Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
The next day in her office, Essie smiled at the handsome man sitting in the chair on the other side of her desk. “Thank you for thinking of Ferguson’s Folly for your event, Mr. Cunningham. Is this a celebration? A meeting? How can I help you?”
“Call me Mark, Essie. I’m here to schedule a surprise engagement party. Special and memorable. I attended the fairy ball, and the twinkling lights in the ballroom were phenomenal. I wanted something that magical for this night.”
“Congratulations. That is a special event. Can I assume your future fiancée doesn’t know you plan to ask her soon?
” Essie maintained her smile even though her gut twisted inside her.
She was happy for the couple, but the engagement seemed too close to her thoughts last night.
She couldn’t help but be a tad jealous she wasn’t the one getting a gorgeous ring and a life partner.
“I’m confident she’s thinking about marrying me, too, but I’d like to catch her off-guard.
So, I’ll have to get her here under the pretense of another event.
I thought perhaps this could be a fundraiser for the local library.
Jill spent hours there as a child and still visits regularly to check out books. Her best friend is a librarian.”
“Oh, that sounds fun. And you could gather your family and friends at that type of event because a library fundraiser is an event your circle would support normally. How many are you planning to invite?”
“What’s the maximum the ballroom could handle?” Mark asked.
Essie controlled her excitement at the prospect of another large event. Ferguson’s Folly would definitely be profitable if she could continue to schedule gatherings like this. “The ballroom will hold one hundred and fifty. Are you thinking of a party that large?”
“Let’s plan for one hundred. Could I still use the ballroom?” he asked.
“Definitely. That’s a great number in that beautiful room. That will give us space to set up refreshments and maybe a champagne fountain, if that’s something you’re interested in?” Essie suggested.
“You’re reading my mind. Can we check for dates?”
“Let’s look at the calendar. When were you planning to ask her?”
“The ring will be ready in two weeks. Maybe three weeks from now, just in case the jeweler can’t size the ring quickly?” Mark said.
“That’s totally doable. I have Saturday night open in three weeks. Does that work for you?” Essie said.
“That’s exactly the day I wanted. This will be perfect. Can you figure out decorations that would have both a love and a book theme?”
“Romance is the most popular genre of books. You could definitely feature the night celebrating literary love. Then we can use a romantic theme for the refreshments and the décor.”
“You are good at this,” Mark complimented.
“Thank you. This job is absolutely the most fun I’ve ever had,” Essie said, enjoying the praise.
With each success, she gained confidence.
A waft of cool air drew her attention. She had to focus on Mark’s face to avoid following Edmund’s path through the library.
His visits were infrequent but always signaled her to pay attention.
Something vital was happening. Was Mark’s gathering important?
Pulling her thoughts together, Essie walked her client through the process of scheduling the event. To her delight, Mark knew exactly what he wanted. He didn’t debate any choices. She checked boxes off on her planning form as he selected the food, beverages, lighting, and music with ease.
She shared the rough estimate of the cost and assured him, “I can give you the final prices by the end of the week if that works for you.”
“That is fine. I would like to have a cake after the proposal for everyone to enjoy.”
“I’ll add that to our list. What is your fiancée-to-be’s favorite cake flavor?” Essie asked, jotting notes.
“She loves everything. Let’s stick with the romance theme. How about red velvet with cream cheese icing?” Mark asked.
Essie’s mouth watered. She loved that choice. “A red velvet cake is a fabulous selection. I’ll have the baker decorate the top with hearts.”
Mark paid a hefty deposit with his credit card before she walked him to the door. As soon as she was alone, Essie danced a happy jig. She couldn’t wait to throw herself into this event. Every success helped her maintain Ferguson’s Folly and expand her offerings in the future.
She immediately started making calls. In an hour, she had the caterer and the cake decorator booked.
Those were the most essential partners she would need.
Then, turning her attention to others, Essie also reached out to the library and spoke to the director personally.
Mark planned to ask for donations to support the library and had asked her to check with the staff to figure out how to get the funds to them.
“So, if I understand you, this individual plans to host a reception to benefit the library with the bonus of a proposal?” Phineas Green, the library’s director, asked.
Essie loved his deep voice. Phineas didn’t sound like who she pictured as a library director. He sounded young and hot. “Yes, sir. The event host wishes to collect monies for the library’s use. The theme is romance. That seemed fitting for an engagement.”
“I agree. The prospect of a wedding is romantic. This is generous of the host. I do have to ask, who will collect the money? If the fundraiser is in the library’s name, I would need to know the donations are protected from any hint of wrongdoing or fraud.”
“Exactly! I hoped you could accept checks and cash donations on that evening.” Essie shared the date and time, holding her breath that he would be available.
“I would be honored to come play the role of the library representative,” Phineas said.
“I hope the party will be a lucrative evening. I have a feeling people will be pleased to share their funds at such a joyful event,” Essie said.
“To be honest, I’m intrigued by Ferguson’s Folly. That building’s such an icon of the community. I’ve never visited, so this will be fun for me as well.”
“I’ll give you a tour. The mansion is lovely.”
“Thank you, Essie. I’ve put you on the calendar. I’ll get there a bit early so I can figure out where to greet the attendees. Got to maintain the guise of a fundraiser after all,” Phineas added.
Standing in the ballroom before the event, Essie turned in a circle.
Tiffanie had outdone herself with the heart-shaped, red-rose decorations that fragranced the room and added splashes of color.
Sara had set up the champagne fountain and would pour bottles of the sparkling wine in right before the guests arrived.
And on the opposite side of the table was one for chocolate.
Essie couldn’t wait to try that vat of deliciousness.
And the cake! It was absolutely gorgeous.
“You’ve outdone yourself, Little girl,” Zander complimented Essie, sending a thrill of delight through her.
“The party came together beautifully. Mark Cunningham was a dream to work with in the planning stages. He knew exactly what he wanted. I just had to find the right people to make the pieces come together.”
Essie breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. “I have to admit. An engagement is such a special event. I wanted this to be perfect for Mark’s girlfriend. As young children, girls dream of the proposal and their weddings all their lives.”
“My bet is that the bride-to-be will think this is everything she ever dreamed of,” Zander said.
“I hope so. The ballroom is so romantic. I don’t know if I can host anything in the ballroom without twinkling lights now,” Essie said.
“You could make that the ballroom’s signature feature. Always plan to have the extra illumination,” Zander suggested.
“What a perfect idea! Our signature feature,” she repeated. Essie loved that thought. “I’m going to do that.”
“Isn’t this the ideal setting to celebrate romance?” a familiar deep voice said from behind them.
Essie spun around, holding out her hand to shake the handsome man’s. “Phineas Green. I would recognize your voice anywhere. This is my friend, Zander Templeton.” She didn’t really know how to best introduce him. Zander was so much more, but she wanted to remain professional.
“Zander. I’m glad to see you again,” Phineas said, shaking Zander’s hand as well.
“Phineas. Thanks for coming tonight,” Zander said with a welcoming smile.
“Of course. A fundraiser for the library will get me to a party any day.”
“Have you met each other?” Essie asked, glancing back and forth between the two men. That look they exchanged…. What did that mean?
“Yes. We went to school together. Zander was on every sports team, and I held down the academic ones. We collaborated on the trivia squad. No one could beat us. You can celebrate being in the presence of Zander and me, the undefeated kings of knowledge that everyone googles today,” Phineas explained with a laugh.
“I should have guessed. Zander is a social butterfly,” Essie said, nudging Zander.
“I know a lot of people. Phineas is one of those I enjoy running into,” Zander joked.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Phineas said and nodded at the doorway where people entered. “Your real guests are arriving.”
“We’ll send them your way to support the library,” Essie promised.
“Thank you, Essie,” Phineas responded.
Over the next several minutes, people streamed into the ballroom.
Instant oohs and aahs filled the room as they took in the decorations.
Soon, everyone had a glass of champagne in their hands as they stood chatting happily with friends and new acquaintances.
Essie was pleased to see the chocolate fountain was extremely popular.
She made a mental note to offer the dessert treat at other events.
“Essie! The ballroom is absolutely lovely,” Tiffanie said, looking stronger than she had for weeks.
Immediately, Essie glanced at Ivan to double-check her impression. He nodded and added, “You’ve got this ballroom decorating technique down now.”
“Thank you. I decided to make the lighting my special touch for events. Those twinkling bulbs add such a perfect flair to the room.”
“What a great idea,” Tiffanie said. “Go mingle. Get a few more dates filled in on your calendar.”
“Thank you, Tiffanie. Ivan. I’m so glad you could make it tonight.”
“We wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Ivan said.
That statement struck Essie as weird. Ivan didn’t seem to be a huge reader. Did he frequent the library a lot? To read romance novels? She opened her mouth to ask, but a fuzzy tail wrapped around her leg, distracting her. Essie glanced down. “Marmalade? What are you doing in here?”
The orange tabby always made himself at home in the mansion and on the grounds, but until now, Marmalade had shied away from large gatherings of people.
Afraid someone might be allergic, Essie coaxed the cat toward the doorway.
Marmalade had other ideas. He flopped onto the floor and rolled onto his back to get belly rubs.
“Marmalade. This isn’t a good time for pets,” she scolded him gently as she stroked the tiger-striped soft fur.
“Oh, check out that tomcat! He’s definitely at ease with the crowd. I love these beautiful old houses that are actually homes,” a woman commented, drawing the surrounding people’s attention.
A circle formed around her and the purring feline. Afraid the cat and his new admirers were distracting from the main event, Essie tried to scoop him up, but Marmalade went limp, suddenly seeming three times heavier than usual.
“Oh, you!” Essie sighed and redoubled her efforts.
When she heard an audible inhale from the guests, Essie stood up, afraid someone had dropped a glass or another problem had arisen. When she turned, Zander knelt on one knee in front of her. She froze in shock.
“Zander?” she squeaked. What was he doing?