Anything Goes

good-natured, but it defied reason that even he could think there was anything good in their lives since late 1929.
    “I mean that we’ve gotten to know each other, Lil. We spent all those years passing each other in big rooms in big houses and at big parties. If we were still rich, you’d be married by now to some wealthy, handsome banker who probably kept a showgirl mistress on the side. And I’d be playing polo superbly well on some green field in England with no idea of what I’d do next and only a vague recollection of having a sister.“
    “Oh, Robert, stop! You’re making me cry again.”
    “Look! Here comes the mirror.”
    They watched as the two burly men squashed themselves and the crated treasure out the door of the apartment building and expertly hoisted it onto the truck.
    Once the mirror and trunks were gone, the telegram dispatched“ to Mr. Prinney, their last night spent in the ghastly apartment, the keys turned over to the landlord and the decision rendered irrevocable, Lily was eager to get on with the next stage of her life. She’d have happily gone straight to the Grand Central station first thing in the morning in the hope of getting an earlier train. But Robert still had some courtesy calls to make on friends. He’d hand-lettered a small blank calling card with their names and new address to show to Lily the night before.
    “Honeysuckle Cottage,“ Lily said doubtfully. “Do you hate that name as much as I do?“
    “I do. What shall we rename it?“
    “What would you think about Grace and Favor Cottage, since that’s what it is—in a way.”
    He printed a new card in his finest hand and showed it to her:
    Miss Lillian Bodley Brewster
    Mr. Robert Vanderkell Brewster
    Grace and Favor Cottage
    Voorburg-on-Hudson
    New York State
    “ Robert! It looks so grand!“ she’d said. “We are doing the right thing, aren’t we?“
    “If not, we can come back here. I’m sure there’s an apartment with an even more grotesque view than the side of another building five feet away. Something overlooking the trash alley, perhaps.”
    They spent their last three hours in the city delivering the cards to homes with elegant addresses on Fifth Avenue, Central Park South and Park Avenue before boarding the train for the second greatest change in their lives.
     

Chapter 4
     
    When they disembarked in Voorburg-on-Hudson for the second time, Robert inquired about the mirror and trunks.
    “Yes, sir, Mr. Brewster, they came on the early freight,“ the stationmaster, Mr. Buchanan, said. “Mr. Prinney says you folks are moving into Honeysuckle Cottage.“
    “We are. But we’re calling it Grace and Favor Cottage from now on,“ .Robert replied. “Now, how do we get everything up the hill?”
    The stationmaster said he had a couple of men in town who shared a truck and moved big pieces for fifty cents each and would take care of it.
    “Please tell them to take special care of the big crate,“ Lily said. “It’s our mother’s mirror.“ As she spoke, she became aware of someone standing behind them and turned.
    “You’re Miss Lily Brewster?“ the young man asked. “And Mr. Robert Brewster? I’m Jack Summer. Reporter for The Voorburg-on-Hudson Times. Mr. Prinney said you were moving here today. Our readers will be interested in the new folks at Honey- suckle Cottage. Have you got time for an interview?”
    Lily said, “Not right now, if you don’t mind. We’re anxious to get settled in.“
    “Tomorrow, then? In the morning?“
    “That would be fine,“ Lily said.
    “Nice-looking chap,“ Robert said as Jack Summer departed with a tip of his hat. “All that curly blond hair.“
    “Oh, really? I didn’t notice,“ Lily said.
    “Fibber.”
    The taxicab driver entered the station a moment later. “Sorry I’m late. Mr. Prinney sent me for you, but I had to take Mrs. Welling to her doctor’s appointment first. Goiter, you know.”
    Robert barely repressed a snort of laughter.
    As they followed the driver out, Lily whispered, “Do you suppose Mr. Prinney’s put up a public notice of our arrival in the town square? Everybody seems to know about us.”
    It was a little cooler today and the ride wasn’t so harrowing. This time Lily paid more attention to the route, thinking that it wasn’t really quite as far from town as it had seemed only a few days earlier. And this time she noticed, too, that there were several rather grand homes along the way. They were in wooded settings and