A Daughter's Inheritance (9 page)

Amanda frowned. “You make him sound simply dreadful. He can be caustic, but he is esteemed in the community. And he donates money to charity,” she defended.

“I suppose I was a bit harsh, but I’ve given you points that could bolster your argument. Explain that your good works would bring additional prestige to the family name, but that prestige would go to your husband if you were to wed—along with a sizable dowry, I’d venture. If all else fails, you could insist you’d prefer college over wedding plans.”

Amanda sighed. “I do wish Father would put forth as much effort finding wives for Jefferson and George. After all, they’re older than I.”

“But they act like young hooligans, what with their silly pranks and constant teasing. It seems they’ve become even more immature since they’ve been away at college. I would think your father would tire of their unruly behavior.”

Amanda shrugged. “He hears little of their antics. He’s gone most of the time, and Mother says she doesn’t want to upset him with such trivial matters. She insists he has more important issues weighing on his mind.”

“When Mrs. Donaldson discovers your brothers are the ones who have frightened her young sons by donning sheets and pretending to be ghosts, I doubt she’ll consider their behavior trivial.”

“Are you certain my brothers were involved?”

Fanny bobbed her head. “I heard them talking with some of their friends after the funeral service the other day. They’re planning a return to the Donaldsons’ tomorrow evening. All of them think it’s great sport scaring those little fellows. I wish we could think of some way to turn the tables on them.”

Amanda tapped her chin. “With a little thought, perhaps we can.”

“Fanny! Wake up! I’ve come up with a plan.” Sunlight poured through the east window of Amanda’s second-floor bedroom.

Fanny rubbed her eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed.

“Plan for what?”

“My brothers. How we can even the score for the Donaldson children.” Amanda waved her forward. “Come and look.”

Fanny shoved her feet into her slippers and padded to the window. She peered into the garden and then looked at her cousin. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Do you see old Henry whitewashing that fence out near the far flower garden?”

Fanny nodded. She wished her cousin would come to the point. Her brain was still fuzzy from lack of sleep. They’d stayed up last night talking and giggling until the wee hours of the morning. Now Amanda wanted her to wake up and immediately solve some silly puzzle about one of the servants whitewashing the fence.

“I’m going to have Henry give me some of that whitewash. After my brothers sneak out of the house tonight, I’ll convince Marvin to help us rig it up above the back door. When they return home, they won’t need sheets to turn them into ghosts.” Her eyes sparkled. “What do you think?”

The plan delighted Fanny, but she doubted whether Marvin, the butler, would be inclined to help them. The man was as rigid as the bristles on a brand-new scrub brush. “I like your plan, but what if Marvin won’t help? We could be the ones who end up doused in whitewash.”

“Don’t fret. Marvin will help us. Now let’s get dressed and go tell Henry to make certain he has plenty of that whitewash left over for us.”

The entire day had been filled with the excitement evoked by a mixture of fear and anticipation. As Amanda had predicted, Marvin agreed to lend his help and meet them in the kitchen at exactly ten o’clock. Thankfully Aunt Victoria and Uncle Jonas had retired to their rooms earlier in the evening. Now that the designated hour had arrived, the girls silently picked their way down the back stairs. Fanny struggled to stifle the laughter bubbling deep in her throat. She clung to Amanda’s hand until they finally reached the kitchen, where Marvin stood at the ready.

“Well, ladies, are you prepared for this bit of folly?” His shoulders were stretched into formal alignment as he addressed them. “Not rethinking your decision, are you?”

The girls shook their heads in unison. Amanda pointed to the bucket of whitewash. “My brothers deserve to receive their comeuppance. Frightening small children isn’t humorous in the least. The next time they consider such a plan, I believe they’ll remember what happened to them tonight.”

Marvin nodded and pulled a ladder near the back door. “As you wish, Miss Amanda. Once I’ve secured the ropes and this board to the transom, you can hand me the bucket.” The two girls craned their necks and watched as Marvin fitted a board between the knotted sling he’d created with the ropes and secured them above the doorway. He stepped down and tested the device several times before making his final ascent on the ladder. After retrieving the bucket from Amanda, he placed the pail of whitewash strategically atop the board.

After descending the ladder, he tipped his head back for one final look and then gave a firm nod. “I believe that will serve your purpose quite nicely, miss.”

Amanda agreed. “Now all we must do is wait.”

“Which is sometimes the most difficult thing of all,” Marvin said. “If you’ll excuse me, I believe I’ll turn in for the night and permit you ladies to maintain your watch.”

“Yes, of course,” Amanda said. “And thank you for your help, Marvin. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Marvin grinned. “Let’s make that our little secret, shall we? I wouldn’t want to incur the wrath of your father for aiding in this tomfoolery.”

Amanda glanced at her cousin. “Our lips are sealed.”

“Absolutely,” Fanny agreed and touched her index finger to her lips.

After a final instruction that they should turn out the lights, Marvin retreated up the stairs, and the girls began their vigil in earnest. The minutes ticked by slowly as they listened for any unusual sounds near the back of the house.

“You don’t think they’ll return and use the front door of the house, do you? Or perhaps they’ve devised some way of crawling through an upstairs window and we’ll end up sitting on these steps all night.” Fanny grimaced. “The joke would surely be on us if that occurred.”

Amanda shifted on the hard wooden step. “No. They’ll come in this way. I’m certain of it.”

Though she wished they could see a clock from their vantage point, Fanny was certain at least two hours had passed since Marvin’s departure. Her backside ached, and she wanted to go up to bed. Her cousins were likely spending the night with some of their friends. Just as she opened her mouth to suggest they call off their prank, Amanda nudged her.

“Listen! I hear voices. It’s them.” Fanny clutched Amanda’s hand in a death grip.

Amanda squeezed back until Fanny thought the bones in her hand would break. “That’s my
father’s
voice. He’s with them.” Amanda’s gaze fastened on the door, her eyes now as big as saucers. “What are we going to do?”

“Maybe it’s not—”

Amanda wagged her head. “It
is
him. I know my own father’s voice. Do you think we have time to stop them?”

“Let’s pray the boys walk in the door—”

Before she could complete the sentence, the back door opened. Just as Marvin had predicted, the whitewash descended like a milky shower from heaven. Only instead of dousing her cousins, Uncle Jonas was the surprised recipient. He sputtered and gasped, his arms flailing while the whitewash poured over him.

The girls considered running up the stairs, but Jefferson had already spotted them. “Look what you’ve done, Amanda and Fanny,” he chided in a loud voice. He stood behind his father, grinning like a silly schoolboy, obviously delighted by their plight.

Amanda jumped to her feet. “I’m so sorry, Father. It was a silly attempt to put Jefferson and George in their place. I thought you had retired for the night, and we heard the boys talk about frightening the Donaldson children, and . . .”

Her father yanked his spectacles from the bridge of his nose. “Do cease your prattling and fetch me a towel, Amanda.”

Once he’d removed his jacket and wiped off a portion of the whitewash, Uncle Jonas pointed the girls to the table. “Sit down and explain.” He turned toward his sons. “And you two sit down at that end of the table.”

One look at Uncle Jonas was enough to deduce that if their scheme had gone according to plan, they would have achieved perfection. Fanny’s older cousins would have turned into ghosts. Instead, her uncle was glowering at the two of them and awaiting a full explanation.

“I’ll let you tell him,” Fanny whispered to her cousin. After all, the plan
had
been Amanda’s idea, and Uncle Jonas was unhappy enough with Fanny already.

All of them focused on Amanda while she explained how the entire scheme had been formulated in order to teach Jefferson and George a lesson and force them to quit harassing the young Donaldson boys. “How were we to know you would be with Jefferson and George? If only one of them had entered the door first.”

“Well, they didn’t. And what makes you think that you need to take charge of supervising your brothers and their behavior? I am well equipped to manage such matters without your intervention. Your brothers had already been strongly chastised before our return home.”

“But how did you know what they were up to?”

“Mrs. Donaldson spoke to me before she departed the other day. She apprised me of your brothers’ pranks, and I had gone to confront them in the midst of their frivolity this evening. All had been resolved, until this.” Uncle Jonas gestured toward the dripping whitewash.

“What on earth is all the commotion down here? Oh, dear me, Jonas! You look like a ghost.” Aunt Victoria clapped a hand to her mouth and shook her head. “What has happened to you? I thought you went out to put a stop to all these pranks, and now I find you’ve joined in. I never would have believed my husband—”

“Oh, forevermore, Victoria. I’ve been caught in a prank set up by your daughter and niece. I’ll explain when we get upstairs. For now, I suggest we all get a few hours of sleep before the kitchen staff comes downstairs to prepare breakfast. I don’t want them to find me sitting here with this painted face.”

Aunt Victoria removed several dishcloths from one of the drawers and dampened them with water. “You children run along to bed. I’m going to help your father.”

Amanda and Fanny didn’t hesitate. They raced up the back stairs at breakneck speed, with Jefferson and George not far behind, both of the young men chuckling over the girls’ blunder. When Amanda reached her bedroom door, she turned around and pointed her finger at her brothers. “Don’t think you’ve had the last laugh. We have two months at the island, you know.”

Jefferson chortled. “I believe these girls are throwing down the gauntlet and offering us a challenge, George.” He offered a mock salute. “To an exciting and entertaining summer, dear ladies.”

Fanny and Amanda watched them swagger down the hallway. This would, indeed, be a summer of challenges.

Fanny twirled in front of her cousin. “I think this dress will do just fine.”

Amanda pointed to the pink sash that surrounded the waist of her own pastel foulard dress. “If you don’t mind wearing last year’s frock, who am I to object? Would you tie my sash?”

While Amanda watched in the mirror, Fanny tied the sash in a proper bow. “I don’t see why a new frock is needed to attend church and the Independence Day festivities.”