My Disclaimer: None of these people (aside from Emily) belong to me. Remember WENN is the property of Rupert Holmes and AMC, and no infringement is intended in this homage to the show's greatness.
"In further news," came the voice of Colonel Moore from Gertie's desk radio, "I see here that the city of Pittsburgh has some new, and rather well-known, residents. The extremely wealthy business tycoon Mr. Brendon Sheriff and his daughter Emily have just moved into the Nottingham Estates on the outskirts of the city. I'm sure you all join me in welcoming the new Sheriffs of Nottingham to the area. Hey, Mr. Sheriff, spread the wealth, why don't ya? Well, folks, that's all for today. Be sure to stop in another day and spend some time with yours truly." The voice switched from a southern drawl to one of calm self-assurance. "That was 'Colonel Moore at the General Store'. Now stay tuned for . . ."
The receptionist turned down the volume as a girl walked into the reception area of the small Pittsburgh radio station and looked around, intrigued. "Excuse me," she said to Gertie, sitting behind the desk, "but does a Scott Sherwood work here? I heard him on the radio, and my friend told me that that was the name of the actor. I thought it was an incredible coincidence, but, . . ." she trailed off, uncertain.
The receptionist looked up at this newcomer to the station. Not exactly the sort she'd have expected to be associated with Scott, from the looks of her. This girl - young lady was more like it - was about nineteen or twenty years old, with expensive looking clothes, done up in the latest fashion. There was money behind this one, that much was clear. Gertie nodded her head in the girl's direction, "Scott? Yeah, he works here. He got here about ten minutes ago, in fact. Oh, Mackie!" she called, to the short, balding man who had just appeared in the hall from a door on the left, "go in the green room and tell Scott he's got a visitor! A Miss, . . ." she looked at the girl, expectantly.
"Oh, don't tell him my name," she replied hurridly, "I want to surprise him." Excitement showed in her eyes. "After three years, he'll never guess that it's me!"
Mackie shrugged. "All right, just a minute." He walked into the green room. "Hey, Scotty," he said, to the shorter of the two men in the room, "you've got a visitor."
"A visitor?" Asked Scott, surprised. "Who is it?"
"She wouldn't give a name. Said she wanted to surprise you."
"She?" Now Scott was really confused. "What did she look like?"
"Brown hair, pretty young, expensive clothes, . . . quite a looker. She seemed fairly excited about seeing you. Said it's been a few years."
As Scott pondered this information, the other person in the room felt the need to speak up. "Why on earth don't you just go out there and meet the girl?" asked Jeff, "That would answer all your questions."
"Jeffrey Singer, you are truly amazing!" exclaimed Sherwood, "that's why you're the leading man, and I'm just . . . the other guy. I'll be right back." He patted Jeff on the shoulder and walked out into the hall to meet this unexpected visitor.
By this time, Maple had joined the two in reception, and was having a conversation with the girl, who now had her back to the hallway. The stylish back gave no clues to the confused Mr. Sherwood. As he approached, Maple noticed him coming and at her jovial "Hiya, Scotty!" the young lady turned around, with a smile on her face.
"Uncle Scott!" she cried, "What in the world are you doing working in a radio station? Making an honest living? My father would be . . ." she switched to a calmer voice, "well, frankly, I think the shock would kill him."
The two ladies in the reception area were quite surprised. "Uncle Scott?!?"
Scott, on the other hand, was incredibly pleased. And as usual, at no loss for words. He turned to Maple and Gertie and said, "Miss LaMarsh, Miss Reece, allow me to introduce to you Emily Sheriff, only daughter of my older sister." He grinned broadly. "It's been over three years." He gave his niece an affectionate hug.
Betty Roberts entered the door just in time to see the embrace, but not in time to hear the introduction. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Scott," she said with a raised eyebrow, "who's your friend?" She looked, first disapprovingly, and then with vague recognition at the young, well-dressed girl, as Scott stepped back, bemused. "Wait a minute, you look very familiar to me. Have you ever been to Indiana? No, wait . . ."
Scott smiled wryly at Betty as she tried to figure out the identity of the guest. "Betty, I'd like you to meet Emily Sheriff. My niece. Emily, this is Betty Roberts, our head writer, and the heart and soul of this station."
Recognition dawned on Betty's face. "Emily Sheriff! I knew I had seen you before! You're on the cover of that magazine. . . Lifestyles of the something-or-other . . .with your father. You're Brendon Sheriff's daughter! But I guess you knew that." She paused to let it sink in. "You're Scott's niece?!? Scott, you never mentioned that you had rich and famous relatives! Did you? No, you didn't. Why not?"
When Betty stopped to take a breath, Scott was finally able to interject. "Even if I had told you that the famous business man Brendon Sheriff was my brother-in-law, would you have believed me?" He paused for effect, as his listeners realized the truth of this. Off-hand, he added, "Besides, he doesn't approve of me. Says I'm a bad influence on his only daughter: Not that I could really make any difference. My niece here may have the Sherwood brains and resourcefulness, but she's as honest as the day is long. It's a shame really. She has amazing potential."
"Well just look at you, " replied Emily, amused, "You seem to have reformed pretty well, yourself. What's come over you?"
"Just the good influence of a steady paycheck, Em." He glanced at his watch, "Oh, would you look at the time. I've got a show to do." He turned back to his niece. "If you'll stick around here until lunch time, I'll take you to eat at the buttery. Think you can amuse yourself till then?"
Emily nodded. "Piece of cake. Go do your show." Scott smiled, turned on his heels, and walked toward the studio. Emily turned to Betty, Gertie, and Maple. "I'd like to look around here. If that's all right, of course." At a nod from Betty, she grinned, "I've never been in a radio station before. Very exciting." She walked away, and began minutely examining the pictures on the walls.
The three women in reception exchanged glances. This girl was clearly related to Scott Sherwood.
* * *
Later that day, Emily sat in the green room, sipping Dutch Uncle Cocoa with Maple and Eugenia. Scott was still on the air, and the two ladies were satisfying their curiosity about his niece by asking her question after question.
Basically, what they found out was this:
Emily was the daughter of Scott's older sister, Ruth, ten years his senior. Ruth had died three years earlier, and Brendon Sheriff- Emily's dad- had cut off all contact with the Sherwood side of the family. He was afraid that the crooked dealings of that group would rub off on his "innocent" daughter. Emily didn't mind being "protected" from most of her relatives, but she truly missed her Uncle Scott. They had been very close when Ruth was alive. The only one of her mom's family that Emily had seen in the last three years was her Great Aunt Agatha, because her father was too intimidated by her to refuse to let her see his daughter. Emily was living pretty much alone in the Nottingham Estates at the moment, because her father had been called away to Europe on business matters as soon as they moved in. Normally she would have joined him, but she had to stay in the states because of the war. One day, while listening to the radio, she heard a voice that sounded strikingly familiar. She asked one of the servants about the show, and was told that the character was played by an actor by the name of Scott Sherwood, and that the radio station was located right there in Pittsburgh! That settled it. The next morning, she found her way to the station, which brought them to the present day.
Just as Emily was finishing her narration, an impressive figure burst through the door. She made her entrance- for Hilary was always on stage- she made her entrance regally, but her eyes and her tone of voice clearly expressed anger, or even fury.
"That scheming, snivelling, sorry excuse for a Singer!" she exclaimed, "He stands in the studio and he DARES to suggest how I, Hilary Booth, should speak my sad and significant central speech! He is a silver-tongued serpent, with no substance worth searching for! He is selfish and stubborn, a sophomoric son-of-a-"
"Hilary!" Eugenia interrupted.
Hilary was shocked into silence for a moment. She was not used to being interrupted, especially in the middle of one of her heroic soliloquies. She blinked at the organist, who was looking at her with concern. "Yes, Eugenia?" she asked levelly.
"We have a guest," was the answer, with an attempt at a friendly smile. Eugenia gestured at Emily, seated on the couch, who was gazing with amusement at the exchange. "I'd like you to meet Emily Sheriff, daughter of a Mr. Brendon Sheriff. I believe you've heard of him."
Seeing this as her cue, Emily stood up and held out a hand. "Hilary Booth! I'd recognize you anywhere! How wonderful to meet you! I've seen you on stage several times, you know."
Hilary's ego was soothed by this time and she had calmed down enough to smile sweetly and hold a hand out to the newcomer. "Oh really? Well, you obviously have marvelous taste. What is it that you've seen?"
"My father and I often go to the charity benefit that you do around Christmas time. It's a wonderful cause, and very entertaining," answered the girl, to Hilary's delight. "Oh, and of course, I saw a performance of 'The Rivals'."
"Of course. And what brings you to our little station?"
"The trolley, since I didn't want to bother the chauffeur," she said with a smile, "But the REASON I came was actually to see HIM." She gestured to the door of the green room, just as Scott walked through it. "He's my uncle."
Hilary didn't have time to react to that news, as Scott was there to remind her, "Jeff is in the studio professing his love to an empty room, and his synonyms for the word 'love' are being quickly exhausted. If you're not going to act with him, at least take him a thesaurus." Hilary left, but not without exclamations of annoyance at her ex-ex-ex husband.
Maple spoke up, "Well, Scotty, your niece here is certainly the charmer. She even knows how to get on Hilary's good side. She's practically too good to be true."
"Oh, but she IS true, Mapes, and that's what's so amazing about her." He turned to Emily, "Are you hungry, Em? I'm done with my shows for the morning, and I've got nothing better to do that treat the prettiest of my relations to lunch. I think that you probably deserve it, if you've dealt with Our Own Miss Booth in one of her moods."
To be continued
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