Chapter 20 Iris
Iris
Early June
It had to be done, Iris told herself. The girl simply hadn’t been suited for the task. There would surely be fallout from the sacking, of course. There always was, in a town as small as Mount Vernon. But what else could she have done?
Velda had been a problem from the very beginning.
More than once, Iris had come upon episodes of canoodling between Velda and one of the farmhands.
Not only that, but some of the other girls living in the staff house had complained about catching Velda riffling through their personal possessions.
Two of them had mentioned missing money from their coin purses.
Geraldine’s complaint had spurred Iris to inspect the girl’s room in the staff house.
Her breath caught in her throat when she peered into a pocket of a small handbag hanging in the back of Velda’s closet.
A large ring matching the description Geraldine had given sat at its bottom, hidden beneath a freshly creased twenty-dollar bill.
Such a sum had no good explanation for being in the girl’s possession.
Velda was the sort whose pay packet burnt a hole in her pocket the minute she received it.
Iris could not remember her ever returning from a trip into town without some new trinket or bit of frippery she had splurged on at the five-and-dime store.
With a heavy heart, she returned the items to Geraldine.
Iris was still shaking slightly from the confrontation with Velda.
While she did not think she had betrayed her nerves as she was dismissing the girl from her job at the resort, she had been quaking on the inside, almost to the point of nausea.
It was not a part of her new role she thought she would ever entirely make peace with.
The longer she stood in Alice Merrick’s shoes, the more she respected her former supervisor.
Alice had run a tight ship, and Iris couldn’t imagine anyone daring to steal from a guest on her watch.
She could only hope to create half such a formidable reputation herself.
Velda had seemed surprised at the news her services would no longer be required, which Iris thought spoke volumes about the girl’s understanding of what the position involved.
She had been in little doubt before confronting her that removing her from the property was the correct thing to do.
By the time Velda had flounced off, hurling insults and making a scene, Iris was convinced she had been right to do so.
That still did not leave her in a sunny frame of mind or feeling as though the problem was solved.
With so many people in town being either blood relatives or connected through strong bonds of friendship, Velda would have many people in Mount Vernon taking her side of things and thinking Iris had become self-important since she had been promoted to housekeeper.
Not the least of her worries, however, was the fact that she was down one maid.
The staff at the Maine Chance numbered two for each guest in order to maintain Miss Arden’s high standards.
What would Iris do now that she was shorthanded?
Any of the help worth having would already have taken jobs elsewhere since the season was well underway.
Two weeks might not seem like much time in other industries, but the tourist season in Maine lasted only fourteen on a good year.
It was true that the Maine Chance paid well and had a decent reputation among the townsfolk for the way employees were treated—at least, it did before Iris let Velda go.
How quickly could that change? All in all, the entire situation was regrettable.
Even if the resort’s reputation was not damaged, it was likely that Velda’s would be.
A thing like that could stay with someone for the rest of their life in a town with under a thousand year-round residents.
Iris sighed and wondered if she would be able to even hang on to her own position under the circumstances.
She thought she could ask Frances if she would look in on her mother that afternoon rather than doing so herself.
The time saved might be enough for her to catch up on what little work Velda might have performed herself had she been there for the rest of the day.
The telephone at the reception desk rang and jolted her from her worries.
“The Maine Chance Farm, Iris Hubbard speaking. May I help you?” she said, hoping her voice sounded calmer than she felt.
“Hello, Iris. Elizabeth Arden speaking. I need to discuss two matters with you.”
In the space of two heartbeats, any semblance of calm fled from Iris.
The voice of her employer filled her ears.
Miss Arden telephoned from time to time, often to say she would be arriving with almost no notice, requesting one of the cars be sent for her in only a few hours’ time.
Occasionally she even telephoned from the train station, announcing she would require a car immediately.
Often Alice had mentioned she wished the train station in Belgrade was just a bit farther away.
But this was much different. Iris swallowed twice and hoped her thudding heartbeat could not be heard along the telephone line.
“How may I be of service?”
“I have given my assurance to a high-profile guest that you will have room for her starting tomorrow. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
Iris raced through the list of reservations she kept in the back of her mind at all times.
Two senators’ wives, an internationally renowned opera singer, three socialites, and a Hollywood starlet were all due to arrive that week.
Fortunately, one of the many things she had learned from Alice had been the need to always keep at least two rooms available for Miss Arden’s last-minute visitors.
It would not do to refuse any of her requests, but most importantly not one that caused her to lose face in front of her social set.
“That won’t be any trouble at all. The Blue Satin Suite will be ready by the end of today. May I inquire as to the name of the guest?”
“Vivian Shaw. She arrives by train tomorrow morning and will require a car to collect her in Portland.”
A movie star. No wonder Miss Arden wanted a car sent instead of having her transfer to a local train upon reaching Portland.
Many of the visitors, including Miss Arden herself, took a connecting train out of the state’s largest city to one of the smaller stations nearby.
With so many people traveling to Maine on vacation, there were several stations to choose from that brought passengers within only a few miles of their final destination.
“Excellent. This brings me to the second reason for my call. I have a proposition for you,” Miss Arden said.
“The housekeeper of the Maine Chance in Arizona has just informed me that she does not plan to return for the upcoming season. It occurred to me that it might be a good thing for each of us if the same person held the position at both locations. Essentially, since the resorts run at different times of the year, you would become a year-round employee.”
Whatever Iris might have expected her employer to say, that was not it.
She gripped the edge of the reception desk in an attempt not to lose her balance.
The world felt as if it had shifted on its axis.
What would it be like to not scrimp and save all summer in order to barely get by in the offseason?
What would it be like to travel so far from home?
She felt both elated and petrified at the same time.
The silence on the other end of the line jostled her back to the task at hand.
“I am very flattered that you would even consider me for the position. I will endeavor to meet all of your expectations,” Iris said.
“The offer is, of course, dependent on your performance in Mount Vernon this season, but I expect it would be worth your while to impress me.”
“I understand. I will need to discuss the matter with my family before I can agree, however.” She hoped that just speaking up that much had not put her out of the running for the job.
“It was my understanding that you are unmarried, or I would not have thought to consider you for such a position. Am I ill-informed?” Miss Arden asked, a note of irritation creeping into her voice.
“You are correct. I’m not married, but I do have an aging mother with whom I live in the offseason. I would wish to discuss it with her before giving you an answer.”
Iris could make out a quiet grunt on the other end of the line. Her heart hammered in her chest.
“That’s very admirable, I’m sure. Do speak with your mother at the first opportunity. And remember, the offer would be entirely conditional on your performance this summer. There cannot be any reduction in quality of the way that resort is run from the time your predecessor was in charge.”
“I understand completely. I won’t let you down.”
“I should hope not. Otherwise, I will be forced to replace two housekeepers.”
A wave of dizziness swept over Iris once more.
The idea of losing her position just after it had improved didn’t bear thinking about.
Her voice caught in her throat, and the pause gave Miss Arden time to name a figure that the year-round salary to take on both jobs earned.
Iris’s throat went dry. Never in her life had she made such a sum.
“I will speak with my mother as soon as possible,” Iris said.
“I suppose that will do. I shall telephone back within a few days and will expect your answer when I do,” Miss Arden said before hanging up.
Somehow, despite her trembling hands, Iris managed to replace the receiver in its cradle.
Not even in her wildest dreams had she imagined such an opportunity would come her way.
The notion that she might earn such an income was at least as impossible to consider as the fact that she had the opportunity to relocate, even if only for part of the year, to a place as far away and exotic as Arizona.
But if she was going to make it happen, she’d have to figure out how to take care of her mother in her absence.
And even if she solved that, what in the world was she going to do about finding a replacement for Velda?