big-boned woman pushed the oak-wheeled chair as easily as if the conveyance were empty and the grade on the flagstone pathway dead level. The incline was, in fact, noticeably uphill and the live cargo tipped the scales at 156 pounds. âIf Iâve said it once, Miz Hooten, Iâve said it a hunnerd timesâyou oughten to be so stingy. I swearâyou could be Jack Bennyâs penny-pinchinâ granmammy.â
The invalid responded tartly, âI believe you have complained about my frugality more than fivescore times, Marcella.â The voice from under the gray headscarf was gratingly raspy, like the harsh shriek of a file being drawn across the dull teeth of a rusty cross-cut saw. âBut if you donât mind getting to the point, what is the focus of your concern upon this particular occasion?â
âWell, Iâll tell youâa rich lady like yourself ought to buy herself one a them motorized chairs to wheel around in.â
âI could purchase a dozen battery-operated carts, Marcella, but what can I say?â Mrs. Hooten said it: âI am incurably old-fashioned, and frugal to a fault.â
âYouâre that , all right.â Her paid companion snorted. âBut I still sayââ
âBesides, if I indulged in such conveniences as motorized wheelchairs, electric dishwashers and such, what would I need to keep you around for?â
âHah! Whoâd cook your meals and pick up after your messy selfâ and stack your dirty dishes in that fancy âlectric dishwasher.â Marcellaâs broad face flashed a dazzling smile. âAnd donât go tellinâ me that you could hire somebody else to take care of youâyou know well as I do that nobody around these partsâll work for you âcause youâre such a bad-mouthed olâ grouch and you donât pay enough wages to keep a mouse in cheese and crackers.â
The maidâs employer smirked. âYou certainly donât show any visible signs of starvation.â
âThatâs because I help myself to all those goodies in your pantry. This morninâ at about two oâclock, I got up and toasted about half a loaf of white breadâand I spread fancy apple butter over everâ slice and I et it all before I went back to bed!â
âI have always suspected you of committing petty larcenies at my expense, but I do wish you had not confessed. Now I shall feel compelled to count the silverware daily.â
âYou go ahead and do thatâall I steal is food.â
Mrs. Hooten smiled. Dear Marcella is so entertaining.
The maid pushed the invalid toward a picket-fence gateway that opened into a circular garden which pressed halfway into a forest of oak and maple. Their daily little game and the pathway had about played out. âItâs cold enough out here to freeze my shadder to the ground; I donât know why you wonât stay inside by the fireplace like a normal old crank.â
âI am not an old crank. I am an aged recluse.â Francine surveyed her tiny hideaway, which was surrounded by a thick hedge. âCall me eccentric.â
âIâd call you silly, âcept youâd cut my pay to maybe one greenback dollar an hour.â
âAn option that I shall consider if you do not mend your meddling ways. But enough of this silly banter; I require a few minutesâ respite from your company.â Remembering her expected guestâs instructions, Francine added, âWheel me around to the opposite side of the fountain, Marcella, and turn the chair so that I am facing the house.â
This order was carried out without comment.
âThank you kindly. Now, you may leave me.â
Marcella gave the disabled woman a worried look. âDâyou have that little gadget with the red button?â
âI do.â Mrs. Hooten pulled back her scarf to reveal the plastic pendant hanging from her neck. âWhen I have soaked
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