Niles walked into Mr. Sheffield's office, intending to do some last tidying up in there before heading off to bed. He walked over to the desk. As usual, he glanced at the things on it: Contracts for his latest play, newspaper clippings of reviews, pictures of the children, a letter from Miss Fine. Wait, a letter from Miss Fine?! Niles did a double take. All the envelope said was, "To Mr. Sheffield, Love, Miss Fine," but something about it told Niles it was bad news. His heart sank just looking at it. The butler knew he shouldn't open it. Maxwell had threatened to fire him several times already for doing exactly that. But this time it was different. Niles wasn't reading this letter to satisfy his adolescent need to know all that went on in the mansion. "If I don't read this," he told himself, "This family could lose the best thing that's happened to it in years." So Niles carefully opened the envelope. The letter was difficult to read for all the tear stains and cross outs Miss Fine had made.
Dear Mr. Sheffield,
Consider this a combination resignation/Dear John letter. Your brother Nigel has asked me to marry him, and I've decided to accept. Please understand that this was a difficult decision to make. I know I said I understood about "the thing," but the truth is, it broke my heart. I thought you wanted to be with me, but now I can see that you don't. If you decide to marry Miss Babcock, you have my blessing.
Please tell the children I love them, and that this has nothing to do with them. I will call when I can. Tell Niles I will miss him terribly. He is my best friend.
Love Always,
Fran Fine
PS:Nigel and I are eloping. I'm leaving on the QEII at midnight from Pier 17. If you really meant what you said in Paris, this is your last chance to show it. Otherwise, I wish you all the best.
Niles stared at the letter. He always knew it might come to this. His boss' inability to make up his mind had finally cost him the woman he loved. Even so, he couldn't believe she would just leave this way. Immediately, he reached for the phone to call his boss, but he caught sight of the clock. 11:45. There was no time to involve Maxwell. Niles would have to stop Fran himself.
Without stopping to think, Niles grabbed his coat and ran towards the door. When he opened it, he saw C.C. standing there. "Niles, do you know where Maxwell left the contracts for--"
"I've got no time to talk, Babcock. I've got to stop Miss Fine from making a terrible mistake," Niles replied, already halfway out the door.
"What, is Nanny Fine wearing white after Labor Day?" C.C. asked sarcastically.
"This letter explains everything. You can read it in the car. Now come on!" Niles said. His head was spinning. How could this have happened? What could he possibly say to her to make her stay?
C.C. and Niles drove to the pier in absolute silence. It was the longest they'd ever gone without exchanging insults.
C.C. read the letter. It left her speechless. She knew she should be thrilled. Nanny Fine was marrying another man! So what if it was Nigel? Just as long as it wasn't Maxwell. And besides, she had even given Maxwell her blessing if they decided to marry. But somehow, C.C. couldn't help feeling a little sad. Could it be that, deep down, she knew that Nanny Fine was really the right woman for Maxwell? Even more shocking, did C.C. actually feel some affection for her?
When they arrived at the dock, Niles turned to her and said, "Stay here. I can't imagine you'd be of any help in what I have to do now."
C.C. was surprised. "I'll have you know that I would actually miss that little floozy if she left. But don't you dare tell anyone I said that! Do you understand me?" she asked, grabbing him by the lapels.
Niles was shocked. But he knew that if he breathed a word of it to anyone, she'd tell about the time she caught him dancing in his underwear. Then again, he'd also tricked her into clucking like a chicken once, so they were about even in the blackmail department. Right now, though, Niles was too worried to think about torturing Miss Babcock.
He checked his watch. 11:55. Were they too late? Had Niles come all this way only to lose his best friend? Just then Niles saw a woman with huge hair carrying a bouquet of flowers, frantically heading for the dock. Quickly he got out of the car. "Fran, wait!"
Fran's heart skipped a beat. A man with an English accent was calling her name. Maybe her prayers had been answered, and Mr. Sheffield had decided he just couldn't live without her. But, unfortunately, she turned to see Niles holding the letter in his hand. She was torn between wanting to kill that yenta for reading something so private, and being grateful that someone had come to stop her, even though it wasn't the person she was expecting.
She walked back towards the car. C.C. got out, too. Fran couldn't help but be a little surprised to see her. Not only did she have every reason to want her to marry Nigel, but Fran couldn't believe she and Niles had actually driven all this way without killing one another.
Niles took a deep breath. "I don't know exactly what happened between you and Mr. Sheffield in Paris, but it's obvious that whatever it was has hurt you deeply. But the way to deal with that hurt isn't by marrying a man you don't love."
Fran got defensive. "Who says I don't love Nigel?! You have some nerve telling me who I can marry!"
"You couldn't possibly love Nigel the way you love Mr. Sheffield. I've seen the way you look at him sometimes," Niles replied.
"But I've been waiting four years for him to make his move! Mr. Sheffield doesn't know what he wants; Nigel does," Fran said. "And besides, in case you haven't noticed, it's not every day that a handsome millonaire asks me to marry him." "Yes, but do you really want to throw away everything you have? Look, if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Maxwell Sheffield loves you. So much so that it scares him. I've known Mr. Sheffield all my life, and I know that, if you give him time, he'll come around."
"But what about me?! Don't I have a right to be happy? I'd like to have kids of my own before I get so old people start calling me Sylvia!" Fran sighed impatiently. "I'm sorry, I've got a boat to catch."
"If you truly want to leave, I won't stop you," Niles said. "But I would like you to remember that there are three children asleep in their beds tonight who need you."
"I know," Fran said. "And it's breaking my heart to leave them like this. But it's not like I'll never see them again. After all, once I marry Nigel, I'll be their aunt."
"Then you really want to leave, Miss Fine -- Fran?" Niles asked as they hugged.
"Yes," Fran replied. "Take good care of those kids for me, OK?" she said, fighting back tears. Niles tried to speak, but found that no words would come out. Instead, he nodded, knowing that Fran already knew how he felt.
Fran walked over to C.C. "Look, I know we haven't been the best of friends. I don't even really know why you're here. But if you and Mr. Sheffield decide to get married, I'll be happy for you. Take good care of him." Fran extended her hand.
C.C. took it. "Good-bye, Nanny Fine," she said flatly. "Good luck in London. I'm sure you and Nigel will be very happy."
"Thank you, Miss Babcock," Fran said. She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, she saw the ship pulling out of the harbor.