Perhaps she ought to discuss the matter with Horace. An’gel considered that option as she made her way to the dining room. But what if Horace was the object of Estelle’s plans? For once she was unsure what to do, an unusual state for her. She finally decided she would discuss the matter with Dickce before she took any action.
She met Benjy and Peanut at the foot of the stairs.
“Morning, Miss An’gel.” Benjy smiled. “I hope you had a good night. Peanut and I sure did. I guess Endora spent the night with Miss Dickce.”
“I slept well once I finally got to bed.” An’gel patted the dog’s head, and Peanut’s tail thumped against the floor. “Breakfast will be ready before long.”
“Good,” Benjy said, “because I’m starving. I’m going to take Peanut out for a few minutes, though, and then give him his breakfast. We won’t be long.”
An’gel nodded and watched as young man and dog opened the front door and stepped out onto the verandah. She sighed. What it would be like to be that age again. Then she shook her head. No use pining after long-spent youth.
“Good morning, Sister.”
An’gel glanced up the stairs to see Dickce and Endora coming down toward her. The cat moved as sedately as Dickce, as if she were escorting the woman. An’gel smiled briefly and returned the greeting.
“Any news?” Dickce asked when she and Endora reached the bottom.
“Afraid so,” An’gel said. “Mireille did pass away last night.”
Dickce closed her eyes for a moment. An’gel squeezed her sister’s arm, and Dickce opened her eyes, blinking back tears. An’gel felt the cat rub against her legs. She looked down, and she would have sworn Endora was looking at her with sympathy.
“Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes,” An’gel said. “Let’s go into the dining room. I have a few things to tell you.”
“I have a few things to tell you, too,” Dickce said.
“What about Tippy?” An’gel asked. She had almost forgotten the child.
“Jacqueline is with her,” Dickce said. “Sound asleep on the bed with her when I looked in earlier.”
An’gel could only hope that Jacqueline found some solace in the company of her grandchild. Jacqueline faced bitter days ahead as she grieved for her mother and her daughter.
The sisters met Jackson coming out of the dining room. He looked at them with sorrow-filled eyes. He tried to speak, but couldn’t. An’gel and Dickce each took a hand and held it tightly.
“I just can’t believe Miss Mireille’s gone.” Jackson’s voice was rough with grief. “Known her since she was a little bitty girl.”
“I know,” An’gel said softly. She had to keep it together, or all three of them would be crying any minute now. “She thought the world of you. Be strong now, for her sake. That’s all any of us can do.”
Jackson attempted a smile. “Thank you, Miss An’gel.” He sighed deeply. “There’s coffee ready in the dining room now. I’ll go see if Miss Estelle’s ready to bring out the food.”
The sisters gave his hands one last squeeze and released him. An’gel watched him as he walked, shoulders slumped and head down, toward the kitchen.
“I hope Jacqueline and Horace will take good care of him,” Dickce said.
“I’m sure they will,” An’gel said. “I imagine Mireille provided for him.” Her tone turned brisk. “I don’t know about you, but I could certainly use some coffee right about now.” She headed into the dining room.
Dickce and Endora trailed behind her. The cat began to meow when An’gel poured coffee for herself and her sister.
“She’s hungry,” Dickce said. “I’d better find Benjy and get her food; otherwise, she’ll keep talking and complaining.” She glanced fondly at the cat.
“Benjy took Peanut out just before you came down,” An’gel said as she took a seat at the table. “They should be back any minute now.”
“Did you hear that, Endora?” Dickce looked down at the cat. “Benjy will be here soon, and he’ll find your food, okay?”
Endora looked up at Dickce and meowed again, with what An’gel thought sounded like an interrogative tone.
Dickce nodded and said, “Yes, really.”
Endora settled down by Dickce’s chair.
“I swear she understands what you told her,” An’gel said.
“Of course she does,” Dickce said. “Endora is very smart.”
Benjy’s entrance with Peanut diverted An’gel from the tart reply she intended to make. Instead she said to Benjy, “We have a hungry cat on our hands.”
Benjy grinned. “I’ll take care of that. Come on, Endora, let’s go upstairs and get you some breakfast.” The cat ran over to him and jumped into his arms. “I fed Peanut already,” Benjy said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Boy and animals disappeared from the dining room, and the sisters enjoyed their coffee. An’gel wondered how much longer breakfast would be. While they waited, she quickly told Dickce about her conversation with Estelle.
“Strange,” Dickce said. She was about to comment further when the object of the conversation wheeled a serving trolley into the room and began to put large covered dishes on the sideboard, along with a stack of plates and silverware.
“Help yourselves,” Estelle said. “Napkins are in the drawer.” She wheeled the trolley out again.
“She is one of the most graceless persons I have ever known,” An’gel said when she thought the housekeeper was out of earshot.
“I don’t know how Mireille put up with her for so long,” Dickce said as she got up from the table and moved to the sideboard.
An’gel joined her, and they began to help themselves to scrambled eggs, biscuits, and bacon. “So what do you think? Should I talk to Horace about what she said to me?”
“Talk to Horace about what?”
An’gel turned to see Jacqueline, with Tippy in her arms, in the doorway of the dining room.
An’gel thought furiously. She didn’t want to tell Jacqueline about Estelle’s ominous words. What could she tell her instead?
CHAPTER 20
“A car for Benjy,” An’gel said quickly, almost stumbling over the words. “Sister and I have been thinking about getting a second car so Benjy can get back and forth to classes when he starts at Athena College in the spring.”
“Yes,” Dickce said. “Since Horace knows more about cars than anyone we know, we thought he’d be the best person to ask.” She flashed Jacqueline a bright smile.
An’gel silently blessed her sister for the quick support. Jacqueline shrugged, seemingly satisfied with the answer. An’gel looked more closely at her goddaughter. She was not surprised to see how tired and worn Jacqueline appeared. The poor girl didn’t seem to have slept much, if at all, since she arrived home from the hospital.
Tippy, on the other hand, seemed rested and raring to go. “Wet me down, Gwanny,” she said, wriggling. Jacqueline set her down, and Tippy immediately went to the table and found a chair for the teddy bear. “Wance will sit here. I want some scwambud eggs, Gwanny, and Wance does, too.”
“Okay, sweetheart,” Jacqueline said in a lackluster tone. “I’ll fix a plate for you and one for Lance.”
“Why don’t you sit and let me do that?” An’gel asked. She wanted to wrap her arms around Jacqueline and hold her close, but she feared that they would both dissolve into helpless tears.
“Thank you,” Jacqueline said. She slid into a chair and leaned back. “I’m exhausted, but there’s so much to do.” She glanced at Tippy and then back at An’gel. “I would like to talk to you in a little while about a few things.”