Magnolia City Read Online Free

name’s Hetty if that’s what you’re trying to find out.” She gave him a teasing glance. “And yours is Mac.”
    Flashbulbs went off in Garret’s eyes. “How’d you know that?”
    “You made yourself rather notorious downstairs.”
    He chuckled, his eyes gleaming. “I think the cotton carnival could use a little excitement before it conks out completely.”
    “You may be right. But No-Tsu-Oh will never die.”
    “Why not?”
    “It’s a place.”
    “And where is this place?”
    She looked around. “Well, at the moment, you’re in it. Need I say more?”
    Hetty’s fast line of gab worked. When she sat down with Lamar on the sofa, Garret turned the bartending over to Butch and joined them. She introduced the two men, and they talked oil across her for a few minutes. The cushions were so soft, she was wedged between their bodies and became aware of how different they smelled: Lamar with his usual scent of sandalwood cologne, Garret emanating the musk of leather and Stacomb hair cream. A couple of Lamar’s college friends came over and interrupted, so Garret engaged her in a tête-à-tête. She was grateful they were sitting down. She didn’t know whether it was the gin or the look in his eyes that made her knees feel like melting candles.
    “I love your car, by the way,” she told him. “What kind is it?”
    “An Auburn. Want to go for a ride sometime?”
    “Why not?” She laughed, hoping Lamar wouldn’t hear her.
    But her laugh wasn’t lost in the general hubbub. It ricocheted through a silence that had crept over the room. She looked up. Nella had planted herself in the doorway, surveying the scene icily. Drinks were set down, and cigarettes snubbed out. Hetty rolled her eyes at Garret and stood to leave.
    Nella grappled onto her arm and pushed her down the hallway. “You know what this means, young lady.”
    “I’m confined to my room again?”
    “For the rest of the weekend.”
    Oh, well, there’s still tonight, Hetty told herself.
    “And don’t think you’re staying for the rest of the party tonight. As soon as your sister’s coronation is over, it’s upstairs.”
    A bitter taste stained Hetty’s mouth. Ratted out again! Char did this on purpose so I’d miss the carnival’s jazz finale—my favorite! She was about to protest, when the court jester sprang to her rescue. “Who was the ninny who nabbed Princess Nnamreh?” Lamar said to Nella.
    She shot him a frown over her shoulder.
    “ ‘Not I,’ said the queen. ‘I was dancing with the king,’ ” Lamar continued. “So what ninny nabbed Nnamreh?”
    Nella turned to Lamar and chuckled in spite of herself.
    “ ‘I’m afraid it was I,’ said the court jester. ‘To amuse her with ninniness. Forgive me, your highness.’ ” He kissed Nella’s hand.
    Nella pretended to be annoyed, but Hetty could see the smile playing about her lips. “Back to court with you both.”
     
    Monday morning, Hetty and Charlotte walked a few paces behind their mother as she swept through the long lobby of the Warwick Hotel. Nella’s departures were nothing short of theater. She descended through the various levels of the lobby as if stepping off the dais of a throne. The staff all greeted her by name as she passed the massive columns of black walnut. Next, she would cross the Saxony carpets of the solarium, where white wicker divans flickered in the shade of potted palms. Never one to open a door by herself, she waited at the main entrance until an attendant rushed over so she could step out and stand at the curving balconies of the terrace to see who might be disembarking from a chauffeured brougham. Finally, the descent down the staircase to the palatial porte cochere, where her own Packard town car waited at the top of a circular drive.
    Hetty was back in favor after patiently serving a penance watched over by Lina. Lamar’s riddles hadn’t been sufficient to charm Nella out of her disapproval. Hetty had tried to remain cheerful during her