Glorious Angel - Glorious Angel 1 Page 6

  “Hannah, tell the others to wait in the dining room. I will be delayed for a few minutes,” Jacob said.

  “Yessuh,” Hannah replied and closed the door, a knowing smile on her lips.

  Jacob came around his desk and led Angela to a long sofa. “My dear, something has happened that I don’t quite understand, and I think you can help me.”

  “I’d be mighty pleased to help, sir,” Angela returned eagerly.

  “Hannah tells me that you went to the kitchen for a glass of lemonade, and that you came back a few minutes later to make it sweeter. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And that lemonade was for my daughter-in-law?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Did she ask you to get her the lemonade, or did she tell you to get it?” Jacob questioned.

  “It don’t really make much difference, sir,” Angela returned.

  “Which was it, Angela?”

  “Well, as I recall, she told me to get it,” Angela answered meekly. What had she done wrong?

  “And why did you do it?”

  “Why did I? Oh, I know you told me to rest, and I didn’t mean to disobey your wishes, but I just ain’t used to restin‘, sir. I had to do somethin’ and so I come downstairs to see if I could be helpful. I started dustin‘ furniture, and then Miss Crystal told me. I know you ain’t said what my duties are yet, but I didn’t see no harm in startin’ work. I’m right sorry if I made you angry, Mr. Maitland.”

  “Oh, Angela, what am I going to do with you?” he laughed. “One more question, my dear: Did my daughter-in-law refer to you as a servant?”

  “She did mention it when she was talkin‘ to her brother about me. But that’s a silly question, Mr. Maitland. You must of told your family why you was bringin’ me here.”

  “Yes, I did,” he said with a sigh. “But apparently I didn’t explain the situation well enough. Come along, we’ll go into dinner now.”

  “Do you want me to serve the table?”

  “No, you will dine with the family,” Jacob said in a patient tone.

  “But I can’t do that!” Angela was becoming alarmed. “They won’t like it!”

  “I am the head of this household, Angela. My family may be stubborn and spoiled, but my word is law. And I thought we agreed you would call me Jacob,” he reminded with a gentle smile.

  When they appeared in the doorway, all eyes in the dining room turned to them. Angela felt her palms begin to sweat. She didn’t understand what this was all about. Why did Jacob insist she dine with them tonight? There was bound to be resentment. She saw it already, just because Jacob had dared to bring her into the room with him.

  “Are we having another guest for supper, Father?”

  It was Zachary Maitland who asked the question. Angela had never seen Zachary before, but she wasn’t surprised by the resemblance he bore his father. He reminded her of Bradford, except for his bright green eyes.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “There’s been an extra plate set at the table,” Crystal volunteered.

  “The extra setting is for Angela,” Jacob replied, and looked at each person in the room to gauge their reactions.

  “You can’t mean to let her eat with us just ‘cause she’s white!” Crystal exclaimed indignantly. “I’ve never heard of anything so preposterous!”

  “This is absurd, Father,” Zachary added. “What will the other servants think!”

  “That’s enough!” Jacob pronounced. It was such a commanding tone that it brought immediate silence.

  “I intend to explain,” Jacob went on in a calmer tone. “But first, Robert, my boy, be so good as to let Angela have your seat. I want her to sit next to me.”

  Robert thought of Jacob Maitland as a second father. He had done so ever since he and Zachary became close friends twelve years before. But he did as he was asked without a word.

  “You really are goin‘ too far, Father Maitland. How much more of this do you expect us to put up with?”

  “You will put up with anything I desire, my dear. I believe my wishes are still law in this house.”

  Jacob brought Angela to the chair and pushed it in for her, then sat down at the head of the table. Angela fearfully kept her eyes lowered.

  “Now I have quite a bit to say,” Jacob began in a level voice. “I informed all of you yesterday that one of my renters had passed on, and had left his daughter an orphan. I told you that I felt responsible for Angela Sherrington, having known her father all these years, and that I was bringing her to Golden Oaks to live. I told Angela exactly the same thing. Now how on earth could all of you, including Angela, come to the conclusion that I brought her here to be a servant?”

  “You mean that’s not why she’s here?” Zachary asked incredulously.

  “It most certainly is not!”

  “Oh, Lord! Then Robby was right!” Crystal gasped. “How do you dare bring your mistress here and flaunt her in front of us?”

  “For God’s sake!” Jacob stormed, his eyes suddenly alive with fire. “Where do you get these incredible notions? If I were going to be crude enough to bring my mistress into my house, men I would be crude enough to tell you about it. And since you have already opened this tasteless subject, I will tell you that I most certainly do have a mistress, who lives comfortably in the city. She is a lovely widow in her late thirties, who has no wish to remarry, though I have asked her. That you would think me lecherous enough to seduce a child Angela’s age is unforgivable!”

  “They why have you brought her here?” Crystal asked defiantly.

  Jacob sighed. “Angela is to become a member of this family, and she is to be treated as such.”

  “You can’t be serious?” Zachary laughed.

  “I have never been more serious in my life. I have known Angela since she was born, and I’ve always been concerned for her welfare. I feel like a father to her, and if she will let me, I would like to be just that. A father to replace the one she lost.”

  By now, Angela had tears on her cheeks. All the questions she would have asked were asked by Crystal and Zachary and answered in turn. Was this really possible? How was it that fortune could shine on her so brightly?

  “You must forgive me, Angela, for not telling you about this when we were in the study, but I wanted to say it only once,” Jacob said tenderly, then continued. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t more explicit when I talked to you after the funeral. But now that you know I want to take care of you, will you agree?”

  “I would be a fool to refuse your kind offer, Mr. Maitland—I mean, Jacob,” she managed without breaking down.

  “Splendid!” He looked around the table, defying the others to say anything more. Then he smiled and called out in a booming voice, “Tilda, you can send in the food now.”

  Chapter 10

  THE night was a long one, for Angela had a difficult time falling asleep. She spent hours remembering every word said at the dining-room table.

  Crystal hated her, Angela had no doubts on that score. But Robert Lonsdale was a different story. He had been surprised at first, but then Angela detected amusement in him. He had eyed her all evening, as if she were a mare he was appraising for purchase. She would have to be wary of Robert, she was sure of that.

  As the night wore on, Angela began worrying about Bradford. How would he react? It suddenly hit her that he might not like it any better than Zachary did.

  She fell asleep thinking of her father. He had been gruff and took to the bottle a bit too much, but she had loved him. She had had a hard childhood, but she would give anything to be home with William Sherrington now. She cried herself to sleep.

  “Mornin‘, Missy.” Hannah came bustling into the room in a cheery mood. “Sun’s been shinin’ for some time now. You don’t usually sleep this late, do you?”

  Angela opened her eyes to find the room flooded in daylight. “What time is it?”

  “A little past eight.”

  “Eight!” Angela quickly j
umped from the bed and ran for the closet.

  “What’s your hurry, honey?”

  Angela stopped short as she realized there was no hurry. She no longer had chores to do.

  “I guess I forgot.”

  Hannah laughed in her cheerful way. “You’ll get use to this easy life soon enough. All you got to worry about is if you wants your breakfast downstairs, or if you wants me to send up a tray for you.”

  “Will the others be goin‘ down to eat?” Angela asked apprehensively.

  “Only Mr. Lonsdale. Master Jacob ate some time ago, and Miss Crystal eats in her room.”

  “And Zachary?”

  “He went into the city this mornin‘,” Hannah replied. “He gots hisself a law office he’s tryin’ to build up again, now that the war is over.”

  “Then I guess I’ll go down for breakfast, Hannah,” Angela stated. As long as she didn’t have to face Crystal or Zachary and their obvious dislike of her, there was no point in staying in her room. “I can’t go gettin‘ lazy.”

  “Good girl. You gonna need all the exercise you can get, now you ain’t got so much to do. And afterward, Master Jacob wants to see you in the study.”

  “Did I do something wrong again?”

  “No, honeychild, he just wants to talk to you,” Hannah replied quickly, setting Angela’s mind at ease. “Now, I’ll send Eulalia up to fix your hair and help you dress. She’s gonna be your personal maid, ‘lessen you don’t like her?”

  “But I don’t—”

  “You hush now.” Hannah cut her off as she went to the door, knowing Angela’s objections. “You gonna be a lady now, and ladies don’t do nothin for themselves. You got lots to get use to, child.”

  A while later, Angela was wearing a stiff green cotton dress, with an equally rough chemise under it. She would much rather be wearing her old beat-up breeches and cotton shirt. But Hannah had taken it upon herself to get rid of those old articles.

  Angela had argued about it, but to no avail. She had also spent thirty minutes in battle with the young girl who was going to be her maid. Eulalia had received orders from Hannah to fix Angela’s hair into a becoming coiffure. Her hair was a few inches below her shoulders, and she was used to wearing it in tight pigtails, or tied back with a ribbon. She had won that battle, and her auburn hair was neatly tied with a green ribbon.

  When she walked nervously into the dining room, she found Robert still there, sipping black coffee.

  “I was beginnin‘ to think you weren’t comin’ down,” Robert said, a warm smile coming to his lips when he saw her. “I’m glad I waited.”

  “I’m sorry I took so long. Have you eaten already?” Angela asked uneasily. She wished he wouldn’t stare so.

  “Yes, and a pleasant meal it was. Tilda’s artistry has drawn me to Golden Oaks for many a year—made this place a home away from home, you might say. But now I’ll have to admit Golden Oaks has a much greater attraction,” he added meaningfully.

  Angela found herself blushing. “I really don’t know what you mean,” she said awkwardly. “But if you’ve finished your meal, don’t let me keep you. Surely you must have something to do, other than keep me company.”

  He laughed heartily. “But my dear girl, I have nothin‘ but time on my hands, and I can think of no better way to spend it than with you.”

  Angela’s face reddened and she sat down and busied herself with piling food on her plate. She could see that it would be easy to obtain Robert as an ally, but she was afraid the sacrifice expected of her would be too great.

  “Don’t you have a plantation to run, Mr. Lonsdale?” she asked pointedly.

  “Not as long as my father’s still livin‘. He deplores my help, and frankly, I deplore givin’ it. Even though the war greatly diminished his wealth, the old man was able to pay the back taxes on The Shadows and he’s managin‘ quite well by himself. It’s almost as if the war never was. I find things to do, to pass the time agreeably.”

  Angela was incensed by his laziness. “Drinkin‘ and gamblin’, no doubt. All you planters’ sons are alike.”

  “Not all of us,” Robert came back with a grin. “Some are not as lucky as I.”

  She stared, aghast. He had taken her statement as a compliment, not as the sarcasm she intended. He really was insufferable. She had thought that the breed of men who lived each day only for pleasure, leaving work for others, had ended with the war. But apparently she was wrong. Robert Lonsdale was just such a man.

  “Perhaps you would care for a ride this mornin‘,” Robert continued confidently. “To see The Shadows? Father has done considerable repair, and it’s really quite beautiful once again. It went to ruin durin’ the last years of the war, what with most of the slaves runnin‘ off when things started gettin’ bad. But they came back soon enough, once they found the Yankees’ idea of freedom was a lot worse than what they’d left.”

  Angela cooled her temper. Robert couldn’t help being what he was, and she needed him as a friend, not an enemy. She held back the caustic words and instead gave him a radiant smile, grateful that she had an excuse to decline his offer.

  “I’d love to see The Shadows with you, Mr. Lonsdale, but Jacob wants to see me after breakfast. Maybe another time though, if that’s all right.”

  He frowned for just a moment, then smiled brightly once again. “There will certainly be another time. And no more ‘Mr. Lonsdale,’ Angela. You must call me Robert—I insist.”

  Chapter 11

  JACOB Maitland took her to Mobile a little later. They traveled in a comfortable enclosed carriage that kept out the hot sun.

  She hadn’t realized the extent of Jacob Maitland’s generosity. She had never dreamed that when he said he wanted to be like a father to her, he meant to bestow on her everything the rest of his family took for granted.

  “Angela,” he had begun that morning, “I know you told me yesterday that you never had time for schooling. Now that you no longer have to work, would you like to go to school?”

  She sighed regretfully. “I’m too old for school now.”

  “Nonsense,” Jacob returned with a smile. “You’re never too old to learn. And I didn’t mean a public school for children, my dear. I meant a private school for young women.”

  “But I can’t even write my name.”

  “I will arrange for you to have a special tutor to teach you all the basics, and then you can go to classes with the other girls. The choice is entirely yours, of course. I’m not saying you have to go.”

  “But I’d love to go,” she said quickly. “I’ve always wondered what folks found so interestin‘ in books.”

  “You can find that out for yourself now. And when you come home, you might like to help me with my ledgers.”

  “Oh, I’d love to help you any way I can, Mr.—Jacob.”

  “Good. Now we have to decide on the school. There are many to choose from, here and up North. There is a fine school in Massachusetts. One of the teachers there, Naomi Barkley, was a very good friend of your mother’s. In fact, your mother attended that school when she was your age.”

  “My mother went to a northern school?”

  “Yes. Massachusetts was her home until she came to Alabama and married your father.”

  Angela was dumbfounded. “I didn’t know—I mean, Pa never told me. I always thought she was born here. How do you know this?”

  Jacob hesitated before answering carefully, “I used to live in Massachusetts myself. I still have business interests there. My father was acquainted with Charissa’s parents. They were well-to-do before the Depression of 1837. They died after that, and left your mother penniless. Charissa became a governess for a while, and then she came here.”

  “Why did she come here?”

  “Well, I don’t... When you are older, perhaps you will be able to understand.”

  He knew the reasons, but he didn’t want to tell her. And she couldn’t press him for answers. She just couldn’t. But she wanted to know.

  �
�Now, about the school,” Jacob continued. “I am of the opinion that northern schools are the best. Both my sons went to school in the North. But you have a choice. I could send you to Europe, but I thought you might like to see your mother’s home.”

  “Yes, I would!” Angela said with excitement. “The school in Massachusetts is my choice.”

  “You don’t have a dislike for the North, then?”

  “No. Bradford—I mean, your older son—fought for the North. I have nothing against Northerners.”

  Jacob was frowning at her now.

  “How did you know Bradford fought for the Union?”

  Angela paled. How could she have let that slip?

  “I—I—” She couldn’t think of an explanation.

  Jacob saw how upset she was and quickly smiled to put her at ease. “It’s all right, Angela. I was just surprised that you knew. It doesn’t matter anymore who knows, now that the North has won.” He dismissed the subject. “You will have to leave in about ten days, Angela, and that doesn’t give us much time. We will go to the city today to have you fitted for clothes. I’m told seventeen dresses should be adequate for the school year. There isn’t enough time to have that many made for you here, and the North will feature warmer materials anyway. So Miss Barkley, the woman I mentioned earlier, will help you complete your wardrobe once you are there.”

  Angela was shocked. “But I don’t need—”

  But he anticipated her objection. “I have asked that you let me think of you as a daughter, Angela,” he interrupted her softly. “I would do no less for Zachary’s wife, so please let me do as much for you. And if you are feeling shy about it, think of it as helping out some poor seamstress who needs the business.”