antique valise. The furnishings in the room were different, even the doors.
Where is the phone?
She couldn’t find it and she felt like her head was full of cobwebs.
Boy, I’m having some dream. At least I hope it’s a dream
.
She located the phone, an ancient-looking contraption, and she lifted the receiver to her ear. After an unfamiliar ringing noise on the line she heard the reassuring sound of Edward Chase’s voice come back to her.
“Mr. Chase! What’s happening? I woke up and the monument has been destroyed!”
“There is no problem, Ms. Parker. Your carriage will be here to take you to your appointment precisely at 2 o’clock. It’s a lovely spring afternoon although I would recommend you bring your wrap. The winds tend to change here without warning,” he responded, with no hint of sarcasm. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Parker?”
Had this man even looked outside in the past hour? Had she slept longer than she thought? Maybe it wasn’t even Wednesday anymore. Something wasn’t right.
“Yes! What is the date and time that you were given for my appointment?” She was practically screaming at the man by this point.
“You needn’t worry about being late, madam. I assure you we have all the right information. The gentleman’s office was very specific. It says here two-thirty today, April 12,” he calmly told her.
She could hardly believe the next words out of her own mouth.
“April 12 . . . of what year?”
“I beg your pardon, Ms. Parker?”
“What is the
year
, Mr. Chase?” The tension in her voice was mounting.
“Madam, it is 1865 of course. Are you feeling unwell? Would you like me to send up a lady’s maid to assist you, Ms. Parker?”
Catherine sank to the bed and noticed the sounds the old springs made.
“No,” she answered. “I don’t think the maid can help me.”
And with that, she started for the closet to see what she could find to wear. There was an answer to what was happening to her, but she wasn’t going to find it in this room. Catherine Parker was going out.
C HAPTER 2
THE GRANDE DAME
The Willard Hotel stands at the corner of 14 th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, two blocks from the White House. The grand Beaux-Arts structure has stood sentinel at this corner since 1847 when Henry Willard combined a number of existing hotel structures dating to 1816, expanded them, and put his own name on his creation. From this vantage point, more than 165 of years of history has marched through, and past its front doors.
For decades the Willard family built, tore down, acquired, and repurposed the property, bringing to life the magnificent hotel that exists today. Though it was shuttered for almost twenty years beginning in the late 1960s, the Willard re-emerged as the grande dame of upper class hospitality in 1986.
Legends abound regarding the Willard and while some are documented fact, others are open for debate. One such story has it that President Ulysses S. Grant would walk the two blocks from the White House to the Willard to sit in its expansive lobby and enjoy his evening cigars because his wife didn’t like for him to smoke in the White House. When word got out that the president could be found there, people began to converge on the Willard in the evenings to bend his ear about all kinds of plans and schemes for which they hoped to solicit his support. Thus the term “lobbyist” was born. It makes for a good story, but likely isn’t true since the word “lobbying” appeared in print more than forty years earlier. While the word may not have originated at the hotel, it
is
true that Grant frequented the Willard to enjoyhis cigars and brandy and some visitors today claim they can still smell his cigar smoke. Stories like these have given the Willard the kind of insider status other hotels can’t claim.
It is absolutely true that Abraham Lincoln stayed at the Willard when he arrived in Washington before his inauguration. He stayed there on
Where is the phone?
She couldn’t find it and she felt like her head was full of cobwebs.
Boy, I’m having some dream. At least I hope it’s a dream
.
She located the phone, an ancient-looking contraption, and she lifted the receiver to her ear. After an unfamiliar ringing noise on the line she heard the reassuring sound of Edward Chase’s voice come back to her.
“Mr. Chase! What’s happening? I woke up and the monument has been destroyed!”
“There is no problem, Ms. Parker. Your carriage will be here to take you to your appointment precisely at 2 o’clock. It’s a lovely spring afternoon although I would recommend you bring your wrap. The winds tend to change here without warning,” he responded, with no hint of sarcasm. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Parker?”
Had this man even looked outside in the past hour? Had she slept longer than she thought? Maybe it wasn’t even Wednesday anymore. Something wasn’t right.
“Yes! What is the date and time that you were given for my appointment?” She was practically screaming at the man by this point.
“You needn’t worry about being late, madam. I assure you we have all the right information. The gentleman’s office was very specific. It says here two-thirty today, April 12,” he calmly told her.
She could hardly believe the next words out of her own mouth.
“April 12 . . . of what year?”
“I beg your pardon, Ms. Parker?”
“What is the
year
, Mr. Chase?” The tension in her voice was mounting.
“Madam, it is 1865 of course. Are you feeling unwell? Would you like me to send up a lady’s maid to assist you, Ms. Parker?”
Catherine sank to the bed and noticed the sounds the old springs made.
“No,” she answered. “I don’t think the maid can help me.”
And with that, she started for the closet to see what she could find to wear. There was an answer to what was happening to her, but she wasn’t going to find it in this room. Catherine Parker was going out.
C HAPTER 2
THE GRANDE DAME
The Willard Hotel stands at the corner of 14 th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, two blocks from the White House. The grand Beaux-Arts structure has stood sentinel at this corner since 1847 when Henry Willard combined a number of existing hotel structures dating to 1816, expanded them, and put his own name on his creation. From this vantage point, more than 165 of years of history has marched through, and past its front doors.
For decades the Willard family built, tore down, acquired, and repurposed the property, bringing to life the magnificent hotel that exists today. Though it was shuttered for almost twenty years beginning in the late 1960s, the Willard re-emerged as the grande dame of upper class hospitality in 1986.
Legends abound regarding the Willard and while some are documented fact, others are open for debate. One such story has it that President Ulysses S. Grant would walk the two blocks from the White House to the Willard to sit in its expansive lobby and enjoy his evening cigars because his wife didn’t like for him to smoke in the White House. When word got out that the president could be found there, people began to converge on the Willard in the evenings to bend his ear about all kinds of plans and schemes for which they hoped to solicit his support. Thus the term “lobbyist” was born. It makes for a good story, but likely isn’t true since the word “lobbying” appeared in print more than forty years earlier. While the word may not have originated at the hotel, it
is
true that Grant frequented the Willard to enjoyhis cigars and brandy and some visitors today claim they can still smell his cigar smoke. Stories like these have given the Willard the kind of insider status other hotels can’t claim.
It is absolutely true that Abraham Lincoln stayed at the Willard when he arrived in Washington before his inauguration. He stayed there on
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