Rain (Hudson 1)

"Butter and jam?"

"Yes, please."

She went back into the kitchen. I sat

impatiently. Why couldn't I fix my own breakfast? I had been afraid of even suggesting it for fear I would violate another unwritten rule of the house or that Merilyn would think I was trying to undercut her. I might as well be sitting on a car fender, I thought, as I shifted my weight uncomfortably and drummed my fingers on the table. I was so eager when Merilyn finally brought the toast and coffee that I gobbled it down before she cleared off the empty juice glass, poured me a cup of coffee and returned to the kitchen.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry," she remarked, the corners of her mouth sagging.

"I'm not. I'm just nervous," I said.

"About going to school?" She laughed through her nose. "What's there to be nervous about? You can't get fired," she moaned, gazing at the doorway. "I thought I did a good job last night."

"You did," I said amazed.

"Mrs. Hudson called down to tell me I had overcooked the fish and dried out the potatoes." She glared at me sharply. "Did you complain?"

"No," I said. "I thought it was all just fine."

"So did I, but my opinion don't count," she moaned and returned to the kitchen.

I sat there sipping my coffee. Grandmother Hudson was really a very unhappy woman, I decided, and Mama always says unhappy people are fertile ground for complaints. In their garden complaints grow like weeds.

The grandfather clock boomed on the half hour and I was up like a jack-in-the-box hurrying out the front door.

I stopped after I closed it and turned to face the beautiful, warm day with clouds looking like dabs of white paint on a blue canvas. When I shaded my eyes, I saw Jake Marvin standing at the opened rear door of the Rolls Royce. He was dressed in a snappy, gray chauffeur's uniform with black trim on the cuffs and collar and he wore a cap. I didn't realize until this very moment that I was going to school in the Rolls Royce. Me, being brought to school by a chauffeur! I actually froze for a moment, my feet feeling as if they had become part of the portico floor. I know my mouth was open wide enough for me to look like I was trying to catch flies with it, as Mama would say.

Jake laughed.

"Let's go, M'lady," he said with a dramatic bow. "You don't want to be late for your appointment with the headmistress of Dogwood or you'll be in the dog house on your first day?'

I laughed and hurried to the car. As we pulled away, I looked up and thought I saw Grandmother Hudson between the curtains peering out of a window.

"So, how was your first night at the Hudson castle?" Jake asked.

"Very quiet," I said, "after I met Victoria, that is."

"Oh, Victoria was here? So what do you think of her?"

"I've been taught not to say anything if I can't say anything nice, so I'll wait until I can," I told him and he roared.

"Her bark's worse than her bite," he promised. "Boy, everything's got to do with dogs this morning, get it? Bark? Bite?"

"I got it," I said smiling.

"So what was your previous school like?" he asked.

"Like a prison. We have metal detectors and security guards in uniform," I said. "There's a chain link fence around it and some of the windows actually have bars on them."

"Well, you're in for a pleasant surprise," he said. As we drove along, he lectured like a tour guide about the flowers and the trees, houses and farms. He told me all about the Dogwoods and why the school was named for them. He was right when he warned me he talks a lot, I thought, but I really didn't mind it. I needed to keep my mind off what was just ahead.

And there was no way I would ever be prepared for what lay ahead. In fact, I didn't know we had entered the school's grounds until Jake pointed out the riding ring.

"Riding ring? What do you mean? What's a riding ring?" I asked.

"That's where you practice riding horses," he said.

"Horses? In a school?"