The Mandie Collection (8 page)

Blowing out the lamp, he set it on the table where it belonged. Mandie picked up Snowball, and they all made their way back to the front hallway.

Aunt Lou stood at the front door, holding it open for Jake and Ludie Burns, who had just arrived. They stomped their feet on the front porch, then stepped inside. When they heard about Hilda's disappearance, they offered to join the others in a search outside.

Spreading out in different directions, they all searched every place anyone could possibly hide. But as time went on, they became more and more worried. The snow was getting heavier, the sky was getting darker, and the temperature was getting colder.

Joe, Mandie, and Liza had just finished searching the barns on their way back from the fields when Abraham, the gardener, hurried out to them. “Come on back!” he called. “Come on back!”

They hurried to catch up with him as he continued on to tell Mr. Bond and the Burnses to return to the house.

“Dat girl ain't gwine nowhere,” Abraham mumbled. “She be in her bed sound asleep.”

The young people looked at each other in wonderment.

“She's asleep in her bed?” Mandie questioned the old Negro gardener.

“Dat where she be,” he replied. “Miz Taft, she send me to tell y'all.”

Joe shook his head. “Of all the crazy things!” he exclaimed.

“Dat Hilda, she's a slick 'un,” Liza commented.

“Oh, I feel like getting hold of her and shaking her until she tells where she's been,” Mandie said as they walked toward the house.

While Abraham went on to tell the others that Hilda had been found, Mandie, Joe, and Liza went inside to find out what happened.

Mandie's grandmother told them that she had found a shawl that Hilda had left in the living room that afternoon, and she took it upstairs to Hilda's room. And there was Hilda, asleep in her bed. Since the girl couldn't talk, or wouldn't, there was no way to solve the mystery of where she had been.

Mrs. Taft invited Jake and Ludie Burns to stay for supper that evening, and they gratefully accepted. Liza escorted Hilda downstairs for the meal, and all the tired, hungry searchers ate almost everything on the table for supper.

Since there was no word from Elizabeth and John Shaw or the Woodards, they weren't expected to be home that night.

After supper, with Grandmother Taft's permission, Joe and Mandie went up to the attic again, this time to find Christmas decorations for the Burnses. As they rummaged through drawers and trunks, they filled a box with all kinds of decorations for Jake and Ludie. Then they filled another box with the things they wanted to use to decorate the Shaws' Christmas tree.

Downstairs, they found the adults and Hilda gathered in the parlor. Mrs. Taft had Hilda sitting beside her on the settee. Mandie walked over to the chair where Mr. Burns was sitting and handed him the box of decorations they had chosen for him and Ludie. Then she sat on a small stool by the fireplace while Joe stood beside her.

Jake Burns thanked Mandie awkwardly. “I think we better be gittin' home,” he said. “It's gittin' awfully bad out there now.”

Mrs. Taft spoke up. “Why don't you and Ludie just spend the night here?” she said. “There are plenty of rooms. And then you can travel home in the daylight.”

Jake and Ludie glanced at each other uncertainly.

Jason Bond also urged them to stay. “After all, you were delayed by helping us hunt for Hilda,” he said. “Otherwise you'd have been home before dark.”

Ludie Burns smiled. “Well, if you think it'll be all right with Mr. Shaw . . .” she said.

“Of course,” Mrs. Taft assured them. “Don't worry about it.” She turned to her granddaughter. “Amanda, will you ask Liza to get a room ready for Mr. and Mrs. Burns for the night?”

Mandie smiled at the old couple. “I'm glad you're going to stay all night,” she said. “Now you can help us decorate our tree.”

“I 'spect I'd better go put our horse and wagon in your barn or someplace,” Jake Burns said, rising from his chair. “That way our tree won't freeze.”

Mr. Bond stood. “I'll help you,” he said. “Let's get our coats. Then when we get back, I'll get you to help us get our tree up.” He led the way to the hall as Jake Burns nodded agreeably.

Mandie got up from the stool by the fireplace. “We'll have the tree all decorated when Mother and Uncle John get back,” she said excitedly. “I'll get Liza to fix up that room, Grandmother.”

Mandie found Liza eating her supper in the kitchen with Aunt Lou, Jenny the cook, and Abraham, who was Jenny's husband. Mandie stopped just inside the kitchen doorway. “Liza,” she began, “Grandmother has asked Mr. and Mrs. Burns to spend the night since it's late and the weather is so bad. So she told me to ask you to get a room ready for them.” She smiled. “And then as soon as you get that done, I'd like for you all to come in the parlor and help us decorate the Christmas tree.”

Aunt Lou beamed. “Bless you, my chile,” she said. “This gwine to be a real Christmas this year.”

“My first Christmas with my mother,” Mandie replied.

“And our first real Christmas in years and years,” Aunt Lou said. “Ain't been nobody here to celebrate Christmas with. Mr. Shaw, he always go off somewheres on a trip.”

“He always give us our presents and big pay raises befo' he go, though,” Liza added.

Mandie looked around the kitchen. “I sure hope he and my mother get home soon,” she said. “Nobody will tell me what my mother's big surprise for me is.”

Aunt Lou walked over to her. “Now you jes' git back to yo' comp'ny,” she said, shooing her out the door. “We'll all come in and help wid de tree soon as we git dis heah food put away.”

“Hurry up,” Mandie called back over her shoulder.

CHAPTER SIX

MISSING PRESENTS

Joe helped Mr. Bond and Jake Burns build a wooden stand onto the bottom of the tree trunk. And finally, after much trying, they made it steady enough to stand up in the parlor.

The servants all came in and helped with the tree decorating. Hilda stayed near, eagerly watching. When she finally understood that the decorations were to be hung on the tree, she joined in the fun. Mandie showed her how a piece of sewing thread had to be looped through the top of each one and then tied to a branch of the tree.

Snowball batted the decorative balls around the room, and when Mandie took them away from him and hung them on the tree, he reached up and tried to pull them off.

Mandie laughed at the kitten. “We may
not
get this tree done tonight,” she said.

Liza replaced an ornament that Snowball had pulled off the tree. “Better keep dat cat shut up in yo' room tonight, or he'll come down heah and pull all de balls off de tree,” she said.

“I hadn't thought of that,” Mandie admitted. “I'm glad you warned me, Liza.”

Joe stood back to survey their work. “It's beginning to look pretty,” he said.

“It certainly is,” Mrs. Taft agreed as she watched from her chair by the fireplace.

Ludie Burns tied an ornament on the tree and said, “I think I'll jes' let y'all finish. I ain't much good at this.” She joined her husband and the other adults around the fireplace.

Aunt Lou stepped back from the tree. “It's time we's quittin', too,” she said. “We all got work to do.”

Mandie stopped trimming the tree and looked at the Negro housekeeper. “Work, Aunt Lou?” she asked. “At this time of night?”

“Why sho',” Aunt Lou replied. “Now git along, Liza, and you too, Jenny.”

Jenny took her husband's hand. “Come along, Abraham,” she ordered.

“Aunt Lou!” Mandie pleaded. “You are ruining our Christmas tree trimming party. Why do y'all have to go?”

Aunt Lou motioned to the other servants to go ahead of her out of the room. “We's got sumpin' to do dat we ain't talkin' 'bout,” she answered.

The adults around the fireplace looked at each other.

Joe tied another ball on the tree, and Snowball tried to pull it down. “I wouldn't go hinting at secrets, Aunt Lou,” Joe said. “You know Mandie. She won't rest until she finds out what you're talking about.”

“Joe Woodard!” Mandie exclaimed.

The old Negro woman just smiled at Mandie. “She find out when we gits ready fo' huh to find out,” she said. Then she hurried out of the parlor after the other servants.

“Now, what do you suppose that was all about?” Mrs. Taft said to no one in particular.

Mandie pouted. “I wish people wouldn't have secrets,” she said. “Mother has some big secret for me, and now Aunt Lou and all the other servants have secrets.”

“I have a secret, too,” Joe teased as he helped Hilda put a decoration on the tree.

Mandie scowled at him. “Well, I think I'll just have a secret myself,” she said.

Hilda moved around the tree, placing another ornament on an already full branch. “Secret,” she said, smiling at Mandie.

Mandie shook her head. “Now, don't tell me you have a secret, too, Hilda.”

Hilda nodded. “Secret,” she repeated.

Mrs. Taft shifted in her chair by the fireplace. “Why don't we all just have a little secret?” she said. “After all, it's Christmastime.”

“That's a good idea,” Joe agreed, stepping back to admire his work.

Mandie straightened a bow on the tree. “There!” she exclaimed. “I think the decorating is all finished! Now all I have to do is figure out what my secret will be.”

Just as she was about to sit down, the huge grandfather clock in the front hallway chimed eleven times.

“Goodness,” Mrs. Taft said, “is it eleven o'clock already? I think it's time we all retire for the night. You young people should have already been in bed. You won't want to get up in the morning.” She rose and motioned to Hilda. “Come on, Hilda, dear. Bedtime.”

Hilda drew back when Mrs. Taft reached for her hand.

“Grandmother, why don't you let Hilda sleep with me?” Mandie suggested. “That way I'll know if she gets out of bed during the night.”

“I suppose that'll be all right,” Mrs. Taft agreed. She turned to Mr. and Mrs. Burns. “I'll get Liza to come and show you to your room. I hope you sleep well.”

“Thank you, ma'am,” Ludie Burns replied. “I'm sure we will.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Jake added.

Mandie took Hilda's hand. “Come on, Hilda,” she said. “We're going to sleep.”

“Sleep,” the girl repeated, allowing Mandie to lead her upstairs.

Snowball followed.

Mandie got Hilda's nightgown from the room where the girl was supposed to be sleeping and brought it to her. “Put this on,” she said.

Hilda did what she was told, and Mandie put on her own nightgown as they both hovered near the warm fireplace.

“Let's get in bed,” Mandie said, and together they jumped into the big featherbed and covered up with the heavy quilts. Snowball curled up on the foot of the bed and was soon asleep.

When Mandie blew out the oil lamp by the bed, Hilda giggled and wiggled around.

By the light of the fireplace, Mandie looked into the girl's dark brown eyes. “Now, Hilda, you have to go to sleep. And don't you get out of this bed until I tell you that you can. Now go to sleep.”

Hilda quieted down and closed her eyes.

Mandie, wide awake herself, waited until she was sure Hilda was fast asleep; then she slipped out of bed, put on her warm robe and slippers, and put more wood on the fire. Relighting the lamp, she moved it over to a table by a big chair.

Now would be a good time to wrap some Christmas presents
, she thought. Opening her trunk, she took out some of the things she had been collecting to give her family and friends for Christmas.

Mandie knew there were scissors and wrapping paper in the sewing room, so she quietly hurried down the hallway to get them. She slowly opened the sewing room door only to find an oil lamp lighting the room but no one there. Then she noticed that there was wrapping paper strewn everywhere.

“Hilda must have been in here!” she exclaimed. Stepping into the room, she gathered up an armful of the tissue paper, then grabbed the scissors and some bright ribbon from the table nearby.

Blowing out the light, Mandie crept quietly back down the hallway to her room and carefully opened the door. And she sighed again. Hilda was wide awake and sitting up in bed.

“Hilda,” Mandie said, dumping her load of wrapping supplies on the rug near her trunk. “I thought you were asleep.”

Hilda just smiled. Then when Mandie sat on the rug and began cutting pieces of paper to wrap the presents in, Hilda got out of bed to join her.

“You'll have to put on your robe and slippers if you're going to stay up,” Mandie told her. “I'll go to your room and get them. Don't bother any of these things, now.” She indicated the paper and presents.

Hilda only smiled and sat there on the rug. And when Mandie returned with the robe and slippers, Hilda was still sitting there. Once she got Hilda dressed warmly, Mandie sat down to wrap her presents.

Hilda watched Mandie's every move, and after three presents were wrapped, Hilda reached for a piece of paper and a pair of socks. Mandie smiled as the other girl laid the paper on the floor and tried to roll up the socks inside it.

“Do it like this, Hilda,” Mandie said, showing her how to fold the paper. “Now, I'm wrapping all the presents for men and boys in green paper with red ribbons and all the presents for women and girls in red paper with green ribbons. Do you understand?”

“Red, green,” Hilda repeated. She smiled as she managed to get the socks wrapped.

“And I have to write the names on the presents,” Mandie said, reaching for a pencil on the nearby table. “Only I think I'll just use first letters like
G
for
Grandmother
, and
L
for
Liza
, and
J
for
Joe
. But then there's Jenny, too. But that's all right. I'll know which one is which because Joe's will be in green paper and Jenny's will be in red.” She paused. “Uncle John's name starts with a
J
, too, but I suppose I could just put
UJ
on his. And come to think of it, I'll have to put
AL
on Aunt Lou's, so I'll be able to tell it from Liza's.”