She didn't answer. I checked myself in the mirror and hurried after her.
Ian was already there, sitting quietly and waiting Across the table from him was a tall, pretty woman with reddish blond hair neatly styled about her ears. Her lips were so orange, she didn't need lipstick. There were ribbons of faint freckles over the crests of her cheeks, just touching the bridge of her small nose. I liked the way she brought her lips back gently when she smiled, but her turquoise eyes were almost independent from the rest of her face because they were cold and penetrating like a doctor's eyes, full of questions as she turned her gaze fully on me.
Even though it was summer, she wore a highbuttoned gray blouse closed at the base of her neck and a darker gray ankle- length skirt. She wore no earrings, no necklace, and no rings, just a watch with a big square face, more like a man's watch. I thought. When she stood up. I saw she was quite tall, but part o
f the reason for that was that she wore four-inch square-heeled black shoes. She would surely tower beside Grandmother Emma, I thought.
One interesting thing I noticed about Grandmother Emma was when people were that much taller than she was, she didn't tilt her head back when she spoke to them or they spoke to her. She looked forward and usually they had to tilt their heads or even slouch.
"Jordan, this is Miss Harper," Grandmother Emma said. "She is here to help me with you and Ian," she added, as if we were the invalids and not Daddy and Mama.
"Hello," I said, so softly I wasn't sure I had actually uttered it and not just thought it.
Her smile widened, but her eyes remained as they had been. "Hello, Jordan. I'm very pleased to meet you. I have heard so much about you that I feel we've known each other for some time," she said.
I looked at Grandmother Emma. What would she have told her already? Ian still had his head lowered, his eyes down. From the way his lips were tucked in. I knew something was bothering him a lot. Had Grandmother Emma told Miss Harper something nasty about him before I had arrived or even before she had met him?
"Take your seat, please, Jordan," Grandmother Emma told me.
She watched me closely until I set my napkin correctly on my lap and pulled my chair closer to the table. Miss Harper watched as well and smiled and nodded at her.
Nancy began to serve our breakfast, which I knew was to be special because she brought out the assorted Danish Grandmother Emma usually reserved for Sundays. Miss Harper asked Grandmother Emma about the dining room chandelier and while she explained it and its history. I looked at Ian. He raised his eyes and leaned toward me to whisper.
"She put her in Mother and Father's room," he said. "She had all the things removed last night."
And I realized what I had seen in the hallway was no dream.
19 A Mouth Full of Soap
. After breakfast, Grandmother Emma decided to give Miss Harper a tour of the mansion. Ian and I were ordered to go along, but not to speak unless we were spoken to. Lecturing about the house was still one of Grandmother Emma's most enjoyable activities, and even our present tragedy didn't distract her or depress her enough to lessen the joy. We could hear the pride in her voice as she spoke. Miss Harper was properly impressed, nodding and commenting about the beauty and the value of everything in the March Mansion.
Ian smirked and shook his head. He leaned over to whisper, "She's an apple polisher just like Nancy."
"It's not proper to whisper behind anyone's back," Grandmother Emma said, without turning to us or skipping a beat in her tour.
It was always wrong to underestimate Grandmother Emma's hearing or sight.
We did listen attentively, however. It was during the walk- through that we learned Miss Harper was the daughter of one of Grandmother Emma's oldest friends from Philadelphia and that she had been a third-grade elementary school teacher in a private school, but had lost her job because of a budget cutback. She had been living with her mother and had even lived at home when she attended college.
Grandmother Emma primarily wanted us along to reinforce her rules about the house in front of Miss Harper. This included what door to use when we went out to the pool, where to wipe our feet, and what areas were still restricted as far as we were concerned. She never wanted us to go into what had been Grandfather March's office, now her office, for example. It was clear Miss Harper would enforce all the rules as stringently as Grandmother Emma did.
Afterward. Ian was given permission to return to his room and I was told to go with Miss Harper and assist her moving into the house in any way she required. I couldn't imagine what I could do for her. Grandmother Emma had still not explained why she had moved her into Mama and Daddy's bedroom. At the foot of the stairs, she finally did.
"For the time being, Miss Harper will be taking what was your parents' bedroom,'" Grandmother Emma told us. "When your father returns, he will not be able to navigate the stairway. He will be in a wheelchair and I don't intend to mar the beauty of this extraordinary staircase by installing one of those lifts on a mahogany balustrade, so I am having the downstairs guest room set up as their room."
"What if Mama doesn't like that?" I asked.
For a long moment, we could hear a pin drop. Even Ian looked surprised at how sharply I had asked the question, but I couldn't help feeling I should speak up for Mama, who was unable to speak up for herself. Grandmother Emma glared at me a moment and then continued as if I hadn't spoken.
"Under the circumstances, it is better for Miss Harper to be where she can attend to you children easier. It will be some time before either of your parents is able to do much parenting, and I have a great many new responsibilities, thanks to this unnecessary event. For one thing. I'll have to take a more active role in the supermarket. I will be reviewing the books, the procedures, and interviewing for a new full-time general manager. Maybe it will start to become profitable," she added for Miss Harper, who immediately smiled.
"It is most unfortunate that you have so much to do at this time in your life, Mrs. March," she said.
Ian nearly groaned. I saw how his lips contorted with visible disgust.
"Frankly, Millicent, I can't recall a time in my life when I didn't have major responsibilities.. I wouldn't know how to handle so- called retirement."
They laughed.