As dinner ended and the children were about to scamper off, Lillian raised a hand for them to remain seated.
"Mr. Chuck may love our company, but he actually had a specific reason for coming here tonight," she said. "He has a very important question to ask all of you."
Intrigued, the children sat back against the backs of their chairs. They gazed at the adults around them, which included Lillian, Chuck and Sam.
"As you may know," Lillian continued. "Mr. Chuck and Miss Grace became close friends over the past year. Now that she's gone, Mr. Chuck has realized just how much he misses her. He's planning to go to London and ask her to marry him. Then they would come back to Brookfield and they would both live with us. How do you all feel about that?"
"Go bring Miss Grace back," Mary Louise ordered. "We need her at home!"
Lillian stifled a laugh. "Well, it's a little more than that," she said. "Remember, she's busy helping Helen's grandpa with the new orphanage. They needed her there too. But it's been a few months now, so hopefully things are in a good place. And of course, she might tell Mr. Chuck no."
The various faces were almost comically aghast. "Tell him no? She wouldn't do that! Would she, Mr. Chuck?"
Now it was Chuck's turn to hide his own amusement. "Well, I certainly hope not. But I guess we'll find out for sure when I get there."
"If things work out the way we plan," Lillian continued, "then Mr. Chuck will live here but still work as a veterinarian and occasionally help out on Miss Tess' ranch. He won't be involved in the day-to-day of the orphanage, although I'm sure he'd be glad to help you with something special if you needed him."
Lillian then glanced at their youngest resident. "The situation will be a little different for you, Fred," she said. "With Miss Tess planning to adopt you, and you moving into her house next week, that would make Mr. Chuck your big brother. So if he and Miss Grace get married, she'll be your big sister."
Fred's brow crinkled as he struggled to comprehend the logistics of his new family. "And if they have a baby, that will be my little brother?"
"No, sweetie," Lillian said. "You would be the baby's uncle."
The other children began hooting, "Uncle Fred!" They wiggled with glee, pounding the table as well as the would-be uncle himself. The ruckus was instantly deafening.
Lillian cleared her throat. "I fear we're stepping away from the subject here," she said.
As the room quieted again, Lillian said, "And we like to think of ourselves as a small democracy here, listening to what you all have to say. So we're going to take a vote, all right? Everyone in favor of having Mr. Chuck come live with us will raise their hand."
"What about Virginia?" Mary Louise interrupted. "Shouldn't she get a say? Prob'ly even more than the rest of us, 'cause Mr. Chuck knows how to take the best care of her."
Not for the first time, Lillian wondered how other households ever got through any discussion.
"You can vote for her, Mary Louise," she said. "I'm confident that Virginia trusts you to make good decisions on her behalf." The little girl nodded seriously, satisfied with her answer.
"Now, here we go," Lillian said. "All in favor, raise your hand."
As expected, five hands immediately shot into the air. Chuck grinned.
"Well, I'm glad to know I won't have to batch it with Sam in his cottage," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got places to go and people to see! Wish me luck, everyone."