Chapter Six #2
After changing out of her traveling habit into one of the dozens of gowns Hope and Faith had selected to send with her, Jane followed Mrs. Malcom through a labyrinth of hallways until they reached Mrs. Milton’s office.
But to Jane’s surprise, Mrs. Milton wasn’t the only person occupying her office.
In fact, at least a dozen men in suits were talking and congregating there, with Mr. Milton, that is, Mr. Samuel Milton, standing and speaking in the center.
“This will likely push back the opening of the opera house,” he said, raising his hands to get everyone’s attention. “But if we work fast, we may be able to stay on schedule.”
“How can this have happened?” one man asked. “We should have razed the building when we bought it and started from the ground up.”
“How could anyone have possibly known it was going to flood like this?” another clerk asked.
“It was an oversight.”
“That’s an understatement!”
“This is impossible. We’ll never get everything done now.”
“What’s the status on the new Milton Building?”
“Gentlemen, please,” Samuel said loudly, causing the group to hush. “Until we can fix it, offices will be moved here, to the second floor.”
Mrs. Milton appeared at Jane’s side. She bent down to ask, “What’s going on?”
“Water damage at the company building. Evidently, the basement has been filling with water for days. It’s an old building that Samuel bought for a particularly decent price, although we now know why.
The clerks can’t work in a building that’s being condemned.
” She motioned to her son. “Samuel is moving the entire operation here until it can be sorted out.”
“Here? But that’ll be madness.”
“Yes, but short of renting out another building, he doesn’t have much of a choice.”
“Why doesn’t he rent out another building?”
“We’ve had too much rain, I’m afraid. It reminds me of the great flood of 1831,” she said sadly. “All the buildings in that part of town are likely to be flooded out. Not to mention all the families this is going to displace. Samuel won’t rent a building for work if people need a place to live.”
“So, the entire operation is moving here?” Jane asked. “Does that mean all these clerks will be living here as well?”
“Goodness, no. They have families and homes of their own, albeit not near the offices.” She shook her head again. “There’s no helping it. When Samuel decides, he rarely changes his mind.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. Ah, Samuel,” she said as he approached. “What needs to be done?”
“Desks, anywhere you can find them and as much stationery that can be afforded,” he said, glancing at Jane. “I suppose it’s off and running, isn’t it?”
Jane nodded.
“Yes. What can I do?”
“We need to set up as many desks as possible in the library and the offices. I don’t care how tight it is, as long as it’s manageable.
I’m going to have to go to the offices tomorrow to assess the damage the flooding has caused.
” He glanced at Jane. “I hope this isn’t too much of a task for you, Miss Atherton.
I know you’ve just started. But I assure you, this isn’t the usual goings on here. ”
“Just tell me where to go.”
He smiled at her and her pulse jumped slightly.
“Wonderful. Tompkins should be able to figure out the order, and the clerks will move the desks, but if you could go through the crates over there and try to match the papers with the desks, so that the clerks can get right back to work, that would be immensely helpful.”
“Absolutely,” she said, turning toward the now towering pile of crates in the foyer. Taking a deep breath, she headed to the first and began sifting through the boxes.
It was easy enough work, though she had already organized a dozen papers before the desks had been properly placed.
Tompkins had separated everyone based on alphabetical order, as opposed to position in the company, which might have been confusing for everyone else, but made Jane’s job simple.
All clerks with last names starting with A through M were located in the library, while N through Z were put in Mrs. Milton’s offices.
It took nearly the entire afternoon to sort through everything, particularly when carriage after carriage continued to bring in more crates filled with paperwork, but it was astonishing to Jane how well everyone seemed to work together.
There wasn’t any bickering or sniping, even though from the outside it looked like complete chaos.
It was obvious to Jane that everyone working for Milton Enterprises was just as devoted to their work as they were to the Miltons.
It was obvious in the way they interacted with them.
When anyone approached Mrs. Milton, they treated her like she was their own mother, and it was rather amazing to witness.
By the time night fell, Jane had been on her feet, organizing and reorganizing hundreds of papers.
“Jane dear, it’s getting late,” Mrs. Milton said sometime after a late, informal buffet dinner was served. “I think we can finish up the rest tomorrow.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Jane said as she yawned. “Goodness, excuse me.”
“Not at all, dear. Here, follow Mary up to the second floor, and tomorrow we’ll have a proper tour of the house.”
“Yes. Good night, Mrs. Milton.”
“Good night, Jane.”
Jane followed Mary up the wide staircase, too tired to marvel at the ostentatious décor. Her room was a welcome sight. Jane was quickly undressed and bathed before she was helped into her nightgown and finally collapsed into bed.