Love and Other Consolation Prizes(65)

“You’re being too nice,” Maisie said as she took aim and then dropped her entire glass, contents and all. She smiled as the glass shattered atop the head of the pantless boy with a satisfying popping sound, spraying lemonade and broken shards in all directions.

Maisie stood up and wiped her tears. “Let’s go inside.”

“To see about the announcement?”

“No,” Maisie said. “To see what else we can find to drop on their lousy heads.”

Ernest smiled. “Maybe Professor can help us with the piano.”

—

AFTER THE SERVANTS ate dinner that night, Miss Amber gathered the residents of the Tenderloin in the grand parlor. They were all there—the upstairs ladies as well as the working staff and Professor True—for the announcement everyone had been murmuring about.

Ernest sat on a plush purple chaise between Fahn and Maisie, trying not to tap his feet on the wooden floor while Miss Amber paced back and forth like a reluctant field marshal in a violet wig, about to address her ragtag, misfit army before they fixed bayonets and charged into battle.

“Where’s Madam?” Rose asked, walking in late as though she didn’t know.

There was a suppressed groan from the rest of the staff.

“What?” Rose asked, as she looked around, wide-eyed.

“Quiet!” Miss Amber stepped in before the staff began to argue. “Well, I’ll get right to it. The big news is…”

“I told you,” Rose exclaimed. “It’s the comet, isn’t it? I knew it…”

Miss Amber stared at Rose until she fell silent.

“No, dear.” Madam Flora appeared from atop the staircase, much to everyone’s surprise. From the look on her face, even Miss Amber was taken aback. Madam Flora descended slowly as she said, “I can assure you—it’s not the comet.”

Ernest smiled. He noticed that her hair was less than perfect and her makeup nearly absent, but her poise and natural magnetism made up for it. She knew how to make an entrance, Ernest thought, even when sickly.

After a brief, whispered exchange with Miss Amber, the grande dame smiled and then spoke as she gazed about the crowded parlor. “Thank you, my dears, for your patience these past few months, your loyalty as well as your discretion. As many of you have heard or read, the big news outside our doors is that Councilman Gill is the leading candidate for mayor, which means that we’ll soon have a friend and patron in a very high place. Our livelihoods are assured.”

Ernest drew a deep breath, exhaled, and waited.

“The bad news, though, is that…How shall we say this? I haven’t been myself for some time now—months in fact. Some of the older girls have recognized the change in my constitution for what it is, and you may as well know…” Her words trailed off, as her normally regal voice choked with emotion.

Miss Amber chimed in, “What Madam Flora is saying is that she has a serious condition, which isn’t getting any better, no matter what we’ve tried. Her ailment is a frightful one, caused by this daft business, and only made worse by how hard she’s worked on behalf of all of us. And so now it’s our turn to do what we can, before this thing becomes permanent, left untreated…”

Ernest felt Fahn take his hand as he listened. She was trying desperately not to look full of anticipation, a stark contrast to Maisie, who looked worried. Ernest held her hand too as they waited for Flora and Amber to get to the point. He couldn’t help hoping for good news—something unexpected and wonderful, though he couldn’t imagine what that would be. Certainly not what Fahn was hoping for.

Ernest glanced about at all the faces—happy, sad, and in between—they’d become his family. He had come to love his new life. It wasn’t without ugliness, but it felt so much more true and honest, richer and more satisfying than life under Mrs. Irvine and the custodial care of the state.

Madam Flora regained her composure and spoke, though her energy seemed to be waning. “The good news…is that there is a Prussian doctor…”

Miss Amber spoke up. “His name is Dr. Erhlich, and he practices at the Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy. He specializes in a new serum cure. But his clinic is located in Germany, so we will need to travel there and live abroad until Madam Flora is treated.”

Everyone looked stricken, especially since Germany had not been favored in the news as of late.

Everyone except Maisie, who lit up. She leaned over to Ernest and whispered, teasing, “I’m going to miss you, Ernest. I’ll send you a picture postcard. And if we don’t come back soon, you better come join us, okay? I’m not leaving you to Fahn’s wicked imagination.”

Ernest had barely begun to take in the thought of the Tenderloin without Maisie when Miss Amber cleared her throat to get his and Maisie’s attention.

“No one knows the future,” Miss Amber said. “Not even Professor True.”

Everyone laughed a little, and wore their bravery in their smiles.

“But I am hopeful,” Miss Amber said, “that we’ll be back by summer’s end and that Madam Flora will be hitting on all sixes again.” She drew a deep breath and exhaled, as though she were shouldering a terrible burden. “That being said, the treatment is expensive. So to fund this little escapade we’ve decided to throw one more grand party.”