In the Still of the Night

business. Like so many small businesses around the country.“
    “I’ve noticed that,“ Rachel said, sounding perplexed about this inconvenient trend. “I’ll ride along with Robert anyway. I like quaint little towns and Raymond wouldn’t let us stop and look it over on the way.“
    “You didn’t ask me to,“ Raymond replied from the other end of the table. “And I didn’t want us to be late, especially after we got tied up in the traffic check.“ He shifted his gaze to Lily. “That was quite an impressive talk last night, wasn’t it? Not exactly what I’d expected, but fascinating.“
    “It was appalling,“ Rachel said. “I can’t imagine why people want to know the gory details of a war. It was disgusting.“
    “Rachel, you have your head in the sand,“ Raymond said. “As usual. Wars are important. They shape our history. I wouldn’t be surprised if this economic crisis the world is in now is an indirect result of the Great War in some way. And the worldwide depression may lead to another, as West suggested.“
    “You must ask Mr. West about that,“ Lily suggested.
    “Ask Mr. West about what?“ Cecil Hoornart said as he entered the room. “Is he coming down for breakfast?”
    Lily explained what the question was and added, “I don’t know if he’s breakfasting. I didn’t ask anyone last night, though I meant to.”
    Cecil had filled his plate with generous portions of everything and sat down eyeing it all before choosing to start with the scone. “Umm, wonderful,“ he said. “Your Mrs. Prinney is to be congratulated. Too many people get scones either rock hard or soggy. But these are perfection.”
    Julian West, looking very tired and irritable, came into the dining room with Bud Carpenter following. West sat at the head of the table, nodded curtly to the others while Bud served him black coffee and two pieces of toast.
    “Is that all you want, sir?“ Robert asked. “There’s all sorts of good stuff on the buffet.”
    Bud replied, “The Captain eats sparsely in the morning so as to not interfere with his writing.“ Whether this was merely an explanatory remark or an order was hard to determine. It sounded more like an order in Carpenter’s gruff voice. Lily wondered how Mr. West tolerated the man. But then she thought back to his talk last night, which featured Sergeant Bud Carpenter as a loyal man who had followed his employer to the very heart of a terrible war. She supposed this had tied them together in some way for life. You couldn’t endure what they had endured together and just walk away from that kind of loyalty.
    Phoebe, on her way to work, dropped in and made an egg sandwich to eat as she walked down the path to town. “I’m sorry to miss your plans, but I have to go to work. Mrs. Roosevelt is coming in this morning to pick up a hat.“
    “Which Mrs. Roosevelt?“ Cecil asked.
    “Mrs. Eleanor, the Governor’s wife,“ Phoebe said, wrapping her sandwich in a napkin.
    “You make hats for Eleanor Roosevelt?“ Julian West asked, surprised.
    “Terrible hats, I’m afraid,“ Phoebe said with a laugh. “She’s a dear woman, but has no taste in hats. I’ve tried to get her into more flattering ones, but she says she’d feel like a homely peacock in a pretty hat. I’ll see all of you later.“
    “I’d forgotten that the Governor lived so close to you,“ Julian West said. “Do you see him often?“
    “Only sometimes through a window of his train,“ Lily said. “It picks him up at Hyde Park, and Voorburg is a few stops along the line.“
    “I’m glad he’s running for President,“ West said.
    “You don’t think he could possibly win, do you?“ Raymond said in a shocked voice.
    “I’m sure he will. Who would vote for Hoover after the mess he’s made of this country?“
    “I don’t think you can blame Hoover for what’s happened. He’s a good man,“ Raymond objected.
    “He was in charge of supplying badly needed nourishing food to the Europeans after the Great War.“
    “And he’s letting his own people starve,“ West said with finality.
    “But Roosevelt is a Democrat,“ Raymond persisted.
    “Not having the benefit of growing up as you have in the upper strata of society, I’m at liberty to vote for the best candidate,“ West said.
    That silenced Raymond.
    “Who’s going for a walk with me?“ Lily said with nearly hysterical chirpiness.

    Only Addie took her up on the offer. Cecil intended to come, but when he went up to his