The Mandie Collection (15 page)

While the others waited, Mandie bent down and picked up some sand, allowing it to trickle through her gloved fingers. “What beautiful sand! It's so white!” she exclaimed. Hastily removing her gloves, she did it again. This time she laughed. “It feels so nice and soft and warm.”

Tommy's dark brown eyes twinkled as he watched her. “Yes, it does,” he said. “Just wait till you get to the other side.”

As they rode across the island in the rig, at everyone's insistence, Mandie sat on the front seat so she could see the ocean as soon as it came into view.

In a little while, they rounded a curve, and through a clump of palm trees Mandie caught her first glimpse of the huge body of water. Before the rig completely stopped, she jumped down. Tommy immediately followed, keeping her from falling. Racing across the wet sand of the beach, they stopped at the edge of the water and watched as the big waves lapped inward.

Tears of joy filled Mandie's blue eyes. “Oh, what a wonderful thing God created!” she cried. “How beautiful! I never imagined it could be this great!” She had to yell above the sound of the water crashing around.

“You must get your feet wet to really enjoy it,” Tommy told her. “My feet wet?” Mandie frowned up at him. “My mother would never allow that.”

Elizabeth and Uncle John came up behind them.

“I imagine your mother would allow that this one time,” Elizabeth told her daughter.

“Really, Mother?” Mandie's eyes grew wide in amazement.

“Sit down in the rig and remove your shoes and stockings. Be sure to tuck up your skirt so it doesn't get wet,” Elizabeth instructed.

“Like Tommy says,” Uncle John added, “you've got to get your feet wet to fully understand what it's all about.”

“Oh, thank you!” Mandie cried, racing back toward the rig.

In only a minute, she ran barefooted back down to the water's edge, holding her skirt high.

Tommy had already removed his shoes and rolled up his pants legs. Taking her hand, he led her into the water.

Mandie squealed with delight. The cool, wet sand squished between her toes, and the waves swirled around her legs. She giggled and swished about with Tommy holding her hand to keep her from falling.

Mandie knew the adults were standing on the beach, laughing at her antics, but she didn't care. She was having fun. At least she wasn't like Josephine, standing alone and brooding.

Finally, Elizabeth called to Mandie. “We must go now, Amanda. It's getting late.”

“Do we have to, Mother?” Mandie called back above the roar of the water.

“Yes, I'm sorry, but we do,” her mother answered.

“That's all right,” Tommy told her. “We're going to our house on the beach tomorrow.”

“We are?” Mandie asked.

Tommy led her out of the water and up the beach. “Mother wanted to spend the first night in the city so you could see the town,” Tommy explained. “Tomorrow morning we're going to show you around. Then in the afternoon we're all going to the beach house.”

“I'm so glad you asked me to Charleston, Tommy,” Mandie said.

“And I'm glad you could come,” he replied.

Again Elizabeth called to her. “Go ahead and get your things on, Amanda,” she said. “We'll be there in a minute.”

Mandie hurried to the rig and brushed the wet sand from her feet. Josephine followed her.

While Mandie was putting on her silk stockings and slippers, Josephine leaned down and spoke to her quietly. “Just wait till you get to the beach house tomorrow,” she said. “We always have lots of fun out there with all the ghosts that inhabit the place.”

“I don't believe one word of what you say, Josephine Patton,” Mandie replied, standing up to stomp her foot into her shoe. “I think you're addled in the head.”

“Just wait and see,” Josephine said. Then seeing the adults and her brother approaching the rig, she fell silent and quickly took a seat.

Mandie didn't know whether to believe the girl or not. Josephine seemed to think there were ghosts everywhere. Mandie still wasn't sure she believed in ghosts.

Joe had told her there were no such things. Joe—his memory brought a sudden sadness into Mandie's thoughts. Was he still angry with her? She shouldn't have left angry. What if he never forgave her?

CHAPTER FIVE

THE SCARY WIDOW'S WALK

That night an enormous dinner was laid out in the formal dining room. It seemed like a hundred people could have been seated at the long table. Tizzy and her daughter, Cheechee, were among the uniformed servants who waited on them attentively throughout the meal.

Mandie quickly became friends with Tizzy. She reminded Mandie somewhat of Liza except that Tizzy evidently had some education. The little Negro girl Mandie had met earlier was Tizzy's ten-year-old daughter, Cheechee, who worked in the kitchen. Cheechee had taken a liking to Snowball, and she was constantly feeding him and keeping him out of Mrs. Patton's way.

At the table, Mandie sat next to Tommy again. Tommy played the perfect gentleman, pulling out her chair for her and seeing that her plate was piled high. Josephine sat across the table, squinting and listening to their conversation.

After the blessing was asked, Mandie turned to Tommy. “I just remembered something you told me back at the school,” she remarked. “You told me you had a collection of sand dollars. Where are they?”

“Oh, the sand dollars are all out at the beach house. That's where I found most of them—on that beach,” Tommy replied. “When we get there, I'll help you find some to take back home with you.”

“Thank you, Tommy,” Mandie said. “I hope I find enough to take one back to Liza and Celia and—” she paused. She was about to add Joe's name to her list but decided not to. She was determined to block him out of her mind and enjoy her trip.

Tommy smiled as he cut his steak. “Maybe you'd like to see our flower garden after dinner. It's supposed to be one of the showplaces in Charleston. The outdoor gaslights will be lit and there's a full moon tonight, so it'll be light enough to see.”

Mandie looked at him, startled. “The moon is full tonight?” she questioned, glancing across the table at Josephine.

Josephine grinned. “It sure is,” she said. “It's time!”

Mandie understood. It was at the time of a full moon that the supposed ghost of Melissa Patton came out.
I wonder where the widow's walk is in relation to the room I'm using?
she thought. At least if she were sleeping on the second floor of the three-story house, there would be another floor between her and the walkway around the roof.

Tommy missed Josephine's remark. “We could also go up to the widow's walk so you could see the ships in the harbor. You can see for miles from up there.”

“Oh, really?” Mandie said weakly, not wanting Josephine to know she was bothered by the ghost tales. She smiled at Tommy. “I'd like to go up there. I've never heard of a widow's walk, much less seen one.”

“It gets its name from the old days when the women would walk around up there, watching for their husbands to come home from the sea,” Tommy explained. “And some of the sailing men who were lost at sea left widows who never gave up watching and hoping their husbands would come home.” Tommy took a drink from his water glass and continued. “This house is about a hundred and fifty years old,” he said. “The father of my great, great grandmother—the woman whose portrait hangs over the mantlepiece in the drawing room—built this house. He was a sea captain and owned a fleet of ships.”

“Does your family still own ships?” Mandie asked, grateful for the change of topic.

“No, business declined down through the generations. My father owns one merchant ship that runs between here and England,” he explained.

“Then he owns a store?” Mandie asked.

“No, he wholesales the goods off the ship to the local merchants who in turn sell it in their stores,” Tommy said.

“And your family owns a rice plantation, too,” Mandie remembered. “Busy family.”

Josephine proudly sat up straight. “My father is a lawyer, too,” she added. “He has so many different businesses going I don't see how he keeps up with things. What did your father do before he died?”

“My father was a farmer in Swain County, North Carolina, and we lived in a log cabin,” Mandie told her. “His family had a lot of money from mining, but he left home after a disagreement with my Uncle John when they were young. He didn't want any of the money.”

“Money isn't everything,” Tommy said quietly, buttering a hot biscuit. “To me, other things are more important—like faith, hope, and love.”

Mandie smiled. “Money can't buy those things,” she agreed.

“But you've got to have money to live,” Josephine insisted. “You wouldn't want to be poor and have no money, would you?”

“I suppose I was poor until I found Uncle John after my father died,” Mandie told her.

Josephine looked shocked. “Really poor?” she asked.

“Yes, really poor. When my father died, I had to quit school and go live as a servant in another family's house,” Mandie said.

“You? A servant?” Josephine laughed. “But your mother is rich. How come your father was poor?”

“Josephine,” Tommy scolded, “please stop asking so many questions about things that don't concern you.”

“I'm just curious,” his sister pouted.

“That's all right,” Mandie said with a sigh. “It's a long story, but you see, my Grandmother Taft didn't like my father, so when I was born, she told my mother I had died. And she told my father that Mother didn't want to see him or me again. Father took me and went to farm in Swain County where he married a widow woman with a really mean daughter named Irene. I thought that woman was my mother until after Father died.” Mandie looked up to see if Josephine was following her story.

The girl pushed her glasses back up on her nose and motioned for her to go on.

“My father's old Indian friend, Uncle Ned, promised him that he would watch over me after Father died,” Mandie continued. “So Uncle Ned helped me get to Uncle John's house. I didn't even know I had an uncle until then. Uncle John found my mother for me, and not long after that, they got married,” Mandie explained. She took a deep breath.

Tommy was caught up in the story. “But why didn't your grandmother like your father?” he asked.

“My father's mother was a full-blooded Cherokee, and Grandmother Taft didn't want her daughter to marry anyone who was half Indian. But when they got married anyway and had me, my grandmother invented these tales to drive them apart,” Mandie explained.

“Your other grandmother was a Cherokee?” Josephine taunted. “Then you are . . . one-fourth Indian,” she quickly figured. “Humph!”

“You really are?” Tommy asked in surprise. “How interesting.”

“Yes, and my Uncle John is one-half Cherokee, same as my father was,” Mandie told them.

Josephine gasped. “We are entertaining Indians?”

“Josephine! That will do,” Tommy reprimanded. “If you don't apologize to Mandie right this instant, I will see to it that Mother hears about your conduct toward our guest.”

Josephine gave him a mean look. “I was only stating facts. We are entertaining Indians. Mandie herself just told us she and her uncle are part Indian.”

“You may be stating facts, but your tone of voice says otherwise,” Tommy said. “Now if you don't apologize, Mother will make you wish you had.”

Josephine started to take a bite of her food. She squinted at her brother. “I don't see why I—”

“Forget about it, Tommy,” Mandie interrupted. “I don't think she said anything wrong. I am part Cherokee and proud of it. That's the way God made me.” Turning to Josephine, she asked, “And did He make your foot lame?”

Josephine's face reddened and Mandie immediately regretted what she had said.

Josephine quickly laid down her fork and spoke angrily. “No, He didn't make me lame. I'm not lame! I merely broke my ankle when I fell three years ago.”

“I'm sorry,” Mandie apologized. “I didn't mean it that way. I—”

“I don't care what you meant,” Josephine said hatefully. “You have no right to ask such a question. It's not nice at all.”

Tommy shot his mother a helpless look.

Mrs. Patton had been watching from the end of the table but apparently hadn't been able to hear the conversation. As she looked around the table, everyone seemed to be finished with the meal, so she stood up. “Shall we go into the drawing room and have our coffee there?” she asked.

Everyone rose and followed her down the hallway into the drawing room.

Mandie found Elizabeth and walked beside her. “Mother, Tommy wants to show me the flower garden,” she said with a question in her voice.

“All right, dear, but don't be too long. We need a good night's sleep tonight after that long journey,” Elizabeth replied.

“Yes, Mother,” Mandie said, rejoining Tommy as they entered the drawing room.

Snowball came bounding into the room and rubbed around his mistress's ankles. Mandie picked him up. “Guess we'll have to take him, too,” she told Tommy. “He needs some fresh air.”

“All right, let's go,” Tommy agreed.

“Are you coming, Josephine?” Mandie asked, trying to be nice to the girl.

“No, thank you. I've seen it before,” Josephine said sarcastically.

Ignoring the snide remark, Mandie put Snowball on her shoulder and followed Tommy outside through a pair of tall French doors. The air smelled different from the North Carolina mountains, but it was still refreshing after being inside.

Snowball wiggled to get down.

“If I let you down, Snowball, you won't run off, will you?” Mandie said to her kitten, smoothing his fur.