Page 11 of Halstead House

“Yes. My father passed when I was very little.”

“No brothers or sisters?” Marshall asked around a big bite of fruit.

“No. I’m an only child.”

Ana nodded. “Wow. Now we know why she dresses so nice, Marshall. No hand-me-downs. Sounds nice.”

Marshall smiled. “It’s probably why she eats so nice too. She never had to protect her plate from other hungry mouths.”

“All that food and clothes just for you,” Ana sighed dreamily. “I bet you even had your own bedroom, didn’t you?”

Marshall chuckled. “Of course she did. Not like she was sharing with her mama.”

I simply nodded at Ana’s inquisitive look.

“What size bed did you have in that room?” Ana asked.

“Queen,” I replied.

“Well, that does it. You’re the luckiest girl I know. Sleeping in your fresh pajamas, in your queen bed, in your own room.” Ana grinned and stood. “Well, the ladies will be here soon, so I’m off to work. I’ll have Josie put an iron in your room, Grace, so you’ll have it when you need one.”

Marshall waved lightly as Ana took her dishes to the sink and slipped through the swinging door. “Don’t mind her, Grace. I’m sure it wasn’t all easy being an only child.”

“I may have had all the space I wanted, but it could be pretty lonely,” I admitted. My nerves tingled as I told a truth that made my life look imperfect.

“Well, you’re sure never gonna have a chance to feel lonely here.” Marshall smiled as he too stood. “I’ll see you around.”

“Life as my assistant will be busy over the next three months,” Eliza shot over her shoulder as she rifled through a filing cabinet. “We have a charity luncheon, a wedding, a fortieth birthday party, a fiftieth wedding anniversary...” Her voice trailed off as she found the paper she was looking for and began to scan it. “Ah, here.” She turned and sat gracefully at her desk.

I quickly shifted my expression to a professional, interested look rather than the “how in the world am I sitting across the desk from Eliza Halstead right now?” jaw-dropped expression I’d been wearing. I was sitting across the desk from her, legs demurely crossed at the ankles, with a note pad and pen at the ready, hoping I was the picture of patience and decorum.

Eliza glanced at me for perhaps the first time that morning and smiled warmly. “Well, aren’t you looking professional? You’re dressed quite elegantly for our little island.”

“I only wish I could have worn my dove gray suit,” I bemoaned, the words slipping out almost without thought. Something about Eliza kept making that happen. It was most likely the fact that she looked so much like my beloved Mary.

“This dove gray suit is important somehow?”

“It’s my best suit,” I replied. My cheeks warmed at the admission.

“Ah, I see. So you can’t do your best work in what you’re currently wearing?”

I blinked a bit. “Well, not exactly. An outfit won’t affect my work.”

“Wonderful. Then the gray suit is forgotten.”

A dimple poked out on Eliza’s cheek, and I couldn’t take my eyes off another trait she and Mary shared. She slid the paper she’d been scanning across the spotless, highly polished desk. It stopped in front of me.

I reached out to pick up the offered page, feeling slightly bemused. I wasn’t sure how to take Eliza’s comment. Of course, I knew the suit didn’t give me superpowers, but the importance of a flawless façade was a tune I’d long been marching to. Eliza was beautifully put together herself. I would have expected her to be an ally in the wardrobe department, but...

She interrupted my musings. “Now, to quickly go over how the household divvies up tasks for events. Ana really does oversee it all, but to drill down for you, Chef Lou handles the catering. Marshall handles room set up of the tables, chairs, etc. Ana and the rest of her staff make sure the room is clean, and they prepare all linens. She also leads the clean-up after the event. You will assist in planning, gathering decor, running errands, and written correspondence, along with helping me to set up and take down the decor. In reality, we all pitch in where we’re needed, but it helps to have a basic understanding of what our main responsibilities are. During an event I will need you to be discreetly ready in the background to handle any issues that arise. I meet with the clients, personally attend and oversee the event, tie up loose ends, handle verbal communication with the clientele, and all hostess duties. Any questions?”

My first thought was that I was terribly overqualified for this job. Back home I was the one overseeing and assigning out duties. Yet, I found the idea of stepping down a notch and doing the background work to be quite appealing. It would be like a three-month-long game of playing hooky. Besides, in my experience, being the one in charge seemed to be another blockade to forming true friendships. Lumping in as a regular old staff member could be a great opportunity.

“That sounds great to me,” I replied with a succinct nod and smile.

“On that paper is the information for the charity luncheon we’ll be hosting next week. One week from today, actually.”

I glanced down and quickly scanned the list, along with a handful of beautiful drawings. The decor and layout ideas took up space on both front and back.

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