The Arrangement 1

Chapter 11

At the door they were met and welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss. Midge Prentiss was a charming and attractive woman with light-brown hair and April couldn’t say why but she was relieved to see that she was older. She was about forty-five, maybe ten years younger than her husband. She kissed April on the cheek and then her husband Pete welcomed her and kissed her too. 

Midge then bent down to say hello to the children. She was warm and friendly to them and they lost a little of their shyness. Midge said that the children were having their own separate party in another part of the house and a maid came to escort them away. She gave them each a small box wrapped in colorful paper and tied with a ribbon. They looked at April before accepting their gifts and she smiled and nodded and told them to say thank you.

She watched them follow the maid across the hall and they were so excited they didn’t even look back to her. Maybe they’d be better off at the boarding school. It might even be the best thing for them.

There was also a man in a tuxedo standing by the wall, as straight as a fencepost. April didn’t know what to call him and the closest she could think of was butler. She didn’t even know butlers existed outside of books and movies. This certainly was a different world to the one she was used to. The butler offered to take her coat and it was with some reluctance that she gave it up to him. She was afraid of what Pete and Midge might think of the dress she was wearing. It was so short that she’d been forced to wear a g-string under it. Anything else might have shown. To her relief, no one raised an eyebrow at it or said anything. 

Midge wasn’t wearing anything nearly so risqué. She had on a full length silk gown that was low cut around her bosom but draped all the way to her ankles. It was fabulously glamorous.

She shot a look at Walter and he returned a genuinely warm smile. He was having the time of his life. This was a dream come true for him. She would try to remember that from now on, and try not to allow her own insecurities to get in the way of their happiness.

When they arrived at the dining room, April gasped. It was the most beautiful thing she could have imagined. The table was long and set so elegantly with silverware, glass and tall candlesticks that she almost cried. There were bouquets of white lilies in the center of the table. There were also two chandeliers hanging above and they were lit entirely by candlelight. It was spectacular. Beyond the table the room opened through a series of arches onto a huge balustraded balcony overlooking the valley. She could see the lights of the city twinkling below in the distance. She had never imagined that places like this really existed. She almost let out a squeal of delight but restrained herself.

The Wellingtons, Pete and Charmaine, were already seated at the far end of the table and they rose to greet them. Pete was about the same age as Frank but his wife was a little older than Midge. She was about fifty, April guessed, but what an extremely attractive fifty it was. Her face was as smooth as porcelain and she also had on a full length gown in a style similar to Midge’s. 

April squirmed a little in her skimpy dress and wished she could have been as comfortable as the two ladies in their gowns but that couldn’t be helped. If anything, she should have been glad Herb had sent the dress because if she’d worn anything from her own closet she’d have been terribly under-dressed.

The butler, if that’s what he could be called, escorted April to her seat and she was surprised when Walter was shown to a seat at the opposite end of the table. Their hosts each took a seat at either head of the table and April gathered that it must have been something of an honor for her to be to the right of Frank Prentiss. Walter was sitting at Midge’s right hand. Next to her on her own right was Pete Wellington. His wife Charmaine was sitting opposite him. The two remaining seats were facing her and Walter and she realized that Herb would be sitting opposite her, and his wife Kit would be opposite Walter.