man speak to the captain.
“I have a message here for Miss Amanda Shaw.”
Mandie caught her name, and without thinking she called out to the captain. “I'm right here, Captain Montrose!”
The captain took the paper from the messenger and brought it to Mandie. “A message for you, Miss Shaw.”
Mandie squinted in the dim light. “It's too dark to read,” she protested.
The captain held his lantern high for her.
Mandie's grandmother and the senator moved closer as Mandie read aloud. “Miss Amanda Shaw, please stop by the telegraph office. We have a message for you.” She looked up, puzzled. “That's all it says.” She looked at her grandmother as the captain moved away.
Mrs. Taft spoke to him as he left, “You will be hearing from us, Captain Montrose.”
“Yes, ma'am,” the captain replied.
Turning to Mandie, she said. “We'll stop by the telegraph office on the way to the hotel.”
“But Grandmother, who would be sending me a message?”
“I have no idea, dear. We'll soon see. Let's move ahead now. The chain is down, and everyone is getting off the ship.”
Mandie joined Celia and Jonathan. Senator Morton took Mrs. Taft's hand and they followed close behind.
Reaching the pier, Mrs. Taft gathered the young people to one side, while the senator went to see about the luggage and a public carriage.
Mandie was preoccupied with the mysterious message. “Where is this telegraph office, Grandmother?” she asked. Holding the ever-squirming Snowball tightly, she put the piece of paper in her handbag.
“It's a good idea to put the message in a safe place,” Mrs. Taft told her. “The telegraph office is right on our way to the hotel. For the life of me, I can't think of anyone who would send you a message either.”
“It couldn't be my mother or Uncle John,” Mandie reasoned. “They'd send a message to you, Grandmother, not me. Isn't it expensive to send a message all the way across the ocean?”
“Yes it is,” Jonathan answered her.
Mandie was so concerned, she didn't even notice anything along the way to the telegraph office in the public carriage.
Who would know where she was? Who would send a message all the way to Europe for her? What could the message be? It must be very important.
She had finally arrived in Europe to begin an exciting vacation, and someone had to add mystery to it by sending her a message!
With love and appreciation to
BERGIN AND MINNIE CLAMPITT EDWARDS,
My Dearest North Carolina Cousins,
Who live in Mandie's neighborhood and
Who have helped me do local research.
CONTENTS
Chapter  1  Mysterious Greetings in London
Chapter  2  Unsigned Warning
Chapter  4  Missing Relatives
Chapter  5  Jonathan's Disappearance
Chapter  6  The Strange Woman From the Ship
Chapter  8  Spies in the Palace
Chapter  9  The Three Dark-Haired Girls
Chapter 10 Â Confrontation With the Spies
“Then shalt Thou call, and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.”
(Isaiah 58:9)
CHAPTER ONE
MYSTERIOUS GREETINGS IN LONDON
“Sir, do you have a message for Amanda Shaw?” thirteen-year-old Mandie anxiously asked the clerk behind the counter of the telegraph office in London, England.
“I jolly well might have, miss.” The man smiled back. “Are you Miss Amanda Shaw?”
“Yes, sir, l am.” Mandie shifted her white kitten, Snowball, from one arm to the other as she rummaged in her drawstring bag for the piece of paper the messenger had brought to her on the ship.
Mandie's friend Celia reached for the kitten. “Let me hold him,” she offered, taking Snowball.
Mrs. Taft, Mandie's grandmother, Senator Morton, and the girls' friend, Jonathan, waited as Mandie finally pulled the paper out of her bag and handed it to the clerk.
“Your messenger brought this to me on the ship I just got off of,” Mandie told the man as he read the paper. “You see, it says you have a message for me.”
“That it does, miss,” the man agreed. He turned to a row of pigeonholes behind him.
“It's probably from the United States,” Mandie informed him as he checked each slot. “I don't know anyone here in England, so it must be from back home.”
“Ah, here we are, miss,” he said, withdrawing a small sheet of paper from the last opening. “Nope, it's not from the United States. Came from right here in London.” He handed her the paper.
Mandie's bright blue eyes quickly scanned the message. She looked puzzled as she read it aloud, “ âWelcome to Europe. We are certain you will have an adventuresome time.' ” She turned to her grandmother. “But it doesn't say who it's from.”
Mrs. Taft read the few words on the paper and then asked the clerk, “Do you have the name of the person who sent this to my granddaughter?”
