Read Online Glorious by Jeff Guinn - Free Book Online Page B

needed the constant assistance of someone able to comfortably mix on all levels of business and politics—“Not only my eyes and ears, but sometimes my voice. My right-hand man will be you, McLendon. You’ll extend my reach and have your fair share of all that you bring me. You’ll have to work harder than ever before. I’ll expect only the best results. Fail me and I’ll discard you. Betray me and I’ll destroy you. But serve me well and I’ll raise you high.”
    Besides even longer work hours and frequent trips—sometimes all the way to Washington or Philadelphia or New York—the biggest change in McLendon’s life resulted from Mr. Douglass’s insistence that he move into the mansion: “I want you at hand for discussion or action at any hour, but it’s not just that. If you’re going to represent me at the higher levels, then you must learn proper manners: which fork to use, how to act like a proper gentleman around the better people.” McLendon was given a room on the second story just over the kitchen, and woke in the morning to the delicious smells of brewing coffee and fresh-baked bread. Servants changed his bed linen daily, and he wore fine clothes handmade for him by Mr. Douglass’s personal tailor. On most evenings he took dinner in the main dining room with Mr. Douglass and his wife and daughter. Mrs. Matilda Douglass was an elegant, mostly silent woman who wore jeweled necklaces and dangling earrings. Seventeen-year-old Ellen was given to sudden fits of uncontrollable giggling; it had certainly been her laughter that he heard on his first visit to the Douglass mansion six years earlier. She was blond and strikingly lovely, with prominent cheekbones and long, elegant fingers. Beyond her looks and laughter, McLendon learned very little about her. They were never alone together. Her mother or a stoutblack woman named Mrs. Reynolds was always with her. Mrs. Reynolds didn’t live with the Douglasses but came whenever they couldn’t be with Ellen. McLendon, who’d never encountered a very rich girl before, supposed that they were always closely chaperoned. Whenever Ellen talked to him, it was in a teasing tone, and he could never feel certain what she really meant.
    â€œDo you like living here in our house?” she asked him one night at dinner. “How long do you think that you’ll stay?”
    â€œI like it very much,” McLendon said, trying not to drip a spoonful of soup on the fine white linen tablecloth. “I’m grateful for your parents’ hospitality.”
    â€œIt’s my hospitality too,” Ellen said. “Are you grateful to me?”
    â€œOf course, Miss Douglass.”
    Ellen giggled. “Then perhaps I’ll allow you to remain.”
    Matilda Douglass spoke for the first time since the meal began. “Ellen, don’t torment Mr. McLendon. Eat your dinner.”
    Ellen didn’t say anything further to McLendon, but a few times during the rest of the four-course meal he caught her staring at him curiously, as though he were an exhibit in a zoo.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    M C L ENDON’S NEW DUTIES limited his time with Gabrielle. He was expected to meet with Mr. Douglass every evening for an hour or so to discuss the business of the day; sometimes the meetings lasted much longer, causing him to miss Sunday dinners with the Tirritos and helping with Gabrielle’s reading classes. She never complained, which made him feel guilty. He knew she was waiting for him to formally propose marriage, but that wasn’t something he currently had time to think about. There was too much to do for Mr. Douglass. In particular, there was a problem with the owner of a metal foundry.Mr. Douglass had learned from a contact in the War Department that the government would soon call for bids on new munitions contracts. The Indians on the frontier were proving stubborn.