Hidden in a Whisper (15 page)

“I've simply had marvelous luck obtaining help from the locals,” Reg declared. “Fresh produce, fish, lamb—not to mention spices and herbs.”

Rachel looked to Reg with a smile. He created the perfect buffer between her and Braeden. There could be no talk of the past with Reginald Worthington situated neatly between them. Rachel felt no small amount of relief in realizing this benefit. She would simply stay close to Reg in all matters pertaining to the dining room, and when she exited the company of her girls, she would do so through the private parlor and hallway. That way, she wouldn't allow herself to be caught unaware of Braeden's presence. Furthermore, she would insist that Reg be present at every management meeting. He was, after all, in charge of managing the kitchen, and she had already delegated a great deal of responsibility to the man. He should, by all rights, be included in their meetings.

“I have a problem with my inventory,” Braeden said, glancing over the papers in his hand to meet Rachel's gaze. “The originals do not match the tallies made by my housekeeper and her staff.”

“We have the same problem,” Rachel declared. “Reginald—” She felt her face grow hot as she corrected herself. “That is to say, Mr. Worthington has taken an inventory of our supplies, as well, and they do not match my original paper work.”

Braeden put the papers down. “What do you suppose it means?”

Rachel shrugged. “Why must it mean anything? I would imagine the manifest listing of what was originally shipped here was inaccurate.” “Seems unlikely that they would be so remiss in their inventory,” Braeden countered. “After all, the Santa Fe is suffering from some poor investments, and they are no doubt counting their pennies carefully as they bring this new resort to life.”

“But people make mistakes,” Rachel said softly. She realized he might believe her words to hold a double meaning and quickly moved her attention to Reg. “Have you been able to figure anything out from our inventory?”

“Personally, I believe it to be a simple case of miscounting,” Reginald replied. “I presumed the mistake to be my own, but I had Tomas redo the count and he came up with the same thing. There are various articles missing: silver services, pots and pans, utensils, linens, napkins, even food. With such a wide variety of articles in dispute, it seems unlikely that it would be a mere case of thievery.”

“Why?” Braeden asked seriously.

Reg ran his fingers along his pencil-thin moustache. “An intelligent thief would have purloined only those articles of value. The silver services, for instance. Our inventory counts show a discrepancy of two; however, neither of those services were of the highest quality. The very best of our silver has been untouched.”

“Perhaps the thief is untrained as to the value of silver.”

Rachel listened as the two men reasoned the situation. Finally she interjected a question. “What exactly are you missing, Mr. Parker?”

Braeden allowed his gaze to linger on her for a moment before picking his papers back up. “Many of the bed linens are off count. There are soap dishes, books, lounging chairs, towels, and bathing suits,” he said, glancing back up. “Along with a variety of other odds and ends.”

“None of which sound like the kind of thing to make a thief rich,” Rachel replied.

Braeden shrugged. “I don't know. It depends on what the thief is looking to gain. Money or possessions. You might well have a very poor thief who is simply supplying his family with needed linens and table service.”

“Linens obviously marked for the Harvey Company?”

“A lot of folks wouldn't care about such a thing.”

“I still believe it's possible the inventory sheets were simply wrong,” Rachel replied. “After all, we're still receiving supplies daily from the trains. Perhaps some of the goods are still en route.”

“I suppose it's possible,” Braeden finally conceded. “However, I'd like to call the town marshal in on the matter.”

“I hardly think that's necessary,” Rachel said sternly. “It would make us look incompetent. No, I suggest we wait and see what happens as we go. Let us do an inventory daily and see if anything else turns up missing.”

“Daily? I don't have time for daily inventories. Not if I'm going to have this resort ready for a grand opening in little more than a week.”

“Then assign someone to help you,” Rachel replied impatiently. “I've done that very thing with Reginald, and it's working out very nicely. Put your housekeeper in charge of the matter. That is, if you trust her.” She knew her words were cutting, but she didn't care. The tension in the room grew stronger and even Reginald was starting to look uncomfortable. Rachel grimaced and tried hard not to let her emotions control her actions.

“I trust her,” Braeden said, staring hard at Rachel. “She's proven herself to be worthy of my faith.”

His eyes narrowed and seemed to deepen in hue. To Rachel they were the most beautiful shade of blue she'd ever known. Why did he have to be so handsome? Why couldn't she just forget what they had shared and leave the past well enough alone?

“I … ah … quite agree with Rachel,” Reginald said hesitantly.

Obviously he didn't really want to get in the middle of their affair.

At the usage of her given name, Braeden visibly clenched his teeth together. The ticking in his cheek told Rachel he was quite irritated at this new-found friendship she shared with the resort's chef. It bothered her to have him angry, but at the same time it infuriated her to think he would perhaps consider her undeserving of friends.

“Thank you, Reginald,” she replied, feeling only the tiniest bit of comfort to have him take her side in the matter. “If the inventory continues to disappear, then perhaps we could call in the law.”

Braeden shrugged. “Have it your way.”

“Good, now moving on to other business,” Rachel said, trying hard not to notice his agitation. “I plan to appoint Gwen Carson as head waitress. She will be in charge of everything whenever I am off duty or otherwise occupied. Gwen has just over three years with the Harvey system, and I find her to be the best candidate for the job. However, there is a slight problem.”

“What kind of problem?” Braeden questioned.

“Esmeralda Needlemeier.”

“Ah,” he replied, nodding.

“The old woman is quite a fearsome creature, if I do say so,” Reg offered.

“Still, the railroad and Mr. Harvey have asked us to treat her with the utmost of respect,” Braeden interjected. “She owns over half the town, and what she doesn't own, she seems to have little trouble controlling. She could easily make life for us here at Casa Grande most difficult if we don't allow her a say in some of the issues.”

“Well, this is one decision I cannot heed her advice or desires on,” Rachel replied. “She expects for me to put Ivy Brooks in the position of head waitress, but the request is completely out of line. Ivy has barely made it through her training and has no experience, at least not in being a Harvey Girl.” She knew her words sounded sarcastic, but she didn't care.

Braeden took her words for what they were, a reminder of that evening by the pool. “I wonder if Miss Carson knows how to trust people and not jump to conclusions?”

“She appears very level-headed,” Rachel answered, tensing at his words. She'd known better than to goad him that way, but the truth of the matter was that Ivy was inexperienced and unacceptable as head waitress. And before Braeden could further cause her pain and suggest she appoint Ivy to the head waitress job, Rachel wanted to dismiss the idea once and for all.

Trying hard to ignore the scowl on Braeden's face, Rachel continued. “Gwen Carson is the most reliable person I have on staff. She is always willing to do additional jobs when need demands, and she never complains about the extra work. There isn't an aspect of the job she doesn't know, and we get along very nicely.”

“I should speak to her and learn her secrets,” Braeden muttered.

Rachel ignored him and looked away to Reg. “You've worked with her. I presume you have some thought on this matter.”

“I believe she would make an excellent leader for her peers,” Reginald replied. “She seems quite willing to follow orders and to adhere to the suggestions of her superiors.”

“Then it's settled.” Rachel gave him a broad smile.

“I didn't know you needed our approval in order to make the decision,” Braeden said seriously.

“I didn't, Mr. Parker, but I wanted you to understand the situation. Mrs. Needlemeier will no doubt raise quite a ruckus. She may even feel as though I have slighted her on purpose—which is not the case. Miss Brooks is often insolent and uncooperative, and her attitude toward those she deems to be her inferiors is generally harsh and demeaning. With this spirit and clash of wills, I could not have promoted her to the position even if she had more experience than all of the girls put together. Mr. Harvey firmly believes that attitude is just as important as experience.”

“I agree,” Braeden replied. “A good attitude can get you through the worst of times. How one deals with bad times has much to do with what lies in the heart.”

Rachel drew a deep breath and got to her feet. “The time is getting away from us. I must join my girls for a staff meeting in the dining room. I believe we've resolved all of our issues for the day.” She tried to smile, but when she caught sight of Braeden's expression, she knew of at least one issue that had not been dealt with—maybe never would.

Why, God? Why can't I let this matter be? Why does my heart have to be so consumed? Help me to get beyond this, to live my life without this burden
. She sought solace in her prayer but found nothing but unanswered questions.

Saying nothing more, Rachel made her way from Braeden's office.

She couldn't help but think of Braeden's reaction to her obvious openness with Reginald Worthington. He appeared not only irritated by her first-name basis with the chef, but if she didn't know better, she'd have believed him jealous of the friendship they shared.

She smiled. Maybe it would do him good to be jealous of Reg.

After all, he treated Rachel with more respect and tenderness than Braeden did these days. Not that she had allowed Braeden much leeway in that area.

The meeting with the girls passed quickly and without too much ado. Rachel saved the announcement of Gwen's promotion for the very last. She knew in some ways she had done this to save herself from having to deal with Ivy's negative response, but she also saved it in order to leave the meeting on a higher note than the one she'd had with Braeden and Reg.

“Most of you know that the position of head waitress is appointed based on several issues. The most important being length of service and your work record during that time period. Secondly, personality and interaction with your fellow workers is considered. Head waitress is hardly a popularity contest, but how you work and get along with others is an important consideration. Lastly, I consider the way you have worked with me. The head waitress will be my eyes and ears during times when I am away or otherwise occupied. She will need to be someone I can rely upon and feel open to discuss problems related to our dining room. However, I don't want anyone here getting the wrong idea. My choice for this position is not based on whether I like one young woman more than I like another.”

She looked out to meet the expression on each girl's face before continuing. With the exception of Ivy and Faith, everyone seemed happy and content and eager to hear her announcement.

“So without further delay, I would like to present our new head waitress, Gwen Carson.” Most of the girls clapped, including Faith, who seemed content just to be a part of the group when Ivy wasn't forcing her attentions elsewhere. Ivy quickly jabbed her in the ribs, however, putting a stop to her revelry.

Gwen joined Rachel at the front of the group and beamed a proud smile as Rachel shook her hand. “I shall come to rely heavily upon you, Gwen.”

“Thank you, Rachel. I won't let you down.”

Over the last few days she had allowed the girls to start calling her by her first name, although it was clearly understood that this was only to be done when there were no customers or officials present. Rachel dismissed the meeting and watched as everyone but Ivy and Faith hurried to surround Gwen and congratulate her. Rachel felt a small amount of satisfaction in seeing Gwen's joy. She'd made the right decision, there was no doubt about that, but she sighed heavily as she saw Ivy slip out the side door. No doubt she would get word to her aunt as soon as possible, and then Rachel would have to face the music.

Nearly an hour later, Rachel was still considering the arrival of Esmeralda Needlemeier when the old woman appeared at her door. Her pinched expression made her intent quite clear.

“Miss Taylor, I believe a mistake has been made,” Esmeralda said, tapping her cane loudly on the floor.

“Won't you have a chair,” Rachel offered graciously.

Esmeralda tilted her chin slightly and took a seat. “I suppose you know why I've come.”

“Yes. Ivy told you that I've appointed Gwen Carson as head waitress for the dining room.”

“I thought we had an understanding that my niece was to receive that position.”

“No, you had that understanding. I am under the instructions of Fred Harvey, however, and his understanding is considerably different.”

“Miss Taylor, your Mr. Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad assured me that I would have their utmost consideration in matters related to Morita and this resort hotel.”

“And so you have. I considered your request for Ivy,” Rachel admitted, even though she'd not considered it very seriously. “She is hardly qualified when compared to Miss Carson's experience. I personally trained Miss Carson in Topeka and have continued to receive letters from her since she was sent to Emporia to work for the Harvey dining room there. She was quickly promoted and attained the position of head waitress in little over a year. So not only does she have experience as a Harvey employee, she has already performed the duties of a head waitress. She is well versed in the rules and regulations, which your niece seems wont to ignore, and she is well liked by most of the girls on my staff.”