Chapter 2 Routines and Parties

Tired, she did not feel like it at all for she had had eight hours of sleep the previous night as she did every night. It had become a routine for her, to get in bed by ten and rise by six of course she would like to get more work done had the family not remained down the stairs until ten in the evening. Emily wanted to compose a letter addressed to her sister ever since she'd promised to write to her when she arrived in her new lodgings at the Mortimer House, she just never found the time to write yet.

During the day she spent most of her time with the children, rearing them in their studies but as the day of the party came closer she found herself daydreaming as to what it would be like. She already knew her responsibilities which were the children, to take them to bed by ten as usual but what of the rest of the party? She knew by now that the Mortimers' friends and neighbors were invited and so she was curious as to who would be there. What a story, a new governess getting a welcome to the household surrounded by people she knew nothing about.

"Are you thinking about the party?" asked John who brought her back to reality.

"Supposing I am," replied Emily, sighing, "why do you ask?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Out with it John," said Emily trying to sound stern but her voice was far more curious.

"I suppose you need to look good at a party," started John, scribbling down on his notes, "I don't suppose you have a gown with you?"

"The party isn't really for me, is it? It's just an excuse for your parents to have one after such a long time," replied Emily, dodging the question.

"You won't really mind the party then, you'll be stuck with us," said Mildred looking up from her notes.

"You don't have to worry about me," she said, "I can take care of myself."

The clock struck three and went off in a continuous ringing that got the children on their feet. Studies were over at three and followed by tea and biscuits at four with their parents. Usually, after their studies, the children would play in the garden with the swings, seesaw, and the slide which was surprising to her at first since they were both twelve years old which she thought was old enough to stop playing, and it showed because they had grown larger than the seats of both the swings and the seesaw.

"How old are you Miss Emily?" asked Mildred as she took Emily's hand in hers.

"I'm twenty-eight."

"Is that old?" asked Mildred innocently.

"I wouldn't know Mildred," said Emily with a smile, "I suppose you aren't old until you feel like it."

Cecille appeared on the garden porch with a tray with tea and biscuits and set them down on the table where Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer were going to show up at any time now. Cecille went back into the house and within a few moments appeared again with five teacups. Emily decided to walk up next to her but upon seeing Emily, Cecille immediately went for the door.

Douglas and Dolores appeared before her just as she went up the steps of the garden porch, they were in good spirits and who was she ruin it for them?

"John! Mildred!" called the father, "come hither and have some tea and biscuits."

The children did as they were told and walked over to the porch.

It had been like this ever since she got here as if it had been a ritual of theirs, Mr. Mortimer would call on the children and they would obey him as if he were their master and not their father but Emily forced the thought out of her mind, it was just another one of her queer thoughts and she'd had them for quite some time now but she was sure it wouldn't stick out in the future this particular thought.

"What do you think of the children, Emily?" asked Dolores just after she took a sip of her tea.

"Well I'm quite fond of them," started Emily in reply, "we've been getting to know each other these past few days."

"They seem very fond of you too," said Mr. Mortimer as he poured Emily a cup of tea.

"Just doing my job sir."

Douglas Mortimer only smiled at her reply as he watched the children sit on the steps of the porch stairs.

Friday came, and there was much commotion in the Mortimer household. There were tables. and chairs all set up for the evening party and Emily caught the children observing other members of the household preparing for it. The color motif was purple and gold, regal and fancy though Emily did not know what she expected when it came to well-off families such as the Mortimers. There were no candles to be found in the house, it seems as if the husband and wife opted to use the lights instead which was less likely to cause a fire.

Her first week with the family had been exciting as well as curious, the former because of how well she surprisingly got along with the children, and the latter because of how formal the Mortimer parents had been with each other. It made her wonder if there was something wrong with the marriage or if they were like the couples of their day, betrothed without getting to know each other, and once married they settled into an agreement with how they were to behave around the other. A strange thought for someone like she who was getting older and having an opinion on how a married couple like the Mortimers behaved but strange a thought as it was, this party wasn't going to be any different.

The sun had begun to set, like a mother calling to her children the light had dimmed but slowly as if the family had made a pact with the sun to go down at that exact time. It was to be a party after all and judging from what was prepared for the occasion the entire day there was no room for unplanned events that could arise if there had been anything wrong with it. Of course, it was Mrs. Mortimer who was in charge of planning the event from the decorations to the food preparations all while Mr. Mortimer remained in his study, he was a doctor you see but not a medical doctor, he was a university professor and since the school was out for the summer there was naught to do other than pace around in his office.

The band had already started playing music while there was not a guest in sight, a good time to practice I suppose, thought Emily who watched over the children as they played hide and seek she doubted they'd be playing at all when the night was over, they were rambunctious children who had the energy like that of raccoons but they were dears from having the chance to know them. She sat on the couch, continually watching them as they played when three knocks on the door came. She got up to answer it.

Opening the door, she saw two elderly figures well-dressed for the occasion. The man was bald on the top of his head and made no attempt to cover it while the woman was homely and her face was lined with wrinkles, both of them were yet made no effort to cover them either.

"We're here for the party." said the woman.

"Oh do come in."

Emily opened the door for them and they promptly entered the household.

"You must be Emily the new governess." said the woman brightly as she took off her coat.

"That's me alright." Emily smiled a toothy smile when she heard her name mentioned.

"How do you find the children?" asked the man this time around. "Well, I hope?"

Emily nodded before saying,

"They're little darlings."

"Joseph, Abigail!" a voice above them said, three heads turned to the stairs, and there stood their host and hostess. "Welcome to the party!"

The couple then went down the stairs with Mr. Mortimer holding Mrs. Mortimer's hand as if she were made out of glass, something she noticed whenever they were in each other's company. When they touched down at the foot of the steps the man smiled while the woman held out her hand for the elderly couple to shake.

"Dolores, you look wonderful as always." said the woman named Abigail.

"I see you've met our Emily," said Mr. Mortimer who then turned to face her. "Emily, this is Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire our neighbors."

Emily looked puzzled after the introduction and the host noticed but said not a word.

As more and more guests started arriving, Emily hid among the crowd but was careful enough not to lose sight of John and Mildred. She was easily recognizable due to the simple dress she wore in dark colors and her hair combed and fixed in a bun that exposed her entire face. She wore some perfume but not so much that people would begin to notice, it was a mixture of citrus and other fruits that hinted at the innocence in the governess' nature.

She of course flew to and fro wherever the children went and it almost made her dizzy trying to entertain guests as well as look after her charge. Emily thought of herself as a multi-tasker but tonight had been a challenge, she also prided herself on never having been drunk but tonight was different, and she had felt a warmth inside her that could be mistaken for butterflies in her stomach.

"John, Mildred can you please stay still in one place?" the governess asked her charge not with strictness but with slight exasperation.

"Alright, Miss Emily," they replied in unison.

"Thank you."

The evening went on smoothly after that but she made her observations about the party. From what she had gathered there were no other children around, and most of the guests were senior couples who decided to retire to the valley. She had not met anyone her age, a few of them discussed their investments in Dark Harbor, and others spoke of their gardens and their plans to redesign while the rest seem glad to just be out of their mansions. There was a queerness about the party thrown for her, the party itself did not make her feel welcome. Instead, it made her feel as though she was invading someone's space, someone's home, perhaps she should have been more firm in telling the Mortimers that the whole thing was unnecessary but it was too late.

There were other things that made the entire night feel like it was teetering onto something dark and twisted but she dismissed this immediately on her part as wishful thinking since her heart had longed for adventure, yet this was the adventure given to her; a party in her name. Even during the party, as the hours passed by, she felt that she was waiting to either wake up back in her family's apartment in Dark Harbor to be told that it had been an elaborate prank on her. Her doubts vanished once she had gotten a hold of a glass of champagne with John and Mildred in her sights. It was odd that while it had been a party in her honor, she was still on duty taking care of the children.

Emily took a sip of the champagne and nearly spat it out, the strong taste had been too much for her but she did not want to make a scene in front of all the visitors. She instead swallowed the champagne and acted as though nothing had happened.

Emily searched for a nearby room to stumble upon and rest for a while and she found that the parlor on the adjacent side of the living room was just what she was looking for. It had been empty when she first came to the house with not a soul in sight but it had been filled with shelves of books probably from Mr. Mortimer's research over the years.

Entering the room she immediately collapsed on the couch, there was no fire on the fireplace and so she decided to start one, gathering blocks of wood she found laying just next to the hearth and lighting a match for sufficient warmth she noticed a shadow in the room she'd never seen before. Turning to the window there she saw a silhouette of a man sitting down, his face covered in the shadows.