Lisa Davenport Collins thumbed through the worn auction catalog as a little yawn made its way across her lips. Today had been a very trying day. One client insisted his Rembrandt was authentic (it wasn’t), while another insisted her collection of dog paintings could fetch top dollar in an upcoming evening sale (they wouldn’t). Although Lisa didn’t need to work, she loved the feeling of having something to do unlike everyone else she knew who pretended to work once they earned enough money to ensure they could stay in cashmere and diamonds for the rest of their lives. Lisa tucked the catalog into the desk of her home office when her son, Oliver, bounded down the hall followed by her brother, Dylan.
“Uncle Dylan is here to see you,” announced Oliver.
“Thanks, little man.” Dylan handed his nephew a crisp ten-dollar bill.
“Awesome!” Oliver squealed as he ran down the corridor.
Lisa saved the document she was working on as she said, “Mom is furious with you.”
Dylan let out an irritated sigh. “I’m aware of that, Lisa. I thought you wanted me to come by to talk about something important.”
“You know how much she relies on you, Dylan.” Lisa removed the silver tennis watch from her left wrist. “Instead of being understanding…sometimes you can be a little harsh. Now, I know Mom probably worked your last nerve, but she didn’t mean any harm.”
“Lisa, you sound like she coached you into saying that.”
“Hardly. I’m not a fool where Mom is concerned, but I do think you could stand to be more understanding and less…volcanic.” Lisa moved closer to her brother, who sat on the love seat in her home office. “We’re one of the few wealthy, old black families in America. Most of our wealth is tied up in Davenport Technology. If Meredith does do something to harm the company, there goes our whole way of life. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want to see that happen to us, Dylan.”
Dylan thought about his sister’s words for a moment. While she rarely interfered when it came to the family company, he knew all too well that her concern was well placed, unlike Sheila’s. “Lisa, there’s nothing I can do about Meredith. None of us are on the Board of Directors. We’re just owners. Unless we vote in unison, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“I don’t see why we can’t vote in unison, Dylan. You always have Eli’s proxy…”
“I did.” Dylan shrugged. “I told Mom that I’m not going to be her go-between when it comes to Eli anymore.”
“Dylan,” Lisa said with unbridled shock. “Why would you do something like that?!?”
“Because I’m literally not my brother’s keeper!”
“This is different. We all know… Mom and Eli are best kept apart.”
“Lisa, my mind is made up. I’ve already told Mom. If she wants to call a family meeting to agree on how to vote our shares, then she’s going to have to speak to Eli and get him to fly in from San Francisco. Or, you can get Eli’s proxy from him.”
Lisa shuddered at the thought. While she was on good terms with Eli (for the most part), she didn’t feel like it was her responsibility to be put in the middle of his epic battle of contrition with Sheila. “I’d rather not,” whispered Lisa. “Sometimes I wish that whatever happened with Dad hadn’t happened and we could…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t know…”
“There’s no use in wondering, Lisa. It’s all in the past. It’s up to Mom to let things go, which she’s incapable of doing. I’ve told her many times that I’m not going back to Davenport. I’ve told her I will not vote Eli’s shares by proxy. She doesn’t want to listen. She wants to get mad and let you do her bidding. I’m sick of it, Lisa. I really am.”
“Barbara, come with me.” Mrs. Taplin summoned Barbara with her long, bony finger. “We need you to welcome a guest to the estate. Louise is at lunch. Normally, we’d never have a maid do it, but we cannot simply have a guest show themselves around the estate. The guest will be in the Sun Room.”
“I’ll do my best,” said Barbara, quietly. “I only want to do a good job.”
“That’s all anyone wants you to do,” snapped Mrs. Taplin. “There’s no need to work so hard.” Mrs. Taplin showed Barbara into the main servant’s corridor. She handed her a sheet of paper. “Read this. Everything on here tells you how to greet a visitor, how to show them to a room, and how to wait on them until a member of the family comes to greet them. The butler will show in the guest in a little less than an hour. I suggest you absorb everything on that page!”
Barbara found a chair in the hall as she read through the withering manifesto. “You are to say hello to the guest without giving your name when they enter the room. Simply ask if they would like a refreshment, alcohol, tea, or coffee. Take the order. Do not write it down. You must rely on your memory. Relay the order to the kitchen. You will then retreat to the staff area until called upon again,” Barbara read quietly. While she loved being on the Montgomery Estate, she was quickly growing tired of being rendered invisible all of the time.
“I just saw Old Taps marching around like she wanted to kick a puppy. You okay?” asked Ada.
Barbara stood up as she checked her watch. “Yes, I’m fine, Ada. If you’ll excuse me, I have to welcome a guest to the Sun Room.”
“The Sun Room! Look at you movin’ on up!” laughed Ada.
Yes, I am moving on up, Barbara thought, ruefully. There was no way in the world Barbara would allow herself to become trapped in the hell that was being a maid on the Montgomery Estate. She was moving up…and she wouldn’t let anyone stop her.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Windsor.”
Connor tapped away on his phone without looking at the lowly maid standing in the corner. “Hi,” he grumbled.
“Would you like a refreshment? Coffee, tea…”
“No,” snapped Connor. “Just have someone bring me an iced tea.” With a wave of his hand, he went back to his phone.
Barbara stood there for a moment. Whether she was stunned or insulted, she didn’t know. What she did know was that she had a job to do. She’d come this far…she’d made it upstairs…and she would do whatever it took to stay upstairs in these plush, sun dappled rooms. Without a word, Barbara turned, walked to a door in the corridor, and returned to the servant’s area.
“Will,” said Connor as Will walked into the Sun Room. “Thanks for calling me.”
Will walked towards Connor, stared into his gunmetal blue eyes, and kissed him. He kissed him as if his life depended on it. Here, in this moment, Will felt safer and more complete than he had in his entire life. “I’m sorry,” sighed Will. “I reacted impetuously.”
“Hey,” whispered Connor. “It’s okay. Let’s leave it in the past.”
“I do love you, Connor.”
“I love you, too, Will.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t visit you in Maine…”
“It’s all right. We’re here now.” Connor took Will in his arms. He smothered his boyfriend’s neck in raw, passionate kisses. “I had a lot of time to think.”
“About what?”
“Us.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Without a word, Connor dropped to one knee and pulled a small ring box from his blazer pocket. “William Harrison Montgomery, will you marry me?”
In our next installment, India’s world is rocked…
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