CHAPTER ONE
Mount Bedford, New York, 1912
Nellie O'Malley threw one last blouse out of the drawer of her bureau, and put her hands on her hips.
"I could have sworn that I packed them," she said aloud to herself. "I remember putting them in the suitcase."
Nellie and her sister Samantha had just arrived in Mount Bedford yesterday. They were staying with Grandmary and the Admiral, at their beautiful home for the summer. Since Samantha had went to live with her aunt and uncle in New York City seven years ago, Grandmary had visited, but Samantha hadn't been back to Mount Bedford at all. Samantha had thought it would be fun to spend the summer there checking out the social scene, and meeting up with some of her old friends such as Ida Dean.
Nellie was getting ready to go to their first social outing since they had arrived in town. She had searched her room high and low for her pearl drop earrings, but she couldn't find them anywhere. Nellie was nervous enough about trying to keep up hob-knobbing with high society people, and now she couldn't find her favorite pair of earrings, a birthday gift from her younger sisters Bridgette and Jenny.
She glanced down at her watch. She was going to have to get going. Hawkins was going to have the horse and carriage hitched up and ready to go by seven, and it was already five minutes to. She would just have to go without earrings. Earrings were silly anyway. For her last birthday, Samantha had convinced her to get her ears pierced. Nellie couldn't understand why anybody in their right mind would want to poke a needle in their ears, and then go about with loops hanging out of them for a week, just to wear earrings. It sounded like torture to her, but between Samantha and her sisters prodding her she decided to concede. Now the one time she actually wanted to wear earrings, she couldn't find them.
Nellie grabbed her shawl and evening bag and headed down the hall to see if Samantha was in her room, or if she was already downstairs waiting. Nellie knocked on the door.
"Sam," she called. "Are you in there?"
"Come in Nellie," She heard a reply.
Nellie stepped in suspecting to see Samantha dressed and ready. Instead, Samantha was still in her chemise and drawers. Her pretty apricot colored party dress was still lying on the bed. She was admiring something in the mirror.
"Samantha!" Nellie scolded. "You aren't even dressed yet! We have to go. Hawkins will be waiting."
"I always like the mystery of being fashionably late," Samantha said with a fake British accent. "What do you think of these earrings Nell? I think they are perfect."
"Hey! Those are my pearl drop earrings," Nellie exclaimed.
"I know. I took them off of your bureau earlier. I hope you don't mind, they look perfect with my dress, and they are nice and light for summer," said Samantha.
"What am I supposed to wear?" Nellie asked.
"You can borrow my opals," Samantha offered.
Nellie made a face. Samantha was always borrowing her things. Fortunately for Nellie, Samantha was much taller or else she would be borrowing her skirts and dresses as well. Nellie wouldn't mind Samantha borrowing her things except for the fact that she either rarely returned them or returned them damaged. Once she borrowed Nellie's beautiful silk shawl, and returned it with a gigantic tea stain on it, another time she snagged Nellie's sweater.
"I don't want you opals," Nellie replied.
"You can borrow anything you wish," Samantha offered. "Name it,"
Nellie thought for a moment. She usually didn't pick through Samantha's things like Samantha did hers.
"I want to borrow your diamond choker," Nellie said.
Samantha began to search around for the choker.
"Not now," said Nellie. "Just sometime. We need to get going. Get dressed!"
Finally, forty minutes later, Samantha and Nellie were in the carriage and on their way to The Royal Bedford, the swanky luxury hotel that housed many rich businessmen and socialites.
"Aren't you excited Nellie?" Samantha asked. "I haven't seen Ida Dean or Clarisse VanSicklen in years. Who knows? Maybe the Mount Bedford boys will be handsome. Handsomer than any of those stiff New York boys all into their boring business deals."
Nellie sure couldn't say that she was excited. As a matter of fact, she was actually detesting the evening.
For one thing, Nellie wasn't as big into parties as Samantha was. Nellie had a tendency to be shy, she was an introvert. She would much rather be locked up with her books, a blank composition book for writing, and an apple dumpling, instead of trying to pretend to be someone she's not, having every moved watched and scrutinized by high society. Samantha had always been the belle of the ball. She was out-going, charming, played the piano, and was heavy into political issues. She also highly enjoyed the company of gentlemen. Nellie always joked about how Samantha must have had every young man in New York City call on her, but she couldn't blame them. Not only was she witty and vivacious, she was the classic Victorian beauty. She was tall and statuesque, with magnolia white skin. Her hair was simply luxurious. It was dark brown, but in the light you could see chestnut colored strands. It was long, wavy, and very thick, and when she let it down, fell all the way down her back.
As a child working in the factory, Nellie had always had to keep her strawberry-blonde hair cropped short. After she went to live with Samantha's family she grew it out, but it never grew as long as Samantha's, and though her hair was a lovely blonde, it was never very thick, and every time that Nellie curled it, the curls would fall out minutes later.
It wasn't just the fact that Nellie wasn't a party person that made her detest the evening, it was the fact that they were back in Mount Bedford. New York City was such a big town, and nobody knew that Nellie used to live in Coldrock House, a horrible orphanage. They all assumed that she had always been Samantha's sister, even though the girls didn't resemble each other. However in Mount Bedford, Nellie had been a servant girl. She had served at the Ryland's house as well as the VanSicklen's.
"I don't know Samantha," Nellie sighed. "I just don't see you friends accepting me. I'm just a servant to them."
"That is absolutely moonshine Nellie O'Malley," Samantha retorted, using one of the Admiral's favorite sayings. "You are in a fine, stylish, lace, party dress from New York. How could anybody still see you as still a servant."
"I used to make Clarisse VanSicklen's fire and bring her breakfast every morning," Nellie replied. "I used to clean up her room. The girl was a pig. You could put me the finest gown from Paris, with your diamond choker, and I am still going to The Servant Girl."
"Nellie," Samantha said as she pulled on her dainty, Belgian, lace gloves. "If any of those girls give you a hard time tonight you let me know. Girls may not be able to fight but men can, and believe me by ten o'clock I will have six of them, lined up and ready to fight for you."
"Well you better move quickly considering that your grandmother wants us home by ten-thirty," Nellie replied.
A sour look came over Samantha's pretty face. Nellie knew that Grandmary's curfew was a time bomb just ticking to go off. Samantha was no longer used to Grandmary's staid, strict, and old-fashioned way of parenting. Samantha had been living under Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia's set of rules and they were liberal and loose with their rules. Samantha and Nellie had never had a curfew as long as they always called and checked in if they were going to be out exceptionally late. Even at parties that were rumored not to be heavily chaperoned, Gard and Cornelia let them attend. After all, they had been brought up fine young ladies, and young ladies also needed to learn a deal of independence. They trusted Samantha and Nellie as adults, and both girls liked being treated as one. Grandmary had different ideas, and at tea that afternoon she let them know that she had contacted the Bedford Royal to see if the party was adequately chaperoned, and she had told them that they would be having a curfew.
Samantha hadn't said much, not wanting to pick a fight with her grandmother her second day home.
"I'm not too concerned with the curfew Nellie," Samantha answered. "Grandmary never stays up past nine, and I know Mr. Hawkins won't tell on us. Uncle Gard has told me stories when he'd stay out late at parties and Hawkins always kept it quiet from Grandmary. This is our debut in Mount Bedford Nellie, and nothing is going to wreck it. It is our night, and we are both going to be the belles of the party."
"Right," Nellie said to herself as the carriage pulled up in front of the hotel. "If only they can see me without my kerchief and scrub brush."