“As soon as I heard these two were available, I pounced,” Lucille told me. “They worked for German royalty. Now you’ll see how a house like Heaven-stone and its inhabitants are properly cared for.”
“I saw no problems before,” I replied defiantly.
She only smiled. “That’s because you’ve had so little experience with truly elegant living, Semantha. All that’s about to change. I’ll introduce you to Gerad Bolud, who just happens to have been the chef for Guerin Ambani, the famous French industrialist. Besides enjoying wonderful food, you’ll probably pick up some French.”
“Combien merveilleux,” Cassie whispered in my ear. I had taken French at Collier. I wasn’t that good at it, certainly nowhere near as fluent as Cassie had been.
“Combien merveilleux,” I repeated.
Lucille laughed. “ Trés bien. Sarcastic in French. You’ll enjoy these changes more than you realize,” she said, and marched off after the two sisters.
By the time Ethan arrived with Daddy, Lucille had them all organized. Mia was to look after the upstairs, and Catherine the downstairs. Gerad was already preparing our dinner, his best suggestion for so short a preparation time being a skillet-roasted veal chop with wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, and fresh thyme. Our dinners from now on, it seemed, were to be announced and described the way they would be in an expensive restaurant. The De Stagen sisters would serve and would do so in different uniforms.
Ethan came to my room. “How are you doing?” he asked, concerned.
“I met the new household staff,” I said. “She’s turning Heaven-stone into a five-star hotel.”
He laughed. “Look, it’s her home now.”
“It used to be mine, too.”
“I’m sure no one’s going to change a thing in your room.”
“I was never a boarder here, Ethan. This was a home once, a family home.”
“It still will be.” He shrugged. “Your father has a new life. You have to think about making a new life for yourself, too.”
I stared at him a moment, took a deep breath, and looked away. How could he understand what Cassie and I knew and understood? This wasn’t a castle or a showcase. Its heritage didn’t lie just in its fame; it had been built with the blood and effort of my ancestors. It was alive. Lucille would turn it into a tomb.
There was Cassie in the mirror, shaking her head.
“Okay, Ethan,” I said. “I’m all right. Let’s not talk about it anymore right now.”
“Good,” he said. “I have some other exciting news to tell you.”
He rushed forward, took my hands into his, and sat us both down on my bed.
“What?”
“Lucille was so impressed with my internal analysis that she discussed it with your father, and they called me into his office to tell me that Lucille had decided to make me her personal assistant, and at a whopping salary, too.”
“Personal assistant?”
“That’s right. I’m going to be involved in the most important and biggest corporate decisions. For starters, we’re going to visit every Heaven-stone Department Store, where I’ll be introduced. One of my chief assignments will be to evaluate each one the way I did this one. She also wants me to have input in hiring executive personnel.”
“And my father approves of all this?”
“Yes, he does. Aren’t you proud of me?”
“You just got out of college. You don’t even have your MBA. Is this normal?”
He laughed. “That’s just it. It isn’t, but I was given an opportunity, and I took advantage of it. People do have natural talents and abilities, Semantha. Those who do don’t have to follow the same path as those who don’t. Your parents, who are pretty sharp people, saw it in me and decided to take advantage of me.”
“Parents?”
“Your father and stepmother. They’re your parents now, aren’t they?”
I looked away. With Mrs. Dobson and Doris gone and Ethan now in awe of Lucille and in debt to her, who would be my ally in this house?