16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
As Jane sat at the kitchen table eating soup, Eddie got himself a bowl from Mildred, who ladled it from the pot on the stove, then took a seat across from her. “Enjoying your lunch, Miss Shaw?” he asked.
“Very much so, thank you.” The soup was a hearty chicken noodle served with sourdough bread. Mildred had wanted to seat her in the dining room, but she’d insisted on eating in the kitchen instead. She’d only had to look at the formal table for twelve situated underneath a crystal chandelier to know that it wasn’t the place for her. Now, sitting in the utilitarian kitchen across from Eddie, she was relieved to hear him use her name. It made her feel better knowing she wasn’t purposely being deceptive. She dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “So you knew I wasn’t Miss Sheridan the whole time?”
“Not the whole time.” He shook a napkin with a flourish and lowered it to his lap. “I had a bit of a feeling as we were driving. You were very polite, for one thing, but what really clinched it was when you got out of the car to give those children the candy canes. That was very kind of you.”
Something about the way he smiled made her blush. “It was a small thing,” she said. “We had them left over, and the family looked like they needed some Christmas cheer.”
“I doubt they get much in the way of that,” he said. “I also noticed how you worried about giving the blanket away. Jacquelyn wouldn’t have done that.”
“She wouldn’t have worried, or she wouldn’t have given it away in the first place?”
“Either one.”
Mildred, who was stirring the soup, joined the conversation. “I can’t believe Jacquelyn would have wanted to stay at the home for this long. I’m surprised she hasn’t called by now.”
“Maybe she’s having fun playing the part of Miss Jane Shaw at the home?” Eddie suggested. “Fooling the girls sounds like something she’d enjoy.”
“Maybe.” Mildred sounded doubtful.
Eddie turned his attention back to Jane. “What exactly did she say to you about switching clothing?”
Jane cleared her throat. “I want you to understand that this wasn’t my idea at all. She insisted.”
Eddie nodded. “I believe you. Jacquelyn is known for being impulsive and bending the rules, so this little escapade doesn’ t surprise me in the least. I am interested in knowing how this happened, though. What did she say exactly?”
Jane set her spoon down and thought back to what Miss Sheridan had said. “She thought it would be funny if we switched clothing and changed our hair so we matched each other. She said I should just keep playing along until you admitted you were wrong, that she and I don’t look that much alike.”
“Not that much alike!” Mildred exclaimed. “You could be twins.” She bustled around the stove, giving the soup one final stir before ladling out a bowl for herself. “The resemblance is remarkable. If I didn’t see it with my own two eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Eddie grinned and leaned in toward Jane. “My mother should know. She’s spent more time with Jacquelyn than anyone else. Jacquelyn has always had a soft spot for my mother.”
Oh, so they were mother and son. She could see it now in the light blue eyes and wide smile. Jane thought of something else. “She also said she wanted you to have to eat your words.”
“Now that sounds just like her.” Eddie chuckled. “Well, I have news for her. I’m not going to admit anything. She’ll be the one eating her words.”
Mildred joined them at the table. “So you’re just going to leave her there, stuck out in the country in a building full of little girls?”
“Not forever,” Eddie said. “Maybe for a few more hours? Just until she’s forced to surrender. She did tell Jane just to keep playing along, so we’re technically following her orders. And you said it yourself, Mother—she hasn’t called yet. ”
“I just hate to think of her being so far from home without the car.” Mildred shook her head.
“Jacquelyn Sheridan is resourceful,” Eddie said. “And she’s never done anything she didn’t want to do in her entire life. Believe me, she’ll call when she realizes she’s overplayed her hand. And who knows, this might change her attitude and she won’t be so high and mighty. That would be a Christmas miracle.”
“That wouldn’t be such a bad outcome,” Mildred said slowly. “Maybe this will open her eyes to how other people live. As a child, she was such a sweet little girl. Her heart hardened at some point. I never understood it.”
A thought troubled Jane. “But aren’t you worried she might get angry and you’ll lose your jobs?”
“You are a sweet one, aren’t you?” Mildred reached out and patted her arm.
Eddie said, “If Jacquelyn gets mad at anyone it will be me. And I’m not employed here. I can’t lose a job I don’t have.”
“But you drove the car! Aren’t you the chauffeur?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m just home for the school break. I attend a university not too far from the girls’ home, and when I’m back I like to help out. The Sheridans have been very good to my mother and me. I’ve lived here since I was a little boy.”
“Are you the only ones who work here?”
Mildred laughed. “Heavens, no. There’s a whole staff, but all of the others are home for a few days with their families for Christmas. ”
“Oh, I see,” Jane said. But that still didn’t address what was going to happen to her. “So we’re just going to wait for Miss Sheridan to call?”
Off in the distance, they heard the sound of a door opening and closing. “That would be David, coming home from his appointment,” Eddie said.
Was she supposed to know who he was talking about? “David?”
“Jacquelyn’s older brother,” Mildred said. “He’s a dear. Wait until he sees you! He’s going to be amazed at the resemblance.”
“Hello?” a man’s voice called out.
“We’re back here.” Mildred got up and went to the doorway. “In the kitchen!”
Eddie leaned over the table. “I have an idea. We don’t tell David about the switch and see how long it takes him to figure it out.”
Mildred turned with one hand on her hip. “He’s going to know she’s not his sister.”
“Maybe not. You said yourself that they could be twins.”
Jane said, “I’m not sure I can pull it off.” She couldn’t even find her way around the mansion yet. Impersonating a close family member was out of the question. Along with that came her own lack of faith in herself. She suspected she wasn’t smart enough to pass for a true lady.
“Just try,” Eddie said. “Do your best.” Seeing the expression on her face he added, “Just for a little while?” He put his hands together as if in prayer .
There was something about Eddie. He had a disarming smile that made her feel as if the two of them were already best friends. It made her want to be part of his secret plan. “All right. I’ll try.”
“Just follow my lead,” he said and winked. “You’ll be fine.”