Secret Whispers Read online

  “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.

  “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?

  “I will,” Cassie reminded me.

  “Aren’t you the least bit happy for me, Semantha? For us?”

  “Us?”

  “I hope you think of it all that way,” he said, holding my hand and looking deeply into my eyes.

  “Yes, I think of it that way. I’m also thinking how busy and involved you’ll be with Lucille.”

  “Not so busy that I won’t be thinking of you,” he said.

  “Right,” I said dryly.

  “It is right. After they promoted me today, my thoughts went immediately to you, to us.”

  I didn’t look back at him. I was sliding into my own dark places. He felt it and shook my hand to get my attention. When I turned back, he got it, fully.

  He had begun to slip a ring on my finger.

  An engagement ring!

  Engaged

  “I HOPE YOU don’t mind,” Ethan said. “I went to the Heaven-stone jewelry department. I got something of a discount. Ordinarily, I could not afford a diamond this big with this clarity, but I wanted you to have a ring worthy of your finger, a ring worthy of you.

  “And don’t say it’s not the size of it that matters,” he added quickly. “I didn’t want to be embarrassed, and I certainly don’t want you to be embarrassed. I have my pride, too, you know.”

  I looked at it and then at him. The joy and excitement in his face were instantly replaced with worry and concern because of my controlled reaction. Some might say it was more like no reaction.

  “I’m asking you to marry me,” he said, as if there were some doubt about what it meant.

  When I replied, the words I spoke felt as if they had originated with Cassie. From the day I had returned, I had often heard t
hem echoing throughout Heaven-stone. It was as if all of our ancestors captured on that wall of portraits had become a Greek chorus chanting.

  “Everything’s happening so fast.”

  He laughed. “Tell me about it. A few weeks ago, I was applying for an assistant floor manager’s position at a small department store in my hometown and worrying that I wouldn’t even be granted an interview.”

  “I don’t mean just about your career, Ethan. Everything at Heaven-stone, my family, my life, too. Before I can catch my breath after one change, there’s another and another.”

  “All for the better, I hope,” he said. “But you’re right about one thing. I never gave myself to one girl as quickly as I’ve given myself to you. From the first moment I saw you in that dorm lobby, I knew you were someone special, and I knew I wanted you to be in my life. I thought I saw the same feeling in you, too. I hope that wasn’t a mistake.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” I said.

  “Then this,” he said, running his finger over the diamond, “isn’t coming too fast. As Lucille says, if it’s right, it’s never too fast.”

  “Now you’re going to start quoting her?”

  He laughed. “You’re always quoting your father.”

  “That’s different,” I said. “He’s a part of Kentucky history. I’m not the only one who quotes him.”

  “Of course. I was just teasing. I would never put Lucille on the same level as your father.”

  I thought for a moment, looked at the ring, and then asked, “Does she know about this?”

  “The ring? No. I haven’t even told your father yet. I was hoping you’d be happy and the two of us would have some fun at dinner tonight. We won’t say anything when we first enter the dining room. We’ll wait to see how long it takes for one or both of them to notice. How’s that sound?”

  “That sounds good,” I said, happy to hear he hadn’t gotten Lucille’s or my father’s approval first, that this was entirely his doing.

  “I will confess that the way you sounded on the phone today sped up my plans. I knew you were terribly unhappy, and I wanted to do something to please you and cheer you up. I wasn’t going to wait too many more days, anyway. As soon as they called me into your father’s office and promoted me, I felt I could propose to you.”

  “Our love shouldn’t depend on how much money you make or how important you are in the Heaven-stone Corporation, Ethan.”

  “And it doesn’t, but it doesn’t hurt, either,” he said. “Hey, don’t blame me for being a bit intimidated by all this. Look at what you’re used to having. Any guy would think, Who am I to assume she’d care enough?”

  “I never flaunted anything.”

  “You never had to. It flaunts itself. But I do think we see each other now for who we really are, don’t you? And that is truly love. Am I right?”

  “Yes,” I said, smiling. “You can’t have love without honesty.”

  When I looked at the mirror, I saw Cassie dwindling, but I didn’t care. This was more important than fighting Lucille over maids and cooks and the running of the house. This was my future, my love.

  “Okay,” he said, rising. “I’m going to get showered and dressed for our first so-called gourmet dinner. Let’s both wear something special. Lucille will think we’re doing it because of the changes she has made, this gourmet chef, and so on, but we’ll surprise her. And of course, your father as well.”

  “Yes,” I said. Now it did sound more like fun.

  He fixed his eyes on me with that serious, deep look that made my heart skip beats.

  “I’ll always think of you first, Semantha. I hope you’ll always believe that.”

  He hurried off. I didn’t move for a few moments, and then, looking at my ring, feeling a new surge of excitement and energy, I, too, hurried to prepare for the unveiling of our future. Maybe my father and Lucille wouldn’t be as quick to approve of it as Ethan obviously thought. Maybe Daddy would say it was a bit too fast and we should wait. Maybe Lucille would be very annoyed with how we had stolen her thunder. None of these possibilities frightened me.

  First, it would be a good test of Ethan’s sincerity. If Daddy or Lucille told us to put our engagement on hold and he retreated, I would know that their approval, his career, was more important to him than our love and our lives together. Second, I had never looked forward more to shaking up my father than I did at this moment. If he could disregard all prudence to bring Lucille into the Heaven-stone world so quickly and firmly, I could do the same with Ethan.

  Most important, perhaps, it would truly be declaring our independence. Our lives, what we did now and in the future, would be our decision. Heaven-stone wasn’t a puppet theater, and we weren’t puppets.

  I chose one of my more formal dresses and bedecked myself in my most expensive necklace and earrings. I worked on my hair and my makeup the way I would have if I were about to attend my own debutante ball. When Ethan returned, dressed in a new black suit and tie, he looked at me as if he had lost his breath.

  “You’re absolutely beautiful,” he said.

  “You’re not so bad yourself. When did you get that suit?”

  “Yesterday. Lucille picked it out.”

  “Lucille? She’s picking out your clothes now, too?”

  “Oh, she just knew we had some new styles and told me to try it on. I’m wearing it because I thought I looked good in it and you’d like it.”

  “I do.”

  He held out his arm. “Okay, then. Shall we make some Heaven-stone history tonight?”

  “Absolutely, Mr. Hunter.” I took his arm.

  “I’ll tell you why I really proposed,” he said as we started for the stairway.

  “Why?”

  “I want my portrait up on that wall below someday.”

  He laughed. I laughed, too, but sometimes, as Cassie would say, there is more truth in a jest than you’d expect. Anyway, so what? Why shouldn’t he want his portrait on our wall? It wasn’t a bad ambition to have. Besides, it was the house. Heaven-stone had an undeniably powerful effect on anyone who lived within it.

  Cassie was the one who had told me how much influence the house had on us, so she shouldn’t be critical of Ethan’s half joke.

  Daddy and Lucille were already at the table when we arrived. Mia was pouring Daddy some red wine from a bottle she had wrapped in white cloth, taking great care not to permit a drop to escape.

  “Ah, you two are in for a treat tonight,” Daddy said. He smelled the wine, looked at it in the light, and then sipped it. Mia stood by with the bottle, just like a waitress in a restaurant, waiting to see if Daddy approved. He nodded, and she poured Lucille a glass. “Our new chef suggested this French wine for tonight,” Daddy explained, more to Ethan than to me.

  “A real chef knows what’s appropriate to drink with certain food,” Lucille added.

  Mia hurried around to pour us each a glass. Ethan gazed at me with a half-smile on his face. Neither Daddy nor Lucille had made a comment on how formally we were dressed, and neither had yet seen my ring. I deliberately lifted my wineglass with my left hand so the ring would be quite visible, glittering in the light of the chandelier, but just at that moment, our new chef, Gerad Bolud, appeared. Lucille introduced him to us. He nodded and began to describe our four-course dinner. He had managed to prepare a French onion soup, which he said was a bit rushed but should be fine.

  “Gerad didn’t even unpack his things,” Lucille explained. “He went right to work on tonight’s dinner.” She beamed as proudly as an artist next to her painting. He bowed again and returned to the kitchen. Lucille had successfully turned our meal into a show.

  Catherine appeared with a tray carrying our salads. Mia helped her serve them. Unlike our usual salad, this one contained fruit. I had to admit to myself that it was delicious. Daddy was so involved with his bread, wine, and salad that he still had not noticed my ring. Ethan kept throwing me impish little grins, while Lucille continued to describe Gerad Bolud’s background, empha
sizing how lucky we were to have captured him before someone else could do so. She wanted us to understand and be impressed with how in demand he was and how she had found out about him and outmaneuvered everyone else, using some of her best connections. Daddy couldn’t have given her more compliments.

  Finally, when the soup was brought out and we all had begun to eat it, Daddy paused, lowered his spoon, and leaned forward.

  “What is that ring I see, Semantha?” he asked.

  Lucille looked up. I held my breath.

  “It’s an engagement ring,” Lucille said. “Isn’t that an engagement ring?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “I gave it to her tonight,” Ethan said. “We wanted to surprise you both.”

  “Surprise? I’ll say,” Daddy said.

  For a long moment, no one spoke. Here it comes, I thought, the fatherly advice or Lucille’s wisdom. At the very least, I expected to hear her ask, “Isn’t this a bit quick?” or, “Shouldn’t you first have discussed this with Mr. Heaven-stone?”

  “Well,” she began instead, “we seem to have quite a bit to celebrate tonight.”

  She looked at Daddy. He digested all that was happening in front of him and then slowly nodded and smiled and lifted his wineglass.

  “Congratulations to you both,” he said.

  Ethan reached for my hand. I looked at Lucille. She lifted her glass as well.

  “Just think,” she declared, “so soon after our wedding, we’ll be planning another. Have you two decided on a date?”

  “No,” Ethan said. “I thought it best to look at our calendars together. I know there is so much going on for the Heaven-stone Corporation, that new construction you were discussing, new personnel . . .”

  “Well, you don’t plan a wedding like this in a few weeks, anyway. Semantha already has a good idea what goes into the planning of a well-run wedding, don’t you, Semantha?”

  Since Ethan and I hadn’t discussed it, I was reluctant to say anything, but there was one thing I didn’t need much discussion to decide, and I thought I’d make that clear right then and there, right at the start.