He was quiet a moment. “I am more,” he replied. “All right. I’ll tell her how upset you are and see what she says. How’s that?”
I thought about Daddy’s warning. Maybe I would get Ethan into trouble. She had fired Mrs. Dobson and Doris so easily and so quickly. She could certainly do the same to him.
“Forget about it,” I said. “My father’s the only one who could change this, anyway, and he won’t.”
“That’s true.”
There was something in the tone of his voice that stirred another suspicion. How did he know my father wouldn’t object to Lucille’s action?
“Did she tell you she was going to fire them? Did you know?”
“No, of course not,” he said quickly. “That’s my point. It has nothing to do with me. This is the first I’ve heard about it.”
“Well, I think it’s mean,” I said, and hung up.
I hated returning to the kitchen to tell them I had failed. Neither looked surprised, but both were grateful I had tried. I sulked in the living room while they packed their things. Later, when I heard them coming down the hallway, I rushed out. They had ordered a taxi, and it had arrived. Before I could say anything, tears streamed down my face.
“Now, now, Miss Semantha,” Mrs. Dobson said. “You don’t worry yourself about us. Doris will find suitable new employment, and it’s probably time I returned to England anyway. I have some relatives I’d like to see before they or I cash in our chips, as your daddy would say.”
I hugged them both, holding on to Mrs. Dobson a little longer.
“I’ll write to you,” she said. “And you write back and tell me how you’re doing, okay?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Cheers,” she said in the doorway.
The taxi driver came up to help them with their luggage. I watched as he put it all in the trunk. Doris, looking small and devastated, waved and got in first. Mrs. Dobson turned to me.
“Your dad’s a fine man,” she said. “Take good care of him.”
I nodded. She got into the taxi, and they started away.
“Now it’s just us,” Cassie said. I turned to see her at my side. She watched the taxi go out the gate and disappear. Then she smiled at me. “But that’s just fine. One day, we’ll see her go out that gate for good, too.”
I nodded and did something I hadn’t done since she had died. I reached for her hand.
Two hours later, I was surprised to hear Lucille arrive. I had been up in my room, thinking, when I heard the voices below and hurried out to see what was happening. A tall, dark-haired, stout man carried in two rather large suitcases and stood for a moment looking at everything around him. He stepped forward to gaze into the living room. I watched from the top of the stairway. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants.
“This way, Gerad,” I heard Lucille call to him, and he moved instantly down the hallway. “We’ll get you settled in first and then look over the kitchen. I have some changes in mind, as I’m sure you will as well,” she said.
I made my way down the stairway slowly. I could hear their voices in the hallway that led to where Mrs. Dobson and Doris had been. Before I could turn to go in that direction, the doorbell rang. I hesitated and then went to the front door to open it on two women, both with almost identically styled short, light brown hair.
“Hello,” the slightly taller one said. “I’m Mia De Stagen, and this is my sister, Catherine.”
She waited as if she expected I would know exactly who they were. I saw that they had suitcases, so it wasn’t difficult to guess. Before I could respond, however, Lucille came quickly, crying out, “Willkommen,” which I knew was German for “Welcome.”
“Danke,” Mia said.
“Danke,” Catherine echoed.
“Please, come in,” Lucille told them, glancing sharply at me to step out of the way. I did. “I’ll show you to your quarters. Do you need help with your luggage?”
“Oh, no, Madame,” Mia said.
“I didn’t think so,” Lucille said, smiling. “We’ll settle you in and then describe your duties. Right down the hall here. Take the first right.”
The two moved quickly.