Anything Goes

Sissy standing there.
    “I hope you don’t mind me just dropping in, but there’s something wrong with our telephone. Mummy and I want to invite you to dinner tonight. Terribly short notice, I know.“
    “I don’t know if Robert has plans, but I’d be happy to come,“ Lily said graciously, stupidly and because she didn’t have the wit to make up an excuse for herself on the spur of the moment. “Come in.”
    Sissy entered the hall and said, “Oh, my. You’ve certainly fixed this up nicely. Daddy and I came over one day before you got here—Daddy thought the house might be for sale—and took a look around. Everything was dusty and dark.”
    Snooping, Lily thought.
    “Could you show me around?“ Sissy asked.
    More snooping. But Lily was pleased with how much nicer the house was looking and gave Sissy a tour.
    Sissy gushed over almost everything—the library took her fancy, not for the books, but for the view. The sitting room was ever so nice, she said, with all those little tables and knickknacks. The dining room was so big and warm-looking. What grand dinner parties they could give here, she commented.
    “Not for a while yet,“ Lily said.
    “Oh, I know you must be ever so busy. Are you going to wallpaper the den? It’s rather dark.“
    “Perhaps,“ Lily said. The den was Mr. Prinney’s turf.
    “ Do tell me you took that dear little room upstairs with the cabbage roses!”
    Lily thought Sissy was just a little too familiar with the house. Had they broken in and taken inventory? Still, she was unwillingly the hostess and took Sissy upstairs to see her bedroom. Sissy took root in the soft, squishy, pink grandmother chair by the window. “This is so lovely. So cozy. I’ll be ashamed to show you my bedroom. It’s terribly big and I feel utterly lost in it.”
    There was a crash and a muffled yelp from the hallway. “Just let me see what that was,“ Lily said.
    Mimi was back at work, stripping bedsheets. She’d apparently come toward Lily’s room with an armload of them and run into the fragile little chair, which was lying helpless and forlorn on its side.
    “Oh, Miss Lily, I hope I didn’t break it.”
    Lily picked up the chair, set it upright and gave it a jiggle. “It seems to be all right. Shouldn’t you be resting?“
    “I feel better working, Miss Lily. Can I do your room now?“
    “That would be grand,“ Lily said. It would dislodge Sissy.
    Sissy wanted to see Robert’s room, but Lily refused. “I don’t think it’s been cleaned yet this morning,“ she said. “Maybe another time.”
    In a hushed voice, Sissy said, “What happened to your maid’s eye?“
    “She ran into a branch while she was beating rugs,“ Lily said as she headed for the stairs. Sissy had no choice but to follow her down and to the front door.
    Mimi had gone down the back stairs to fetch a rug for Lily’s room and they could hear her squeal from around the corner. “Leave me alone! I don’t want to lose my job.“
    “You don’t need to work if you’d just tell the truth,“ Billy was saying. “Or maybe I should be the one to tell the truth.“
    “Fat chance,“ Mimi said.
    “Listen, Mimi. I know what happened to the old boy and I just might talk to a certain person about it. Then we’d be rich enough to start over. Put this behind us and get back together. How about that?“
    “You don’t know nothing, Billy.“
    “I do. You know what I saw on that boat.”
    Lily had gestured at Sissy to stay at the door and rounded the corner of the house. “Mr. Smith, I’m going inside to call the police. You’re trespassing and I’ll call them on you every time you set foot on our land. Get out!”
    Billy just sneered at her, but did turn and walk away.
    “Go inside, Mimi,“ Lily said.
    Mimi was so shaken, she actually ducked a quick curtsey and fled for the kitchen door.
    “I’m sorry about that, Sissy,“ Lily said as she returned to her guest. “Just a little domestic dispute between our maid and her husband.“
    “Servants can be such a bother, can’t they?“ Sissy said. “We’re really happy we’ve cut down on the staff. Dinner is at seven,“ she trilled. “I do hope Robert can come.”
    Lily went to alert Mrs. Prinney about the dinner plans before she launched into fixing another big meal.
    “Why, how nice for you young people that you’re getting out and meeting people. I’ll just fix a cold supper for Mimi. Mr. Prinney and I were invited to some friends’ house for dinner.