The Address(42)

She stood very upright in the middle of the room, speaking to a girl Sara recognized as the older daughter from the day at the Langham. The girl’s hair was a thick brunette, much like Theo’s.

“Mrs. Camden.” Sara’s voice gave an unexpected squeak. She cleared her throat. “I am Mrs. Smythe, the managerette.”

“Right. We met in London.”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Camden stepped forward, holding out a gloved hand. “You saved my daughter Lula that day, and I was never able to thank you properly. Luckily, Mr. Camden insisted you come all the way to America with us, so I am finally able to do so.”

Sara paused. She’d forgotten the pliability of an English accent. With a slight change in the tone of voice, it was easy to make a statement an accusation, or have it drip with sarcasm. Her first week at the Dakota, Sara had realized that Americans didn’t understand the subtext behind her voice. She had to spell out exactly what she needed, as well as the urgency, and couldn’t depend upon a phrase like “I do hope you’ll find it in you to show up on time for work” to do the trick.

There was an underlying message beneath Mrs. Camden’s statement. A warning. Or was she imagining things?

“No thanks are necessary.”

“In any event, we’re having some difficulty getting settled. The beds in the children’s room need to be moved around; I don’t like the placement.”

“Of course.”

“Minnie.”

Theo strode into the room but stopped when he spotted Sara. For a moment the two remained frozen, their eyes fused on each other, before the young girl rushed to him. “Papa!”

Theo knelt down and took her in his arms. “My darling Emily, what an unexpected delight.” He looked up at his wife. “You arrived early.”

“We certainly did. The seas were in our favor.” She gestured to Sara. “I was just giving Mrs. Smythe her instructions. That’s all for now, Mrs. Smythe.”

“Of course.” She burned with shame.

“Wait.”

Theo’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “Mrs. Smythe, thank you for your assistance.”

She refused to meet his gaze. “You’re welcome.”

“But my doll!” Emily grabbed her father’s sleeve. “She’s gone and Mummy won’t do anything about it.”

“Enough.” A weariness in Mrs. Camden’s voice reminded Sara of her first day in New York City, and she felt a small pang of sympathy. “The maids are busy unpacking, but I’m certain Mrs. Smythe might help you.”

The pang dissipated.

“Mrs. Smythe has other duties I’m sure she must take care of,” said Theo.

For a moment, Sara was tongue-tied, until the girl gave her a shy smile. “Would you, please?” she asked.

“Of course.”

As Sara led the girl from the parlor, she overheard Mrs. Camden speaking to Theo. “I thought our apartment would be much farther along. The bedchambers are in a terrible state.”

“I’ve been working, Minnie.”

The woman didn’t answer him. She imagined them in an embrace, Theo kissing his wife. The taste of his lips and mouth were still on her own.

Sara and Emily searched for the doll for only a couple of minutes before Sara discovered it wedged between a dresser and the wall. They were soon joined by the twins, Lula and Luther. Lula, the girl Sara had saved that day that now seemed so long ago, marched over to Sara and yanked on her skirt before running back to her brother with a sly smile. A spirited child, Sara decided. Too bold by far, which explained her near disaster in London. The boy had pretty blond curls, like his sister, but hung back, uncertain.

Having found the doll for Emily, Sara left, closing the apartment’s front door behind her with a solid click. She vowed to steer clear of the entire family from now on.

“Sara.”

Theo was waiting in the corridor. “I’m so sorry, we didn’t have even a minute together. I wanted to apologize.”

She looked up at him. “No need to apologize. It’s better this way.”

“But last night—”

“Let’s not talk about it.” The wail of a child rose from behind the door. Another crisis. “You must go back to your family.”

Instead of waiting for the elevator, Sara took the stairs, careful to make sure her footsteps echoed evenly up the stairwell, even though she wanted more than anything to run willy-nilly away from the man she’d been running toward for the past month.

That evening, she wished she could eat her supper alone in the staff dining hall, but Daisy and Mrs. Haines waved her over to their table, where they sat with a young woman who had a vacant stare and chestnut hair.

“This is Miss Honeycutt, the nanny for the Camdens,” said Daisy by way of introduction.

Sara gave the girl a curt nod. “Please let me know if the family needs anything as they settle in.”

“Of course. So far, all seems to be calm. Though you never know what’s going to spring up.” Her features, though pleasant, were scrunched close together in the frame of her face.

“Have you worked for the family for very long?” asked Mrs. Haines, skewering a piece of potato with her fork.

“I took over in the summer, after they let the previous nanny go.”