Chapter 2: First Impressions

Meredith Sauvage

I KNEW when I accepted the position that Liam would be a little put off. I hadn’t known his grandmother would not tell him who his new personal assistant was. I suppose she wanted to keep him from whining at her until I arrived. We had not always gotten on well.

“Mr. Cyning. My apologies for startling you. I had not expected to meet you until after five. I hope my appearance is not disconcerting to you,” I said. I would need to handle him carefully and try not to set him off just by being here.

“As long as you keep your fists to yourself, I’m sure I’ll learn to tolerate you,” he said. I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. On his tenth birthday, he’d been insufferable about wanting the boys to stay away from the girls. When he’d taunted me by calling me Meri the Savage, I’d punched him in the nose. Got it good and bloody, too.

“I’ve learned much sharper jabs since our last encounter. They don’t leave visible marks, though.” I was certainly not going to be cowed by him. I was an impulsive twelve-year-old when I’d struck him and Mrs. Cyning the elder had given me implicit permission to ‘set him straight.’ I think it was my first test on the path to becoming his assistant. I’d been trained for eight years for this day.

“Must I then be on my guard at all times?”

“No. Being on your guard means you expect me to be on the offense. I have no reason to attack unless you are being an insufferable prat. Even then, I’ve learned to ignore most malfeasance of that sort. I trust that even if rocky in spots, we will be able to develop a positive working relationship.” I held his eyes, even though I had to look up at him now, unlike when we were children and I stood nearly a head taller. Still, I guessed our heights were only two or three inches apart even now.

“We shall need to apply ourselves to the challenge.” He smiled a little. “Miss Sauvage, I am intrigued by the prospect of working with you. I have no doubt that you were chosen by Grandmother as a test of my maturity. I expect you will not be the last such test. May I escort you to the patio where guests will gather for drinks before dinner?”

“I would be delighted to take your arm, Mr. Cyning.” He offered and I accepted his elbow as we walked toward the stairs and the party that was already beginning. I would not often be on his arm. We would have to see if we could even stand being in the same room.

We walked down the stairs companionably, but when I saw that people had already begun to gather, I extracted my hand. Liam turned a questioning look on me.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Cyning. I’m your assistant, not your date. It would not look right for me to appear on your arm,” I said. It was also my first day on this job and I didn’t want any of the Cynings looking at me and wondering what I was up to. I stayed near Liam, but not in an intimate proximity.

“Oh. I suppose so. The party is mostly old people. I see Lonnie and his girlfriend, though. Let’s go.” I laid a restraining hand on his elbow again.

“You are the host and even these old people are your guests,” I whispered. “Don’t ignore them.” He sighed, but nonetheless began working his way around the room, greeting each of the guests politely and introducing me as his new assistant. Eventually, we reached his friend and roommate, Lonnie.

“Quite the drag having to talk to everyone,” Lonnie said. “We haven’t met anyone since your parents greeted us at the door. Who is this with you?” Lonnie leaned around Liam to see me more clearly and I stepped out to greet him.

“Is that a way to greet an old school chum?” I asked as I extended my hand to him.

“My God! Meredith Sauvage? You certainly turned out to be a beauty. How did Liam manage to pick you up? Did he finally apologize?” Lonnie asked. His date looked petulant and pulled on his arm. “Oh, this is my friend, Susan Ritter. Susan, Meredith went to school with Liam and me back before we were all sent to boarding schools eight years ago.”

“I don’t believe I’ve met you before either, Miss Ritter,” Liam said. “Welcome to Buxton House and the party.”

“Thank you,” she said. She still looked a little angry at Lonnie. I thought she must be a bit younger than the rest of us. I was more than two years older than Liam and Lonnie was between us.

“Miss Sauvage is my new assistant,” Liam said. “I’m told that I’ll have increasing responsibilities this fall and her help will be much appreciated.”

“We need to get together then,” Lonnie said. “We could all go out and catch up on our lives.”

“By the way, Lonnie, did you meet Jack Lenova? I see him at the bar. Ladies, can we bring you drinks?” Liam asked. Susan and I gave our preferences and I suggested we sit at a nearby table.

“How do you happen to know Mr. Porras and Mr. Cyning?” I asked. I was going to try to get her to behave a little more formally. The four of us were certainly the youngest at the party and I guessed she was the youngest of us.

“Lonnie is my boyfriend,” she seethed. “I never met Liam before. Lonnie just said it was a birthday party and would be fun. There’s only old people here.”

“Mr. Cyning’s parents, I’m told, were responsible for the guest list. I doubt they know many young people.”

“Why do you call Liam Mr. Cyning? He’s younger than you are,” Susan said.

“It’s polite. And besides that, he is my employer. Age alone does not indicate one’s station in life. We should always try to be polite, especially until we actually know a person and are invited to familiarity,” I explained. I had a feeling my words were falling on deaf ears.

I looked for Lonnie and Liam and saw them just parting with an older gentleman I assumed was the Jack Lenova Liam had mentioned. He seemed vaguely familiar, but any memories I had of Buxton House were eight years old.

“Sorry it took us so long,” Liam said as the boys handed us our drinks. “I wanted to be sure Lonnie met Mr. Lenova, my father’s corporate attorney.”

“He could be important to my career,” Lonnie nodded.

“You don’t have a career. You’re just a student,” Susan chided.

“Well, let’s pretend that one day I shall have a career. Okay?”

“What are you studying these days, Mr. Porras?” I asked.

“Well, Father said that the best step into politics is law. I’m not completely convinced, but it can’t hurt and Elenchus has a pre-law specialty with just an extra year. It should at least give me a head start when I move on to law school.”

“Oh, sorry to interrupt,” Liam said. “Grandmother just arrived with Mrs. Grosvenor. Please, let me introduce you to her.” We stood, leaving our drinks on the table and followed Liam to his grandmother’s side. Of course, I’d been interviewed by her half a dozen times in the past few months and I was sure Lonnie was often a guest of Liam’s, but it was a nice gesture.

“Grandmother, I would like to introduce you to my friends, if I may.”

“Of course, Liam. I would love to meet them.” I always found myself at ease around the elder Mrs. Cyning, even though I was a bit in awe of her. I held back and let Liam introduce his friends.

“This is Lonnie Porras and his date, Miss Susan Ritter. Lonnie and Susan, my grandmother, Mrs. Cyning. And this is our friend, Mrs. Grosvenor.” His grandmother seemed to know a lot about Susan as well as the rest of us.

“I’m pleased to meet you again, Mrs. Cyning,” Lonnie said. “Mrs. Grosvenor, a pleasure.”

“Hi,” Susan added. Not the most elegant greeting or the politest response, but she was only fifteen, I’d discovered. And Lonnie was nineteen. I could make allowances for her.

“Miss Ritter, is your mother not Angela Ritter, the newspaper columnist and author?” Mrs. Cyning asked.

“Oh. Yes, ma’am. Do you know her?” Susan was suddenly standing straight and on her best behavior.

“I read her column every day. She is insightful. Perhaps one day you could arrange for us to meet.”

“Certainly, Mrs. Cyning. I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you.”

“Grandmother, may I present my ... friend and new assistant, Miss Meredith Sauvage. I believe you have met before. Meredith, my grandmother, Mrs. Cyning, and our friend Mrs. Grosvenor.” It did not escape my attention that Liam was making a genuine effort to bring me into his circle of friends.

“It was so kind of you to allow me to return for this special occasion. I promise to be on my best behavior,” I said, grinning at the woman as she smiled back at me. I took her offered hand and dipped in a small curtsey.

“Welcome back, Meredith.”

“What’s that about being on your best behavior?” Susan asked as we began moving toward the dining room.

“Oh, please, Meredith. Let me tell the story,” Lonnie laughed. “After all, I’m the only impartial observer here to be sure the truth is told.” I laughed and nodded my approval as Liam hid his face in his hands.

“It was a bright and sunny day, exactly eight years ago, that half a dozen school friends and the usual array of adults gathered right where we just were on the patio to celebrate Liam’s tenth birthday. Liam had been given a horse as his birthday gift and was in the process of convincing the boys that we should ditch the girls and go to the stable. Meredith overheard the plot and stepped up to ask what we were planning to do.”