Part 4
"Goodbye, Grandma, have a wonderful time in New York, and PLEASE don't worry about me! You know Charlotte is quite capable of seeing that everything is done on time. She'll keep me in line," Mia grinned at Clarisse, then glanced at Charlotte who looked horrified.
"Your Majesty!" she protested, but Mia laughed and waved her off.
"And Joe? Grandpa, look after her and keep loving her. You're doing a great job," Mia hugged Joseph as well.
"I'm not sure we should ..." Joseph began.
"I can handle it, Joe! Er, Sir," Shades protested, then corrected himself hastily. It had only been five weeks since Joseph had married Queen Clarisse and passed his job as Head of Security over to Shades. Sometimes the younger man forgot how to address the man he had long admired and who was now married to the former queen.
"Give my love to Nanny and Sir Wilkes," Charlotte said earnestly to Clarisse.
"I am THRILLED that they gave you two weeks vacationing in the Honeymoon Suite of the Plaza Hotel in New York City as a wedding gift! What a fantastic idea! Please think of giving me something like that when MY turn comes," Mia begged.
"I'm just glad they gave it to us so that I could think of what to give THEM as a wedding gift," Clarisse smiled back at her grand-daughter.
"They'll love their two weeks at the Winter Castle," Mia agreed. "And with any luck, by then the new Children's Centre will have opened up in Pyrus and we can move all the orphans back so that they can have the castle almost to themselves. Well, except for the maids and guards and footmen and ..." She laughed again, then gave her grandmother one more hug.
"And Charlotte? I'll tell Nan you're looking forward to coming over for the wedding with us next month ..." Joseph looked over at Charlotte. "Any other messages to send?" His gaze flickered between Charlotte and Shades and both stiffened and stepped back slightly.
"Not from me, J – Sir," said Shades.
"I write to her," Charlotte spoke quickly, too, "so no messages from me. Just my love ... and a hug."
"Then give me the hug to pass on," Joe grinned, opening his arms.
Charlotte hesitated, but when Joseph continued to stand there, his arms wide and Clarisse laughed and encouraged her, she stepped up to him and hugged him quickly. Then Clarisse was there, also opening her arms. Charlotte flushed and would have escaped, but Joseph guided her into his wife's embrace as well. Charlotte submitted to Clarisse's hug, then pulled away as quickly as she could. "Your Majesty," she murmured, embarrassed, "I never expected ..."
"Charlotte, I would have hoped you'd know how highly I regard you ..." Clarisse said. "I guess I also hoped that perhaps you would regard me as, well, not so high that I'm out of reach? Do you understand?"
Ducking her head so her hair covered her red face, Charlotte nodded slightly. She took a deep breath, then put her arms around Clarisse quickly and even reached up to kiss her cheek, saying hastily, "This kiss is for YOU, but feel free to pass it on to Nanny, too, please ..." She backed away into Shades who gripped her arms to stop her from stumbling over his feet.
"You'd better go, Grandma, you'll be late ..." Mia urged.
"Queens are never late, or so she has informed me," Joseph grinned at the young queen. "And I think Genovia One will wait for us. But I'm not sure Nan and Wilkes will be pleased if they're left waiting on the other end!"
"Priscilla and Tom, are you ready?" Clarisse turned to her lady's maid who was standing with her husband saying goodby to her parents.
"Yes, your Majesty," Priscilla answered with a slight curtsey.
"Well, then, I guess we're ready, too!" Joseph said.
At last the four were on Genovia One and heading for the United States. Joseph and Clarisse, cuddled together in their private seats in the back, talked quietly.
"Joseph, I'm sorry for worrying ..."
"Clarisse, I KNOW you worry about Mia, but she'll be fine. She has Charlotte. And if something comes up that those two can't handle, even with Shades' help, then we're just a phone call and a jet ride away. We can come back. I expect there might be a lot of going back and forth now, what with Mia's family in California and Wilkes and Nan in New York."
Clarisse snuggled closer. "Did I ever mention how much I love you? I don't know what I would have done if you had left when you said were going to ... that time you wouldn't let me explain ..."
"Shh, don't fret about that. I'm sorry I said anything. I was hurt and angry ... but the moment I said it, I knew I couldn't leave. I'm with you, Clarisse, always and forever, just as I have told you many times before ..." He kissed her tenderly.
O o O o O o
"Joseph?" Clarisse turned to her husband the first moment they were alone after arriving in New York.
"Hmmm?" He was preoccupied with checking the room, seeing that the doors and windows were secure, albeit that they were on the eighth floor of a very prestigious hotel.
"Did you notice what I did? With Nanny, particularly, but also Wilkes?"
"Who could notice much of anything with Eloise around?" he grumbled, testing the door connecting their suite to the room given to Priscilla and Tom.
"Joseph, please, this is important," Clarisse twisted her hands together in her familiar fashion when she was trying to think.
Joseph immediately abandoned his explorations and came to her, taking her hands in his. "Yes, your Majesty," he teased her, kissing her quickly before nodding gravely. "I DID notice that Nan looked particularly ... er ... strung out, and that Wilkes was a little tense. Is that child's mother never home? Nan is responsible for her ninety percent of the time?"
"That's the impression I received."
Just then, a knocking came at their door. A loud, persistent knocking. Joseph looked at Clarisse, and the corners of her mouth tilted up. "Eloise?" she suggested.
Sighing, Joseph walked over to the door and opened it. The small blond girl bounced in. "Hello again, it's me, Eloise." She carefully curtsied before Clarisse, "Your Majesty." Then, looking up with a frown, she said, "Why aren't you wearing your crown?"
Amused, Clarisse said, "I'm afraid I didn't bring it with me. You know, I'm just the FORMER queen of Genovia, now. My grand-daughter is the queen."
"She's the one who didn't get married but you did, right? I thought that was absolutely divine! I was taking notes, so that when Nanny and I get married to Sir Wilkes, we can do it right. You weren't wearing the proper dress, you know," she informed Clarisse seriously.
"When I dressed that morning, it was for my grand-daughter's wedding, not my own," Clarisse said, still smiling. She couldn't understand Joseph's reticence when it came to Eloise. She was adorable!
"Are you going to wear your crown for our wedding? PLEASE?" Eloise begged.
Thinking it was sweet that Eloise felt so close to Nanny that she considered herself as part of the upcoming wedding, Clarisse shook her head. "I really don't think ..."
"Please, please, please, please, please?" Eloise begged. "I told Prunella that a real QUEEN was going to be the Best Lady ... no ... the Honourable Lady ... you know, stand beside Nanny, and she didn't believe me. Prunella can be a real pill, you know. She thinks SHE is running the wedding, but it's really ME, Eloise. Nanny said so. Do you know, you and Nanny really look a lot alike?"
"Yes, I know. Rather remarkable, isn't it?"
"It is! And know what else? I heard Walter telling Miss Thompson that Nanny's SISTER is here at the Plaza. Miss Thompson told him he might be right, but all she knew was that Nanny and Sir Wilkes paid for the Honeymoon Suite for a Mr. and Mrs. ... somebody ... I can't remember the name, so if the Mrs. was Nanny's sister, that was nobody's business but theirs. ARE you Nanny's sister?"
"Er, no. I'm sorry, but I'm not her sister." Clarisse was a little thrown at all the information Eloise had just given her.
"I'm sorry, too, because I think that would be fun, fun, fun to have Nanny's sister a queen. If you WERE her sister, then she would be a princess or a queen too, wouldn't she?"
"I ... well, I don't think so. Unless she married a king, which is what I did. Or unless our father was a king, then she would be a princess. But you know, once she marries Sir Wilkes, she'll be a LADY, so that's close to a princess." Clarisse offered.
Eloise considered that. "Hmm, well, she's always telling me that I can't be rude, rude, rude, and that I have to act like a lady, and I know she's absolutely FUSSY over manners, so I think she's a lady already. But anyway, I told her I was going to do my rounds, and I've been held up here QUITE long enough. Gotta skitter!" and she ran out the door.
"Good heavens," Clarisse said, looking after her, then looking helplessly at Joseph who emerged from the bedroom where he had retreated after letting Eloise in.
Then a soft tapping came at the connecting door. Joseph went across and opened it to see Priscilla and Tom standing there. Priscilla bobbed a curtsey to Clarisse and said, "Might I come and unpack for you now, your Majesty?"
"That will be fine. Oh, and Priscilla?"
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Could you please refrain from calling me 'your Majesty' while we are here in New York?" Clarisse asked, glancing at Joseph for his approval.
He nodded immediately. "It will certainly be a lot easier on Tom and I for security purposes if it isn't widely known. I'd prefer that even the hotel staff not find out. We are not registered as royalty, but as an ordinary honeymooning couple."
Tom grinned at his former boss. "You'll never be ordinary, Sir, and there is no chance that her, er ... your wife will be regarded as ordinary, either!"
The four of them laughed, then Priscilla hurried into the bedroom to unpack and Tom glanced casually at the windows. Joseph saw his look, and said, "I've done the preliminary check in here, of course."
"Yes, sir." Tom backed out and pushed the door closed.
"Well, Clarisse, I do believe we have an appointment to meet Nan and Wilkes for tea in the ... Palm Court, I believe. Shall we?" Joseph held out his arm to Clarisse, and she took it gratefully.
O o O o O o
Riding down to the lobby on the elevator, Clarisse was aware of the elevator operator's covert scrutiny. He said nothing, however, until just before they reached the lobby. As the doors opened, he said abruptly, "You're her sister, aren't you? Nanny's. You look like her. I heard you was coming."
Joseph, his face set, guided Clarisse out before she could say anything. After a few steps, she stopped, and looked at him. "Joseph?"
"I am trying to decide whether to pulverize him for not knowing you are a queen, or to shake his hand for thinking you look, well, ordinary enough to pass for a regular citizen and thereby not a likely target."
Shaking her head, Clarisse chuckled softly. "My dear Joseph," she said, putting her hand on his cheek, "I AM ordinary ... here. In New York, this time, I can be your wife, a very ordinary woman who is married to a most extra-ordinary man. I love you."
"I love you too." Oblivious to the people around them, they shared a long kiss.
It was only when they heard someone clearing his throat beside them that they broke apart, laughing. It was Wilkes and Nanny.
"Sorry, my friends," Joseph said.
"Aoww, why be sorry? You're on your honeymoon!" Nanny grinned. Then she turned to Clarisse. "Your ..."
Nanny's words were cut short when Clarisse pulled her into a quick hug and whispered, "Please, don't call me that. I'm Clarisse. We are trying not to spread the word that royalty is here."
"Aoww, I can understand that, Clarisse," Nanny nodded. "I remember when the Prince of Cuchin was here. And even Willy was... pursued, for sure, sure, sure ..." she grinned at him, "when I called him Sir Wilkes in the elevator in the hearing of a female guest."
Wilkes groaned. "Please, Nanny, can you not let me forget ...?"
Joseph chuckled. "Nan has a long memory, if I recall things right."
"The Prince of Cuchin?" Clarisse raised her eyebrows. "A very sad man. I understand that after his wife died, he sent his son away, too, for a time."
"Thanks to Eloise, Leon is back at his home." Nanny smiled.
"Leon?"
"The young boy told Eloise to call him that," explained Nanny. "It's not REALLY his name. I am just so, so, so pleased you two came to New York," she said, smiling at Joseph and Clarisse.
"Thank YOU so much for giving us this time," Joseph said to Wilkes.
They reached the entrance to the Palm Court, and the young man standing rigidly in the doorway dropped the armful of menus he was holding. Scrambling to pick them up, he got to his feet again and said, "Sir Wilkes? Ma'am? And ... and Nanny's sister and her husband who are honeymooning here at the Plaza." His eyes seemed to dance as he looked at the four of them. "Welcome!"
"Frank," Nanny acknowledged rawther faintly. Why did this have to be the day Frank was working at the Palm Court? What if he said ...?
Ushering them to their, Frank confided to Clarisse, "You know, you and your sister really DO look alike! And know what? I saw a picture of Queen Clarisse of Genovia on TV the other night. I thought then that she looked a lot like Nanny, here, but you REALLY look like her! The Queen, I mean."
Clarisse smiled politely. "How comforting to know that."
Joseph coughed, smothering his laugh, and Frank backed up a bit. "Hey, I've learned my lesson about teasing old peo ... er ... the elderly. After the talking to my uncle gave me when he heard from Bill what I'd said about Nanny and Sir Wilkes when we found them cozied up together that first morning they got back from visiting the Queen in Genovia ..."
"I BEG your pardon, sir?" Sir Wilkes drew himself up and glared at Frank, who emitted a little squeak, then began to apologize.
Nanny, looking very red in the face, couldn't look at anyone. Clarisse stepped up to her and put her hand on the other woman's arm. The only saving grace about the whole humiliating episode was that no one else was within earshot.
Looking coolly at the hapless young man, Clarisse said crisply, "Are we to be treated civilly here, do we ask for another waiter, or do we find another hotel?"
Very miserable now, Frank almost went down on his knees. "Oh, I can REALLY tell you are related to Nanny now, because you said that just the way she did when she told me off in the Rose Room a few months ago. I've done it again, and I can't believe myself. Please, please don't say anything," he begged. "I'm REALLY sorry! I, well, I guess I haven't learned, but I'm trying! And ... and my uncle will kill me if he hears what I've said, and I can't afford to lose this job. I'm just here until September, but I HAVE to keep the job or my uncle will have a fit ... Please don't tell him!"
"Your uncle?" Joseph asked, clenching his fists. Glancing at him, Clarisse knew he was wanting to grab the man by the throat. He was reacting to Frank much the way he had reacted to ... to Lionel! Good heavens, Frank reminded her very much of the hapless intern Joseph claimed had been foisted upon them by HIS uncle, Sebastian Motaz!
"Mr. Peabody. He owns this hotel."
The four looked at each other. Clarisse's lips were twitching, and she couldn't help it. She leaned over and whispered to Joseph, "Lionel."
Joseph's eyes met hers and an answering twinkle appeared.
"You have made many dreadful blunders," Wilkes said sternly to Frank.
"It's ... I just get flustered! It's YOUR fault, you know!" Frank whined.
"MY fault?" Wilkes looked startled.
Nanny looked up, frowning slightly in puzzlement. Clarisse understood the puzzlement, too. Wilkes flustered him? WILKES? What about shy, unassuming Wilkes could possibly cause anyone to be flustered? Well, Clarisse conceded with an inner grin, aside from Nanny who had had a major crush on him for all those months and hadn't really gotten to know him until their trip to Genovia.
"Well, you're ... you're like royalty," Frank confessed. "You are a KNIGHT! I don't know what I'd do if a king or queen or anyone like that came in here. I fall apart in the presence of a knight! Please, don't say anything to my uncle!"
Nanny, Joseph, Clarisse and Wilkes all looked at each other ... and heroically managed not to break into gales of laughter. At last Wilkes said, rather grudgingly, "Very well, I won't say anything."
"Thank you, Sir! Thank you!" Frank dropped the menus on the table and said, as he turned away, "I'll get someone else to wait on you! It's the least I can do for you!"
In spite of the inauspicious start, tea seemed to be going well for the first while. Clarisse had drawn Nanny out to talk a bit about the upcoming wedding, although Clarisse was getting a very strong impression that the other woman was excited about marrying Wilkes, but dreading the actual ceremony. Since Clarisse's own wedding to Joseph had not been planned, and her first wedding to Rupert had been arranged by her parents so long ago, Clarisse really could not identify with the problems and emotions that Nanny seemed to be facing. Joseph was speaking quietly to Wilkes, and Clarisse hoped he would find out why the two appeared to be so tense.
Then Eloise skipped up to them, pulled a chair over from an adjoining table and dropped into it. "It's absolutely TERRIBLE, Nanny," she sighed, leaning her head on Nanny's arm.
"What is it, pet?" Nanny asked, stroking Eloise's hair out of her eyes.
"Prunella refuses to let Skipperdee watch over the guestbook at our wedding. She said she'll stomp on him if she sees him downstairs at all. It's just not fair, fair, fair! She is such a ... a pill!"
"Now, Eloise, you KNOW ..."
Just then, a very prim, prissy-looking woman strode up to the table. "Nanny, you MUST tell this child that it is NOT her wedding! And you know that, as the Special Events Co-ordinator of the Plaza Hotel, it is MY responsibility to see that weddings and all special occasions are accomplished tastefully and well. A turtle, unless it is in soup ..." and the woman glared at Eloise who glared back mutinously, "is simply NOT tasteful. I will not tolerate its presence."
"It's not YOUR wedding," Eloise grumbled.
Nanny put her hand on Eloise's arm to silence her, and said to the woman, "Prunella, might we not discuss this at a later date? We WERE visiting with our company ..."
"Oh!" Prunella seemed to suddenly realize that there were others at the table besides Nanny and Eloise. "Oh, I'm ... I'm sorry ..."
Clarisse, after watching the events of the last five minutes, thought she had a fairly good idea of what problems Nanny and Sir Wilkes were facing with the upcoming wedding, and guessed as to the reason Nanny was not looking forward to it. Well, she would have to see what she could do to help, that's all there was to that!
O o O o O o
"Joseph, you're crazy!" Clarisse whispered as she followed her towel-clad husband down the hotel corridor at two in the morning.
"Clarisse, Frank told me about this hot tub, and I figure we need to try it. You're getting almost as stressed as Nan the last few days! No one will be the wiser, trust me." Reaching the door to the pool area, he tested it first. Finding it locked, as he had expected, he bent down and fiddled briefly with it, then opened it with a flourish. "After you, your Majesty," he whispered.
Stepping in tentatively, Clarisse was hit with the humidity found in swimming pool areas. With Joseph's hand on her back to guide her, she made her way around to the side where the large hot tub was. "It's not on," she whispered. "Isn't there supposed to be jetsprays?"
Joseph looked over to the wall, then went and turned a knob. The water started to bubble right away. "We have forty-five minutes. I think that should do it."
O o O o O o
"Your sister and her fiancé were having fun last night," Frank confided to Joseph and Clarisse when he brought in their breakfast cart.
"Oh?" Clarisse looked over at Joseph, then back at Frank, frowning. "What do you mean?"
"Caught them myself, leaving the pool area," the young man said, busily setting out their breakfast on the table by the window. "Of course, I didn't say anything to them, because, well, he's a KNIGHT, you know ... ROYALTY! I didn't get a good look at him, but I'd know her anywhere ... yup, those two were the ones to sneak into the hot tub. When I went in to check, there was water all over. Must have been some time they had themselves. I told them about it, you know ... told them to try it, because the hot water is wonderful for sore muscles. Guess now that you two are here and can look after the kid a bit, they can have some time to themselves. Good for them, is what I say. Even if they ARE old. Well, enjoy your breakfast!" He grinned cheerfully and left their room.
Clarisse and Joseph stared at each other, then Joseph cleared his throat. "Yes, well ..."
Chuckling, Clarisse said, "Come on, old man, eat your breakfast. You'll need your energy."
"Oh?" Joseph lifted his eyebrows in speculation.
"Frank was right. He gave me an idea."
"To try the hot tub in the middle of the night?" Joseph inquired artlessly.
Shaking her head, Clarisse said, "No. To send Nanny and Wilkes somewhere to have some time to themselves while we look after Eloise for a couple of days."
"WHAT? No, Clarisse ... please ... I ... I'm sure there's something else we can do ... do you know how much time and effort looking after a child takes? We won't be able to ... we'd have to sleep in that suite, or have her here, wouldn't we?"
"Yes," Clarisse paid no attention to his protests as she poured her tea, thinking about her impulsive plan. "Eloise might be more receptive if we were to bring her here ... a bit of a holiday, you might say, while Nanny and Wilkes are away."
"And how are you going to arrange it so Eloise doesn't announce this plan to everyone in the hotel?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll come with something. Maybe people won't notice that Nanny's not here, if I am seen with Eloise. They already think I'm her sister ... maybe I can pass for her ... wear her hat when we go outside ... You know."
"I think you're making a big mistake," Joseph sighed. "But I know when you get that look in your eye and that tone in your voice that it won't matter what anyone says."
"Oh, Joseph, won't you do it? If not for Nanny and Wilkes ... for me?" Clarisse got up and wound her arms around his neck, kissing him behind his ear.
He grumbled again, but capitulated ... as he had known all along he would.
O o O o O o
Eloise and Nanny arrived about an hour after Clarisse and Joseph finished breakfast. Eloise put her head on one side and considered the suit Clarisse was wearing. "I still think you'd look better wearing your crown," she said.
"Eloise!" Nanny scolded her.
"I know, rude, rude, rude," pouted Eloise. Then she perked up. "We're going to try on the wedding dress ... they finally started sewing it. Do you want to come, your Majesty?"
"I'd like that very much, Eloise," Clarisse said.
She looked over at Joseph who scowled a bit, then said, "Take Priscilla and Tom with you. I'll meet with Wilkes and bring him down when you're finished. How long will you be?"
"I hope not TOO long," Nanny sighed, her hand running over her hair to smooth back the strands that were already loose. "I'm rawther tired ..."
"Shouldn't be more than half an hour, Joseph," Clarisse said briskly. Then she turned to Nanny, "You haven't been sleeping well, have you?"
"Aoww, it's not too bad," Nanny tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I just miss ..." she stopped abruptly, horrified at what she had almost let slip ... and in front of Eloise!
"Miss what?" Eloise asked promptly.
"Miss her comfortable bed in Genovia, of course," Clarisse grinned, catching Eloise's hand. "Shall we go?"
The three went downstairs and made their way to the dressmaker's, Eloise chattering the entire way. Clarisse noticed that Nanny did seem very tired today and somewhat dispirited. It didn't take much insight to figure out exactly what it was that Nanny was missing, given her own incredible feeling of well-being and energy that her love-making with Joseph last night and again this morning had granted her. As they walked, Clarisse was only half listening to the child while she tried to think of what could be done for her friends. Their wedding was scheduled for five weeks away, but Clarisse was beginning to wonder if either Nanny or Wilkes would make it. Despite the fact that Nanny was trying vainly not to let it show, it was plain to see that the other woman's spirits had plummeted even further in just the last week, as had Wilkes'. Surely there was SOMETHING Clarisse and Joseph could do!
When Nanny emerged from the dressing room in the wedding dress, both Clarisse and Eloise were horrified. Clarisse couldn't believe the over-elaborate and frilly style, not at all something that suited Nanny's style (or anyone else's, Clarisse privately thought) and Eloise was apparently quite furious that the dress was a soft cream colour instead of white!
"What happened to the white material I ordered?" Eloise demanded. "ALL wedding dresses are white, white, white!"
The dressmaker, not having dealt overmuch with the child, looked at her disdainfully. "When a woman gets to Nanny's age, they generally do not wear white. White wedding dresses are for young women."
While Eloise and the dressmaker continued to argue, Nanny sat down limply on a chair.
"GET UP!" screeched the dressmaker, and Nanny lunged to her feet.
Clarisse caught Nanny's elbow as Eloise started to shout at the dressmaker, who began to shout back. Drawing her away, closer to the door, she whispered, "Nanny?"
"Hmm?"
"Are they always like this?"
"Always, always, always," was the weary response. Then she tried to perk up. "How do YOU like the dress? Eloise says it's chic, chic, chic."
Clarisse paused only a moment. "What I think really doesn't matter. What do YOU think of it? It's YOUR dress, for YOUR wedding ... not Eloise's."
"What do I think?" Nanny paused, looking down and pulling listlessly at one of the lace ruffles. "I hate it." she said softly after a moment, tears filling her eyes.
At that moment, they heard Joseph and Wilkes coming in to the outer office, chuckling. Clarisse peeked out and signalled that they'd be a few more minutes. Before she shut the door again, however, the dressmaker's two assistants walked by in the hallway talking loudly, and all four heard one say to the other, "Did you hear what Frank saw last night at the hot tub? I kid you not, in the middle of the night, Nanny and her knight were getting their thrills! Hot stuff for their age! Frank recognized Nanny's back as they snuck back to their rooms ..."
Nanny swayed, the blood draining from her face as she shook her head. Clarisse, on the other hand, flushed a deep red. Wilkes, too, had gone red, but Joseph was struggling to keep his laughter inside.
"It wasn't us!" Wilkes said desperately. "I would have enjoyed it, I think, but ..."
"It was Clarisse and I," Joseph managed to get out. "Sorry!"
Nanny sank onto the nearby couch, oblivious to the dressmaker's screeches when she realized that her dress was being wrinkled. Tears poured down Nanny's cheeks, and she hid her face in her hands. "I can't take it any more ... I can't, can't, can't!"
Hearing her, Wilkes rushed in and in a moment she was in his arms, sobbing. He tried to soothe her, but looked wildly at Clarisse when Nanny didn't stop.
Clarisse put her hands over her ears for a moment, then Joseph thundered, "SILENCE!" All sounds died away, except for Nanny's gasps and hiccups as she tried to stop crying. An instant later, she was coughing, the spasms shaking her entire body.
"Nanny?" Eloise was there in an instant, looking frightened. "Nanny, are you all right? Are you SICK again?"
"Eloise, pet," Clarisse said, automatically using Nanny's name for her, "Could you please get Nanny some water? Maybe the dressmaker will help you," and Clarisse fixed a regal glare on the dressmaker who scuttled away at once with the child.
"Joseph?" Clarisse called him next. "Please take Nanny from Wilkes for a minute ... I want to talk to him."
Joseph silently obeyed, easing Nanny into his arms and handing her his handkerchief.
Then Clarisse turned to Wilkes and imperiously beckoned him into the next room, exploding as soon as they were a few steps away. "Nanny is at her wit's end, Wilkes! Haven't you noticed? You have to take her away from everything here for a night or two!"
"Away? Take her away? Where?" he asked.
"Anywhere, Wilkes! Can't you SEE how run down she is? She's lost so much weight, she's obviously not sleeping properly, and just listen to that cough!"
"The hospital? Should I take her back to the hospital?"
Clarisse glared at him. "Book a suite in another hotel where they don't know you, tell her you're taking her there, and she isn't to argue or anything ... be forceful! SHOW her you love her and care for her health! If she's not looking better by tomorrow, keep her there another night! Joseph and I will look after Eloise, so you won't have to worry about her. We have Priscilla and Tom to help us. What can possibly go wrong here?"
"I ... I ..."
"Wilkes..." Clarisse said dangerously.
"Very well," he said. "And, THANK you, Clarisse! I thought about trying to whisk her away before, but I couldn't think what to do with Eloise ..."
"Eloise just needs a firmer hand. Joseph and I will have no trouble with her." Clarisse said ... little dreaming how wrong she could be.
O o O o O o To Be Continued