Chapter 2: A New Life

On the way to the Andrews mansion, Candy was literally inundated with questions from her brothers. None of them were too personal, though. They just wanted to get to know her.

The boys never gave Candy time to answer, because as soon as one question was asked, another would come up. Since none of them would stay still at every crack in the road, the carriage would jolt and the three of them would always fall on top of their little sister. That's what they called her, even young Anthony, who was the same age as Candy. This little skit always made him laugh out loud. Mrs. Andrews was the only one who maintained a certain "decorum", but deep down she was having fun too.

She loved her little rascals so much.

Alistair, called Stear, the eldest, had very expressive black hair and eyes; thick eyebrows that gave character to his look. Less handsome than his brothers, but more charming. He was the most studious of the three. He spent much of his time in the private library of the house. Every book was marked or written and Aunt Elroy had to resign herself to this. The city library no longer lent any volumes to the boy precisely because of this habit. And then he didn't return the books. Stear loved science and machines. There was not a day that he did not set to work building strange contraptions: an automatic broom for the floors, a brush that washed the dishes by itself, small brushes for cleaning the windows... He always asked the people who worked at Andrews villa what they wanted him to build to make their work easier. One day the cook had the unfortunate idea of telling the boy that she would like an oven that prepared and cooked at the same time. And Stear took her literally. He built an oven that nearly blew up the entire house.

Archibald, called Archie, the middle brother, was the most handsome of the three. He had shoulder-length hair of a beautiful golden brown, like his eyes. Because of his vanity, he was called Narcissus by his brother Stear. There was no surface in which the boy did not mirror himself. He loved fashion and being admired; he was beautiful and he knew it. On the surface he could seem a superficial boy, but instead he was very intelligent and had very clear ideas about his future. He wanted to become an entrepreneur in the luxury sector. However, he was not an insensitive boy. Archie had a big heart.

Anthony was the youngest and most sensitive of the three. His very fine and delicate features, his large sky-blue eyes and his hair the color of the Sun made him similar to the classic blue princes of fairy tales. And prince was his nickname. He loved flowers and never missed an opportunity to help the gardener of Andrews villa. He still had no clear ideas about his future, but he knew he wanted to help others.

Mrs. Andrews, the head of the family, was a strong-willed woman. No one could walk all over her, not even the Leagans. On the rare occasions when they went to visit her, Neal and Eliza were always embarrassed. The woman intimidated them. Something that the grandchildren liked very much. She was very much loved by her children and the staff of the mansion. If someone broke something they were not fired, on the contrary, Mrs. Elroy simply said:

"The peolpes who doesn't work, doesn't break anything".

They arrived late in the afternoon. When they got out of the carriage, the boys helped their great-aunt and Candy out. Candy couldn't believe that the huge mansion in front of her was now her home. She stood there for a few minutes looking at the building. In the garden of the college she could see the homes of the upper class of Boston. They were beautiful, but nothing compared of the Andrews mansion.

"Apart from you, who lives in here?", the little girl asked curiously.

"You," Stear said promptly.

Candy looked at the boy perplexed. She couldn't believe that only 5 people lived in such a big house.

"Come on, come," Archie said, holding out his hand.

They entered and Mrs. Andrews immediately gave the order to prepare one of the guest rooms.

"Why that aunt? Candy should have her own room, like us," Stear insisted. The other boys nodded.

"I haven't had time to get her ready, and she has to sleep somewhere," the woman said. "Is dinner ready?"

"Yes, ma'am," said the butler.

"I'm going to help Mrs. Baker," Stear said.

"NO," they all said in unison.

Anthony walked over to Candy and whispered, amused, "Mrs. Baker is our cook. My brother almost blew up the house."

"After dinner, get ready for bed. Tomorrow we will have a busy day. Which one of you wants to accompany Candy and me shopping?", asked the great-aunt.

"Me," said Archie, raising his hand.

"There is no need to even ask, aunt. You know how much Narcissus loves shopping," said Stear, amused.

"You make sure you don't mess anything up. When I come back I want to find my house just the way it is," replied Archie, annoyed. Then, tilting his head toward his sister, he said in a low voice: "Stear is jealous of my beauty."

After dinner, the boys said goodbye to their great-aunt. Only Candy remained with her.

"Come closer, sweetheart. I have some things to tell you," said her great-aunt.

Candy obeyed.

"From now on, your life will be completely different. You will have an education worthy of the role you now have in our family. You will learn etiquette, how to play a musical instrument, how to speak, how to move, and everything that goes into raising a young girl from a good family. It won't be easy, you will have to work hard."

Candy nodded.

"Now I want to ask you a rather personal question. Can you read, write, and do math?"

Candy bowed her head. "No," she said in a whisper.

"I was sure of it. That stupid priest. You will learn those things too. My nephews will be very happy to help you. And don't worry, none of them will make fun of you or humiliate you. I raised my boys well."

"I apologize, ma'am."

"Call me Auntie."

"I apologize lady aunt, but their parents?"

"They're orphans like you, honey. My son and his wife had a terrible accident." Mrs. Andrews' voice was broken with emotion. "Come, little one, I'll take you to what will be your room for now. Oh, don't call me lady aunt, but just Auntie."

Candy fell asleep almost immediately. Sleep, despite the excitement of having found a family who seemed to love her, had taken over.