know the man is completely deaf! He cannot hear a word anyone says to him!â
âThen that makes him the perfect dinner companion for you, my dear Julia,â Simon replied cruelly, frowning over his square spectacles. âYou never utter a word at our dinner parties. You alwayssit in complete silence. So you and the mayor should be perfectly content!â
âFather!â Julia uttered an exasperated cry.
Simon studied his oldest daughter with some sadness. She had her motherâs beautiful black hair. But Juliaâs face was plain, her jaw too wide, her nose too long, her tiny gray eyes set too close together.
She was quiet, withdrawn, and shy, with little personality. A disappointment to Simon. He had hoped that moving to Shadyside Village, where the Fear family was the wealthiest and most prominent family, would help pull Julia from her shell. But she had become even more awkward and shy since the move.
She is only happy at her potterâs wheel, Simon thought. Making vases and clay sculpturesâthat is the only time she smiles or shows any sign of enthusiasm.
âFather, I think you are being unfair to my sister!â Hannah came bursting in from the back parlor. âJulia can have my seat next to Mr. Claybourne. I am sure that she and that charming old man will find plenty to chatter about, if that is what concerns you.â
Simon set down his papers and climbed to his feet. His back ached as he stood. He realized he was getting older.
He unfastened his stiff collar and pulled it off. âNo, I am sorry. I want
you
to sit next to that windbag Claybourne,â he told Hannah. âI wantyou to charm him, Hannah, as only you can. I need Claybourneâs support for the library I wish to build.â
With his eyes trained on Hannah, Simon didnât see Juliaâs hurt expression.
âI am sure that Julia could handle Mr. Claybourne as well as I,â Hannah insisted, stepping behind her fatherâs desk to give him a playful hug.
No, Julia could
not,
Simon thought. Hannah, he knew, was the charming sister. At sixteen she was tall, slender, and graceful, with wavy golden hair and lively brown eyes. She was as outgoing and lively as Julia was shy.
Simon needed his younger daughter at his dinner parties. He relied on Hannah to charm and delight the guests and to keep the conversation lively.
âThe table is already set,â he told the girls. He removed Hannahâs arms from around his waist and straightened the papers on the little desk. âThere will be no more discussion of this matter.â
âOh, Father!â Hannah complained with an exaggerated pout.
âI do not understand why we have so many of these endless, boring dinner parties, anyway,â Julia said bitterly. âCan you not build all your libraries and museums and parks without so many dinner parties?â
âWe have discussed this before,â Simon replied impatiently. âI need the support of the important citizens of Shadyside. Why must I say all this again, Julia?â
Julia took a deep breath, struggling to keep back her tears. âWell, if you do not believe I have the personality to grace your table, if you really believe the only place for me is to be seated in the corner next to a deaf man, then perhaps I shall stay in my room tonight!â she cried.
Simon opened his mouth to reply, but a sound in the doorway interrupted him. He and the girls turned to see Mrs. MacKenzie, the housekeeper, enter with a short, red-haired girl in a maidâs uniform.
âI am so sorry to be interrupting, sir,â Mrs. MacKenzie said, rolling her white apron in her hands. âBut I am training Lucy here on the procedure for dusting. Lucy is the new maid. She just started this week. She is helping us tidy up and get ready for the dinner party tonight.â
Lucy blushed and lowered her eyes. She was a tiny girl, Simon saw. No more than eighteen. She had orangey red hair
Ker Dukey, D.H. Sidebottom