“I’ll show you to your room to get cleaned up and to nap if you’d like. Mrs. Smith has stocked your room with all of the toiletries you might need, and she will come and get you when dinner’s ready. We’ve also sent out for some clothes. Please don’t be modest, take whatever you want.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you allowing me to stay here and for being so hospitable.”
“It is my pleasure,” he said with a genuine smile.
After tackling the stairs and a few well-decorated hallways, he led me to my temporary room and opened my door. He hadn’t even dropped his grandson off before the long trek up to my room. Instead, he appeared to enjoy every moment with him even as the little guy was draped on his back and drooling on the back of his shoulder.
My room was the second room on the east wing, second hallway to the right off the stairs. I repeated the directions in my head a few times. The house was so massive that it wouldn’t take much to get lost.
Like the living room, warm elegance greeted me when I stepped inside. The full rack of new clothes lined up against one of the walls stopped me in my tracks. Hesitant steps took me closer, and I noticed there was also neatly stacked, dark wood cubby shelves containing a large variety of expensive underclothes and lingerie. Cubicles filled with slippers, tennis shoes, and sandals were among the portable boutique they had set up.
There was nothing that they hadn’t considered and what impressed me most was that the items were my size. I decided to take Leelyn’s advice and wasn’t modest about the things I wanted to keep. The way this Vallin group was taking care of me was certainly not the behavior of a group who was my supposed enemy.
Looking at all the items that had been left for me, I wondered, am I too old to be adopted?
* * *
The energetic voiceof Mrs. Smith woke me from the blissful nap I had fallen into. “Lady Patrena,” she called.
I noticed how natural she made my new name sound.
“Dinner is ready,” she sang out. It was ironic how close this new title was to my LoC call sign, Lady P.
I jumped into a light blue sundress and a pair of tan, strappy sandals. These were the few pieces in my new wardrobe that didn’t have me looking like I was auditioning for a part in a big-budget movie. The clothes were what I called, rich-people’s clothes, but I damn sure wasn’t crazy enough not to keep most of them.
Mrs. Smith was overjoyed with bubbling elation when I exited the room, shifting from foot to foot and grinning like the sight of me bought her joy. She was calling me Lady Patrena and holding on to my hand like I had plans to run away.
I believe the loss of this family’s last matriarch or lady of the house had left a deep hole in all of them. Maybe they were just happy to have me temporarily wear the title.
When I stepped into the kitchen with Mrs. Smith’s arm tucked securely around mine, Leelyn and Tywin were already seated. Both jumped to their feet upon seeing me like a general had entered the room. Their faces bore deep and proud smiling expressions that had me glancing back to make sure some famous queen wasn’t coming in behind me.
“Good evening. I hope you rested well.”
“Good evening. You look beautiful.”
Tywin and Leelyn’s voices sounded at the same time, but I understood each greeting.
“Good evening,” I returned their greetings, feeling a bit bashful about the way they’d regarded me. “And thank you. I rested very well.”
Mrs. Smith didn’t let go of me until I was seated with a napkin placed neatly across my lap. Leelyn, at the head of the table and Tywin across the table facing me, didn’t take their seats until I glanced up at them.
Had they been waiting on me to get situated in my seat? Why did they keep staring at me like they were proud of me?
Before I posed the questions, Mrs. Smith returned, pushing through the door wheeling in a rolling table packed with covered dishes. She placed our plates in front of us, lifting the metal domes to reveal a seafood dish while another lady, whose name I couldn’t remember, poured us glasses of water and white wine.
“Tywin told us you liked seafood, so we hope the lobster and scallops are to your liking,” the other lady stated while she poured wine into my glass.
“It looks and smells heavenly. I’m sure it will be delicious.”
Her smile deepened at the compliment and inspired an extra pep in her step when she walked around to Tywin.
Why was I getting the vibe that this wasn’t a test by this family to try me on for size, but that they truly believed I was more to them than Tywin’s guest?