Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

insisted, and hurried out of the kitchen and down to Daddy’s office.
    At first, his secretary told me to call back, but I shouted at her that I had to speak with him right now. I was sure they all knew that I had once been in serious therapy. She mumbled and told me to hold on. Moments later, Daddy was on the phone. Through my tears, I told him what Lucille had done and how terrible it was. He was silent.
    “She can’t do this, Daddy!” I cried when he didn’t respond the way I had expected he would.
    “Lucille is now in charge of the house, Semantha. You know that I was never really in charge of how the house was run. Your mother handled all that, and now Lucille is the one who does it. She thinks it’s best to start fresh. You should understand how she might feel about it. She wants her own stamp on things. We can’t deny her that, now, can we?”
    “But Mrs. Dobson and Doris have done a wonderful job with Heaven-stone. You’ve said so yourself many times.”
    “They have, but Lucille wants to do more. She wants us to have a Cordon Bleu chef, and she wants more than one housemaid. She felt Heaven-stone wasn’t maintained as well as she would have liked while we were away. Now, this is her bailiwick, Semantha, not mine and not yours. I’m making sure both Mrs. Dobson and Doris get excellent recommendations.”
    “Don’t let her do this, Daddy,” I pleaded.
    “Please be grown-up now, Semantha,” he said gruffly. “You shouldn’t be focusing on the hired help, anyway. You should be thinking about your own future. I have to get back to my meeting. Don’t do anything that would make me ashamed of you,” he warned. “I don’t want Lucille upset, especially so soon after our wedding. Is that clear? Is it?”
    “Crystal,” I said, and hung up. For a few moments, I sat there feeling numb. I decided to call Ethan. As soon as he was brought to the phone, I rattled it off, again through my tears.
    “There’s nothing we can do about it,” he said.
    “Can’t you talk to her, tell her how wonderful they’ve been while she and Daddy were away?”
    “I doubt that would do any good, Semantha. Besides, she might resent my putting my nose in places it doesn’t belong. I’m a guest at the house, remember?”
    His reluctance and acceptance moved me quickly from sadness to anger.
    “You’re afraid of her, aren’t you? You’re afraid of challenging any decision she makes.”
    “Don’t be silly. It’s not a matter of my being afraid. It’s not my business. I’m an employee here, that’s all.”
    “I thought you were more,” I said.
    He was quiet a moment. “I am more,” he replied. “All right. I’ll tell her how upset you are and see what she says. How’s that?”
    I thought about Daddy’s warning. Maybe I would get Ethan into trouble. She had fired Mrs. Dobson and Doris so easily and so quickly. She could certainly do the same to him.
    “Forget about it,” I said. “My father’s the only one who could change this, anyway, and he won’t.”
    “That’s true.”
    There was something in the tone of his voice that stirred another suspicion. How did he know my father wouldn’t object to Lucille’s action?
    “Did she tell you she was going to fire them? Did you know?”
    “No, of course not,” he said quickly. “That’s my point. It has nothing to do with me. This is the first I’ve heard about it.”
    “Well, I think it’s mean,” I said, and hung up.
    I hated returning to the kitchen to tell them I had failed. Neither looked surprised, but both were grateful I had tried. I sulked in the living room while they packed their things. Later, when I heard them coming down the hallway, I rushed out. They had ordered a taxi, and it had arrived. Before I could say anything, tears streamed down my face.
    “Now, now, Miss Semantha,” Mrs. Dobson said. “You don’t worry yourself about us. Doris will find suitable new employment, and it’s probably time I returned to England anyway. I have some relatives I’d like to see before they or I cash in our chips, as your daddy would say.”
    I hugged them both, holding on to Mrs. Dobson a little longer.
    “I’ll write to you,” she said. “And you write back and tell me how you’re doing, okay?”
    “Yes, I will.”
    “Cheers,” she said in the doorway.
    The taxi driver came up to help them with theirluggage. I watched as he put it all in the trunk. Doris, looking small and devastated, waved and got in first. Mrs. Dobson