Willow Smoke (66 page)

Daisy
laughed.
“No,
I
haven’t
figured
that
out,
but I’ve wished I could more than
once.”

“Ain’t that the truth.
Girl, you’re good. I can see you and I are going to get along just fine.”

“I
don’t
expect
to
be
around
much.
This
was
kind
of
an
emergency,
my
being
here.”

“Hah. Emergency.
Emergency. I know my
Mr.
Nick.
You’re
here
because
he
wants
you
here.”

Giving
up
on
finding
a
better
top,
Daisy
tugged
on
a
silk
tan
blouse
she’d
planned
to
wear
at
a
special
dinner
in
Lexington.

“I’ll
have
your
things
cleaned
by
the
time
you
get
back.”

“You don’t have to do
that, Mrs. Brown. I’ll be going back to my apartment soon.
By
the
way,
where
is
Nick?”

“Ah,
yes,
I
almost
forgot.”
The
elderly
woman
pressed
a
palm
against
her
forehead.
“He
wanted
you
to
know
that he
had
to
go
to
the
shop
for
an
important
meeting
this
morning.
Expected
you
would
want to go
to the hospital. He left the
jeep
for
you.
He
didn’t
think
you’d
want
to
drive
his
Triumph.”

“He
has
a
Triumph?”

“Uh, huh. One of his
many toys. He used to
be into cars,
but I heard tell that you got him into the ponies. Now, that’s a lot better,
from my way of thinking.”

Daisy
didn’t
even
attempt
to
conceal
her
grin. “And, why is that, Mrs. Brown?”

“It’s Mrs. B., girl. My
husband,
Andrew,
bless
his
soul,
had
one
obsession—in
addition
to
me,
of
course—and
that
was
the
ponies.
He
used
to
watch
them
at
Washington
Park.
One
of
his
greatest
thrills
as
a
young
man
was
watching
Seabiscuit
run.
He
talked
about
that
horse
until
the
day
he
died.
Enough
of
this
prattle, you must be starving. I’ve got breakfast warming.”

Scrambled
eggs
with
body,
thick
bacon, home
made
juice,
strong
coffee
and
buttery
toast.
Had
she
found
culinary
heaven?
“This
is
great!”
She
beamed
at
Mrs.
Brown
who
was
obviously
pleased
with
her
houseguest’s
compliments.

Feeling
refreshed,
Daisy
couldn’t
resist
trying
to
find
out
a
little
more
about
the
habits
of
Nicholas
Underwood.
“So
Mrs.
B.,
does
Nick
often
leave
you
to
entertain
his
women
guests?”

Mary
laughed
heartily
and
pulled
out
a
chair
to
sit
down.
“You’re
not
very
subtle,
Miss
Daisy,
but
that’s
okay.
I
like
people
who
are
direct.
No.
To
tell
you
the
truth,
you’re the first woman Mr. Nick has
brought
home
since
his
divorce.
I
was
shocked
to
learn
this
morning
that
a
female
was
in
the
house.”

“Well,”
Daisy
said,
avoiding
eye
contact.
“I
wouldn’t
be
here
if
it
weren’t
for
the
emergency.”

“Right.
Sure.”
Mrs.
Brown
shrugged.
“Believe
what you want. It was just a
matter
of
time.
Mr.
Nick
has
sense
enough
to
hold
on
to
something
special
when
he
sees
it.”

“How
do
you
know
he
thinks
I’m
special?”

“He
bounces.”

“He
what?”

“He
bounces
when
he
walks.
The
man
hasn’t
done
that
in
years.”

Daisy
shook
her
head,
trying
to
understand.
“Maybe it’s the horses. Or a new
canoe
idea.
Or
maybe
he
just
decided
to
bounce.”

“He
scares
the
bejeebers
out
of
you,
doesn’t
he?”

Gulping
the
remainder
of
her
orange
juice,
Daisy
nodded.

“For whatever it’s
worth, Mr. Nick is
the
kindest
white
man
I’ve
ever
known.
He
could
have
let
me
go
at
any
time.
And
where
would
this
old
woman
go?
I’ve
outlived
most
of
my
friends.
We
had
a
son,
but
he
was
killed
in
Vietnam.”

“I’m
sorry.”
Daisy
placed
a
hand
on
the
older
woman’s
arm.

“Yeah, well. It
happened. Long time ago. But...anyway, Mr. Nick kept me on.”

“You
seem
to
like
him
a
lot.”

Mary gave Daisy her
broadest smile. “Oh yeah. He makes sure I get to church on
Sunday.
He
does
much
of
the
grocery
shopping
anymore.
But
he
can
be
cantankerous at times, but then I just pay him back.”

“Now,
I
am
curious.
How
do
you
pay
him
back?”

“I
dress
up
in
the
white
nanny
outfit
I
used
to
wear
in
the
old
days.
I’ve
done
it
a
few
times
when
he’s
had
guests
over.
It
embarrasses
him to
no end. Threatens to
burn
the
damn
clothes.
Says
it
makes
me
look
like
his
slave
and
him
some
kind
of
master.
It’s
always
worth
a
chuckle
or
two,
and
then
he’s
over
nice
for
a
while.”

Daisy
convulsed
with
laughter.
She
could
easily
imagine
Nick
straightening
his
glasses,
running
his
hands
through
his
hair,
pacing
about
and
ordering
his
housekeeper
not
to
look
like
a
slave.
And
she
likely
just
stood
in
one
place
and
listened
politely
with
no
intent
to
heed
his
orders.
Nick
had
difficulty
with
women
who
didn’t
follow
orders
easily.

“So
you
will
go
to
the
hospital?”

“Yes, my sister may be
waking from the drugs.”