“Also,” Elise said, trying to keep her tone sweet, “I’m afraid I would make a very poor china doll. Besides, theMary Eliseis my life. I don’t intend to add a man to that equation.”
“You are a strange one, just as Mother said.” Louis bit his lip. “I didn’t mean to say that. It’s not exactly what Mother meant.”
“It’s all right. I know I’m not what passes for a normal female in her world.” Elise did her best not to reveal the hurt his words had caused. Why should her aunt call her strange just because she enjoyed life on the lakes with her parents? Since Mama died the year before, however, Aunt Martha had nagged Elise to come and live with them.
“It looks like that dashing Mr. Casper is coming our way,” her father whispered. “No doubt he wants to dance, Elise.”
“Oh, please send him away. He stepped on my foot three times in our first dance. I have no desire to repeat the performance, and I’m sick of dancing.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Louis declared. “I know Charlie. I’ll take him to see my new horse. He loves horses more than anything else on earth. Charlie! Wait until you see my new mare.” He headed off to intercept the man, whose face lit up as Louis explained his plan.
“What a sweetheart.” Elise would have to find a way to pay Louis back. “How much longer will this go on?”
Her father shrugged. “I have no idea. In my experience, the party’s over when the liquor runs out, but since these folks have enough money to keep that flow steady, I’m not sure what will bring things to an end.”
“Perhaps someone will announce it, as they do for dinner.” Elise smiled, imagining a well-dressed butler announcing that the party was over and everyone needed to vacate the property.
“They seem to have announcements for just about everything else. Why not the end of a party?” her father replied.
“Do you suppose if we just sneak off to our rooms to change, they will leave us to our rat-killing?” Elise asked with a grin.Rat-killingwas her mother’s favorite phrase for any odd task that needed to be done. “We could slip upstairs when no one is looking.”
“I honestly don’t expect we’ll be missed. Not even by your sister.” There was an edge of regret in Papa’s voice. “Besides, I need to check on Joe and see what the doc said about his leg.”
Neither of them expected the news to be good. TheMary Elise’s first mate had injured his leg nearly a month ago, but no one had known about the wound until he started limping. By that time, the leg was putrid, and red streaks were moving up the thigh.
“Let’s just go, then. We can tell Caroline good-bye and pray with her on our way out the door.”
Elise pulled Papa in the direction of her sister. She didn’t want to give him a chance to refuse. He didn’t even try.
Elise waited for her sister to finish speaking to some guests before tapping her shoulder. “Caroline, we must be on our way.”
“But you can’t! Not until you help me change. I was already looking for an excuse. Nelson said we had to keep to our schedule.”
Elise looked at her father with a shrug. “I guess Caroline needs my help. I’ll be back as soon as possible, and then we can go.”
Caroline all but dragged Elise up the stairs. “Everything was beautiful, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Quite lovely.”
“The garden was perfect for the reception. I was so afraid there’d be no roses because of the cold spring, but they were in full bloom, and the gardeners were able to buy additional flowers to weave in.” Caroline opened the door to her bedroom suite.
Elise gazed around the large room. There was a sitting area by the fireplace, a dressing area, and, of course, a beautiful four-poster bed with elegant gossamer curtains draped from its frame. It was hard to imagine calling such a place home.
“Unfasten the buttons in back,” Caroline commanded as she removed her veil.
“What aboutplease?”
“I’m used to servants, and you don’t saypleaseorthank you. It’s their job.”
“But Mama always encouraged us to be polite, even to the lowliest servant.”
“Well, you aren’t Mama,” Caroline snapped.
“I’m also not a servant.”
Silence hung heavy for a moment. Caroline gave a little huff. “Would you please undo my buttons?”
Elise began the task of unfastening thirty-six pearl buttons. “Why did you make that comment about Mama?”
