Anything Goes

servants took care of one. They were both approaching the problem with utter ignorance. Somehow, she found this oddly comforting.
    They unpacked the rest of the clothing and hung it all in a cedar closet down the hall—a closet that was larger than the entire New York apartment she and Robert had shared. Two of the day dresses had been a bit large on Lily to begin with and would probably never fit her again. She gave them to Mimi, who was about Lily’s height, and a bit heavier. Thrilled, Mimi went off to show Mrs. Prinney her new navy and white suit dress and full-skirted floral cotton shirtwaist.
    Lily unpacked her smaller trunk, which contained more personal items. Several expensive, uncomfortable corselettes, a selection of satin slips, silk camisoles and nightgowns with hundreds of tiny tucks. Her childhood diaries were in this trunk, as well as school papers, party invitations, graduation certificates, a few love letters she’d received from smitten adolescent admirers and family pictures. Lily took out the clothing, put it away in drawers and left the rest of her past in the trunk, which she stuck way back in the closet where she wouldn’t run across it very often.
     
    Dinner was lovely. Lily wore a slinky red skirt and a red and white silk polka-dot blouse she’d always loved. Robert wore his summer whites and lacked only a boater hat and tennis racket to look thoroughly sporty. Mrs. Prinney had cooked a wonderful meal of Yankee pot roast with potatoes and carrots and tiny pearl onions that nearly melted on the tongue. There were fresh, yeasty rolls, and a salad of tender greens that Lily didn’t recognize. Mimi, wearing one of the dresses that Lily had given her, served the meal, then sat down in the remaining vacant chair.
    Lily was puzzled. Did Mimi live here, too? It wasn’t a question she wanted to ask at the table. She supposed it made sense. But she was the maid. An employee. She was serving the dinner and eating it with them, too. And so were Mr. and Mrs. Prinney employees in a sense. But they were also guests and tenants and their hosts and jailors as well. Lily was going to have to readjust a lot of her ideas of social precedence.
    “What are you grinning about, Lil?“ Robert asked. “About our new ‘family’ around the table here,“ Lily said.
    Everybody beamed. Mr. Prinney loosened up enough to actually smile.
    Talk was general and pleasant. The weather, the progress on the grounds, Mimi’s extravagant appreciation of her new frocks, what should be done to the car to make it usable. Mrs. Prinney asked about Lily and Robert’s food preferences.
    “We’ll eat anything that doesn’t bite us first,“ Robert said.
    While Mrs. Prinney was still laughing uproariously at this, Lily asked Mr. Prinney, “What was the nature of Uncle Horace’s accident? I understand it had something to do with a boat?”
    Silence fell over the table. Mimi looked scared. Mr. Prinney’s face looked like she had asked something indecent and Mrs. Prinney stabbed at a potato which then rolled off her plate, across the tablecloth and plopped onto the floor. She stared down at it for a long moment in preference to meeting anyone else’s gaze.
    Lily was embarrassed yet didn’t know why she should be. Then, realizing that Uncle Horatio was a virtual stranger to her and Robert, but a friend of the others, she started apologizing.
    Mr: Prinney said nothing, but looked as if he was thinking furiously.
    Mrs. Prinney abandoned her study of the escaped potato and cut Lily off. “If everybody’s nearly done, I’ll just pop the pie in the oven for a minute to toast the meringue.“ Robert and Mr. Prinney stood up politely as she rose and departed. Mimi followed her. Robert winked at Lily and resumed his discussion of the car battery with the elderly lawyer.
    After having second helpings of a remarkably good lemon meringue pie, everybody retired to their various pursuits. Mrs. Prinney, floating on a sea of compliments, went back to the kitchen with Mimi. Mr. Prinney said he had some bookkeeping to do and disappeared. Robert went to change his clothes and take another look at the car.
    Lily went to the library and opened the French doors to stand and gaze at the river below. In spite of the heat of August, the trees were still a lush green. There was a breeze off the water that smelled of river, fish, honeysuckle and pines. A person could almost get drunk on a fragrance like that, she thought.
    The door behind her