Mandie Collection, The: 8 (8 page)

When Mandie pushed open the door to the kitchen, Snowball, her white cat, rushed out into the hallway and raced off toward the parlor.
Aunt Lou; Liza; Jenny, the cook; and her husband, Abraham, were all sitting at the table drinking coffee.

“Guess what? Mother has agreed that we can give Joe a going-away party,” Mandie told them. She and Sallie walked over and sat on empty chairs.

“I s’pose we’se gwine make a chocolate cake,” Aunt Lou said with a big smile.

“Right,” Mandie agreed. “And, Aunt Lou, could we plan this so we have supper like usual in the dining room, but you don’t give us any dessert? Then when everyone is finished, I will delay Joe from leaving the room and give everyone time to get into the back parlor. Then I will talk about something or other and ask him to come on to the back parlor. I will tell him that that’s where Sallie and Jonathan went, or some such story.”

“Dat’ll work jes’ fine, my chile,” the old woman agreed.

“Between now and Monday night we need to keep that parlor door closed so we can decorate without him seeing it,” Mandie added.

“And we has to keep him out of heah, too, ’cause he might see de cake,” Jenny said.

“Gwine miss dat boy. He good boy,” Abraham remarked while he drank his coffee.

“We’s all gwine miss him, but he gotta do dis so he kin be eddicated when he gits to be a lawyer man,” Aunt Lou said. “And den one day my chile be gwine off to dat faraway school and we sho’ nuff gwine miss huh.”

Mandie quickly reached out and hugged the big woman. Aunt Lou squeezed her tight.

“I may have to go away now and then for a while, but you can count on me always coming back,” Mandie assured Aunt Lou. She looked at the other servants to include them as she straightened up.

“And I knows dat Uncle Ned gwine miss his lil’ granddaughter here when she grow up and go away,” Aunt Lou said, reaching to embrace Sallie.

Sallie smiled up at her and returned the hug.

“Maybe Sallie and I will be able to go to the same college,” Mandie said.

“That is a perfect idea, Mandie,” Sallie agreed. “I will speak to my grandfather about it.”

“So will I,” Mandie replied, and turning back to the servants, she asked, “Aunt Lou, would it be all right if we took Liza to the store with us right now? We won’t be gone long.”

“Go right ahaid, my chile, take Liza,” the old woman said, and turning to Liza, who had not said a word yet, she added, “And, Liza, you behave yourself, you heah?”

“Yessum, I heahs,” Liza said with a big smile for Mandie.

“Does you need me to take y’all in de buggy?” Abraham asked.

“No, thank you, Abraham. We can walk. It’s not all that far, and the weather has turned warmer,” Mandie said. “Thanks anyway. If y’all would just keep this a secret in case Joe wanders back here, I’d appreciate it.”

The servants promised, and the girls went to get their coats and hats.

Stovall’s Store was the largest store in Franklin and also had the largest selection of merchandise, everything from jewelry to clothes to washtubs to cookstoves. It was Saturday, so the place was crowded. The girls moved around through the crowd and examined the merchandise as they went.

Mandie stopped to look at the knives. “I think maybe a nice knife from Mother and Uncle John would do. And I could buy a shoeshine set for Grandmother to give him.” She paused to think and then added, “I will give him a book to keep a daily journal.”

“I will ask my grandfather to give him one of his arrows,” Sallie said. “Joe has always admired them.”

“Oh, Sallie, that will be the best present of all. He’ll treasure that,” Mandie assured her. “Now, Liza, since you came with us and you are helping, why don’t we get one of those leather straps over there to carry his books?”

Liza’s eyes widened as she looked at the straps. “Does you think I could really give him one of dem?”

“Sure, they don’t cost much. I’ll just add it on our bill today, and I’m sure it will be all right with Mother,” Mandie told her.

“Oh, Missy ’Manda, I sho’ does thank you, and I think he sho’ gwine like it,” Liza said, fingering the rack of belts.

“When Dr. Woodard comes back to our house, I’ll ask him if Joe needs one,” Mandie told Liza, “but I’m sure he does, so you go ahead and pick one out while I go over to get a shoeshine set. Stay right here
so we won’t lose you.” She turned to go back down the aisle they had come up and almost collided with a man. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, but the man didn’t even acknowledge her as he continued on his way. He was a tall, heavyset man with a beard and was wearing old gray workclothes with a black patch on one knee. She had never seen him before.

“Did you see that man?” Mandie asked Sallie. “We almost knocked each other down, and he didn’t say a word. Do you suppose he’s deaf?”

“But, Mandie, even if he is deaf, he could see that he almost bumped into you,” Sallie replied, looking back at the man, who disappeared in the crowd.

“You’re right. Oh well,” Mandie said as she walked on down the aisle. She thought about the man while she looked at the shoeshine sets. He had been just plain rude, she decided, and if she saw him again she would tell him so.

“I believe this one, with everything in it, would be what Grandmother would want me to buy,” Mandie said to Sallie, holding up a box that contained polish, brushes, shine rags, and even an extra pair of shoelaces.

“Yes, that one would be special,” Sallie agreed.

Mandie carried the box with her and said, “Let’s go get that knife for Mother and Uncle John to give him, and I believe I saw the books near that counter.”

Mandie selected the most expensive knife in the counter and then made her way through the crowd to the stacks of books. Sallie followed.

“I think Joe would like this one,” Mandie said to Sallie as she flipped through the pages of a journal. Looking on to the next section of the store, she added, “And you know, Sallie, we should get some of that lace and ribbons and paper over there and make some little fancy decorations.”

“We could use some of the straw in your uncle’s barn with that lace and ribbons and create little people and animals,” Sallie suggested.

“Oh yes, let’s do,” Mandie agreed as they moved on toward the ribbon counter. Her arms were full with the shoeshine box, the knife, and the book, and she looked around. “I wonder where Liza is. I need her to hold these for me while I pick out the ribbons and lace.”

Sallie reached for the purchases and said, “I will hold them for you, Mandie. Liza must still be selecting a strap for Joe’s books.”

Mandie handed her the items and said, “Surely she is not taking all this time for that. We’ll go back and find her as soon as I get this done.” She turned to the rows of bright ribbons and dainty laces.

Mandie and Sallie found Liza still standing there sorting through the book straps. She would look at one and then another.

“Liza,” Mandie said. “Have you picked one out yet?”

The young girl shook her head and said, “Ain’t niver had to pick sumpin’ out befo’. Don’t know how to do it, Missy ’Manda.” She looked thoroughly confused.

Mandie compressed a smile and explained, “Liza, you just look at the straps and think which one Joe would like.”

“Now, how does I think dat?” Liza asked.

“You imagine. You know, like you’re making up a story. You just imagine seeing Joe with his books held together by one of these,” Mandie replied.

“But, Missy ’Manda, I ain’t niver seed Joe with no book,” Liza told her.

Mandie frowned and said, “I suppose you’re right. When Joe comes to see us, he doesn’t have his schoolbooks with him. Let’s do it this way. Suppose you had a stack of books to carry. Which strap do you think would look nice around them and would hold the books together better?”

“In dat case, Missy ’Manda, I’d say dis heah one de best,” Liza told her as she pulled out a wide belt from the display rod.

Mandie took it and agreed. “Yes, I believe this one would be what Joe would like. Now let’s take all these things over to the counter so they can be put on Uncle John’s account.”

The girls finally got finished in the store and started the walk back to the house. They made their plans as they went.

Back at the house everyone seemed to have disappeared. No one was in the parlor, and no one was in their bedrooms. Mandie went to the kitchen to see if the servants knew where her mother and grandmother and the boys were. Sallie and Liza followed.

“Why dat Miss Polly she come over heah right aftuh y’all left, and when she finds y’all not heah, she tell Miz ’Liz’beth dat she go home. And Miz ’Liz’beth she say do de boys want to go visit Miss Polly’s
house, so next thing I knowed, dey all left and went next do’,” Aunt Lou explained.

Mandie looked at Sallie and said, “Mother must have done that so we could get back in without Joe seeing what we bought.”

“Yes,” Sallie agreed.

“Has Dr. Woodard come back from making his calls?” Mandie asked.

“No sign of him yet,” Aunt Lou told her.

“We took everything we bought up to my room,” Mandie told the woman. “We could start making the decorations while they’re gone. We need some needles and thread, scissors and pins and a tape measure.”

“Liza know where to find all dat,” the woman said. Turning to the young girl, she said, “Liza, you go up to my sewing room and find all dis heah stuff. You knows where I keeps it. Now, off wid y’all. I got to get supper going heah.” She turned to the big iron cookstove.

“Thanks, Aunt Lou,” Mandie called back to her as she, Sallie, and Liza left the kitchen.

Walking down the hallway toward the staircase, Mandie said, “You might know Polly Cornwallis would find out that Joe is back. Now she’ll be hanging around in our way while we’re trying to decorate the room for the party.”

“Not if she is trying to keep up with Joe because Joe will not be with us when we decorate,” Sallie reminded her.

Mandie frowned and said, “I don’t know how that will work out. She’ll be trying to find out what we’re doing, and she’ll also be trying to follow Joe around.”

“What will Joe think if we just disappear into another room while he is in the house? Will he think we are trying to avoid him?” Sallie asked as the three girls climbed the stairs.

“We will probably have to decorate the room at night after he goes to bed,” Mandie suggested.

“I stay up late and he’p,” Liza offered.

When they got up to Aunt Lou’s sewing room, Mandie looked around and said, “Why don’t we just work in here? It’s far enough away from the bedrooms that no one would see or hear us.”

“That would be the best thing to do,” Sallie agreed.

“I git de stuff we bought and bring it to dis room,” Liza said, turning toward the door.

“We’ll all go, Liza,” Mandie said.

They had just managed to get the things into Aunt Lou’s sewing room when they heard the boys down the stairs.

“They’re back. We’d better go join them so they won’t look for us,” Mandie said.

“They might think we are still looking for the turkey,” Sallie said as they descended the staircase.

“That turkey bothers me. We still ought to search for it,” Mandie said.

“But where, Mandie?” Sallie asked.

“I’ll have to think about it and decide later,” Mandie told her. Somehow she was going to find out where that turkey went.

CHAPTER SEVEN

WHEN WILL THE MYSTERIES END?

Halfway down the staircase Mandie and Sallie met Joe and Jonathan coming up the steps. The four of them paused to ask questions.

“Well, where did you two go?” Jonathan asked.

“I’d like to know where you two have been,” Mandie said with a little smile.

“We went over to Polly’s house with your mother and your grandmother,” Joe told her.

“Did my mother and grandmother come back with y’all?” Mandie asked.

Snowball came racing up the steps to his mistress. He rubbed against her legs and meowed loudly. Mandie ignored him, so he sat down and began washing his face.

“No, they said they’d be on in a few minutes. Mrs. Cornwallis wanted to show them a new dress she had made,” Joe explained.

“Did you find that turkey while we were gone? I sure am hungry,” Jonathan teased.

“Do you mean Polly didn’t serve y’all afternoon tea? She tries to be so proper you’d think she would offer y’all refreshments,” Mandie said with a big smile.

“Well, you see, when the maid was told to bring in the tea, Joe and I decided it was a good time to escape,” Jonathan replied, glancing at Joe with a grin.

Joe added, “Besides, we figured Aunt Lou would be feeding you girls some of her gooey, delicious chocolate cake.” He looked at Sallie and asked, “Y’all didn’t eat it up, did you?”

“No, Joe, we have not had one bite of Aunt Lou’s chocolate cake,” Sallie replied, looking at Mandie. “I am not sure that she has a chocolate cake.”

Mandie quickly said, “We haven’t even asked if Aunt Lou had any chocolate cake for us this afternoon.”

“What have you been doing if you haven’t had time for cake?” Jonathan teased. “Been looking for that turkey again?”

Mandie frowned and said, “Actually, I’ve been trying to decide where we should look next.”

“Mandie, there is no other place to look,” Joe told her.

“Maybe if we all keep thinking about it, we can come up with someplace to search,” Mandie said.

“What about the scarf we found that disappeared?” Jonathan asked. “We still don’t know whose scarf it was. And we still have to ask Uncle Ned about that quilt you found in the attic.”

“Whenever my grandfather returns, either Sunday night or Monday morning, he will read the quilt for Mandie,” Sallie said.

“And don’t forget about that torn-up book we found,” Mandie reminded her friends. “We still don’t know anything about it.” She frowned and drew a deep breath. “If everybody hadn’t decided to run off somewhere, we could solve at least two of the mysteries: the quilt and the book.”

“But, Mandie, we are not sure your uncle will know anything about the book,” Sallie told her.

“Maybe we should start snooping into everyone’s rooms and see if we can refind that green scarf,” Jonathan suggested with a mischievous grin.