Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

turned to me.
    “Your dad’s a fine man,” she said. “Take good care of him.”
    I nodded. She got into the taxi, and they started away.
    “Now it’s just us,” Cassie said. I turned to see her at my side. She watched the taxi go out the gate and disappear. Then she smiled at me. “But that’s just fine. One day, we’ll see her go out that gate for good, too.”
    I nodded and did something I hadn’t done since she had died. I reached for her hand.
    Two hours later, I was surprised to hear Lucille arrive. I had been up in my room, thinking, when I heard the voices below and hurried out to see what was happening. A tall, dark-haired, stout man carried in two rather large suitcases and stood for a moment looking at everything around him. He stepped forward to gaze into the living room. I watched from the top of the stairway. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants.
    “This way, Gerad,” I heard Lucille call to him, and he moved instantly down the hallway. “We’ll get you settled in first and then look over the kitchen. I have some changes in mind, as I’m sure you will as well,” she said.
    I made my way down the stairway slowly. I could hear their voices in the hallway that led to where Mrs. Dobson and Doris had been. Before I could turn to go in that direction, the doorbell rang. I hesitated and then went to the front door to open it on twowomen, both with almost identically styled short, light brown hair.
    “Hello,” the slightly taller one said. “I’m Mia De Stagen, and this is my sister, Catherine.”
    She waited as if she expected I would know exactly who they were. I saw that they had suitcases, so it wasn’t difficult to guess. Before I could respond, however, Lucille came quickly, crying out, “Willkommen,” which I knew was German for “Welcome.”
    “Danke ,” Mia said.
    “Danke,” Catherine echoed.
    “Please, come in,” Lucille told them, glancing sharply at me to step out of the way. I did. “I’ll show you to your quarters. Do you need help with your luggage?”
    “Oh, no, Madame,” Mia said.
    “I didn’t think so,” Lucille said, smiling. “We’ll settle you in and then describe your duties. Right down the hall here. Take the first right.”
    The two moved quickly.
    “As soon as I heard these two were available, I pounced,” Lucille told me. “They worked for German royalty. Now you’ll see how a house like Heaven-stone and its inhabitants are properly cared for.”
    “I saw no problems before,” I replied defiantly.
    She only smiled. “That’s because you’ve had so little experience with truly elegant living, Semantha. All that’s about to change. I’ll introduce you to Gerad Bolud, who just happens to have been the chef for Guerin Ambani, the famous French industrialist. Besides enjoying wonderful food, you’ll probably pick up some French.”
    “Combien merveilleux,” Cassie whispered in my ear. I had taken French at Collier. I wasn’t that good at it, certainly nowhere near as fluent as Cassie had been.
    “Combien merveilleux,” I repeated.
    Lucille laughed. “ Trés bien. Sarcastic in French. You’ll enjoy these changes more than you realize,” she said, and marched off after the two sisters.
    By the time Ethan arrived with Daddy, Lucille had them all organized. Mia was to look after the upstairs, and Catherine the downstairs. Gerad was already preparing our dinner, his best suggestion for so short a preparation time being a skillet-roasted veal chop with wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, and fresh thyme. Our dinners from now on, it seemed, were to be announced and described the way they would be in an expensive restaurant. The De Stagen sisters would serve and would do so in different uniforms.
    Ethan came to my room. “How are you doing?” he asked, concerned.
    “I met the new household staff,” I said. “She’s turning Heaven-stone into a five-star hotel.”
    He laughed. “Look, it’s her home now.”
    “It used to be mine, too.”
    “I’m sure no one’s going to change a thing in your room.”
    “I was never a boarder here, Ethan. This was a home once, a family home.”
    “It still will be.” He shrugged. “Your father has a new life. You have to think about making a new life for yourself, too.”
    I stared at him a moment, took a deep breath,and looked away. How could he understand what Cassie and I knew and understood? This wasn’t a castle or a showcase. Its heritage didn’t lie just in its