“Mr. Higgins will bring your tea.” Mr. Dunn said in a cheery voice as he approached.
“Thank you so much.” Elizabeth breathed in a proper ladylike expression of appreciation. “You’re such a considerate man.”
Mr. Dunn puffed up fatter than a chicken with the chills. “I hope you find the tea to your satisfaction.”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Elizabeth answered.
A wildcat posing as a lap cat and Mr. Dunn was falling for it hook, line and sinker. Asa shook his head. It was enough to make him wonder at the wisdom of letting the man handle anything, let alone his money.
“I’ll try not to keep your husband too long,” Mr. Dunn continued. He bowed slightly. “Now, if you’ll pardon us, your husband and I have business to conduct. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll do my best to have him back to you as quickly as possible.”
Elizabeth blushed and nodded. “Thank you.”
He turned to Asa and held open the door. “Mr. MacIntyre, if you’ll just step into my office?”
“You got the transfer?”
“Oh, yes, the funds came through just fine. There’s just one little detail that needs to be ironed out…”
Chapter Fourteen
On a cloudy day, the blue of Millicent Foster’s Boarding House and Eating Establishment was bright. On a sunny day like today, its bright blue and pink assaulted the senses. Stepping through the door didn’t alleviate the visual disarray. Millicent decorated to suit her impromptu likes and dislikes with complete disregard to style or even color coordination. Every table in the place sported a different table cloth. The attack continued with the sounds generated by the diners crowded into the small restaurant.
No one commented, though, because of the scents that teased ones nostrils. They were heavenly and only chaotic because the customer had to make a choice from the dinner menu. Millicent Foster could cook.
“Looks like quite a crowd tonight,” Elizabeth offered.
Asa looked around. “She’ll make a pretty penny off this crew.”
“Do you want to wait for a table?”
“Are you kidding?” left no doubt he wasn’t budging.
“Hey!” That’s my order! A blond man shouted from the table in front of the window. Elizabeth saw he had the waitress by the arm, prohibiting her from setting a plate on the adjacent table.
“Is not,” came the immediate response from a rough-looking man seated at the neighboring table.
“She might make some money,” Asa amended as both men jumped to their feet, “if the customers don’t bring the place down around her.”
Elizabeth smiled as the waitress, a young girl, hightailed it to the back, taking the disputed food with her. “Not if Millicent’s here.”
As she finished the sentence, an orange-haired tornado appeared among them, wielding a huge wooden spoon.
“Millicent?” Asa asked, the corner of his mouth kicking up in that familiar grin.
Elizabeth nodded, taking a step back from the door. Asa followed suit.
“You two have the manners of trash,” Millicent yelled. She punctuated her statement by bringing the wooden spoon down on their unprotected skulls. When they grabbed their heads, she pointed to the door. “Take yourselves out of here right now.” When they didn’t move fast enough, she whapped them again. “Out!”
“What about our dinner?”
“Yeah,” the other man hollered. “We paid for it!”
“Bessie!” Millicent yelled, brandishing her spoon and backing the men toward the door. “Bring these gentleman’s orders out here.”
Bessie handed the tray over. Millicent scooped it up in one of her hands. As soon as the men cleared the threshold, she pitched the entire tray after them. Food and curses filled the air. “You want to act like pigs in my establishment, then I’ll be slopping you like hogs.” She stood in the doorway, her six-foot tall frame blocking the light. “Don’t you dare set foot in this place again.”
“Aw, Milly!”
“Where we gonna eat?”
“Maybe that fancy hotel up the street will serve your kind.” She turned and slammed the door, almost running over Elizabeth on the way back to the kitchen.
“Elly!”
Her smile was as familiar as sunshine to Elizabeth. “Hi, Millicent.”
“This your new man I’ve heard talk about?”
“Yes.” Elizabeth smiled as Asa’s eyes widened in shock. Millicent had the husky voice of a siren when she wasn’t screeching. It was so incongruous with her build, it never failed to shock people. Mostly men. Millicent slapped him on the shoulder with a vigor that belied her fifty-plus years. “How ya doing?”
“Just fine.”
Elizabeth caught Asa’s hand “Asa MacIntyre, this is Millicent Foster.”
He brushed the brim of his hat with his fingers. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
Millicent’s hearty laugh filled the room. “Hear that, gents? Elly’s done married a man who knows how to address a lady.” She took two steps to the counter, scooped a fresh baked pie off the shelf and waved it under Asa’s nose. “This here is for you after you get done with supper.”
Asa smiled that lazy, drawn out smile that inevitably made Elizabeth’s heart go pitter-patter. “Apple pie! My favorite. Haven’t had that in a coons age.”