by A. L. Tyler
Cheryl hung up the last shirt and walked out to the bed, where she dug through the pile. “You know Marie won’t. The old bat upstairs doesn’t like us to wear your stuff.”
“It’s not my stuff. It’s your stuff after I give it to you.” She picked up a tee-shirt—she was sure she’d only worn it once—and held it up to Cheryl. “It’s a little long in the sleeves, but I bet Mrs. Ralston could alter it. Are you in a size nine shoe yet?”
Lena picked up the three pairs of shoes she was getting rid of; one of them was a strappy pair of black sandals. Lena had made a direct plea on their behalf to Mrs. Ralston that black was professional, but the older woman insisted that skin seen through straps, and especially black ones, was scandalous.
“I’m an eight and a half, but close enough. Marie’s a seven, I think. Tiny little feet.” Cheryl sighed and picked up a shirt with a butterfly motif on it. The shirt was a pale pink that made Cheryl’s mousy brown hair and delicate features seem deceptively childish. She was still a child, but part of the nature of being a Silenti was growing up quickly. Cheryl was already taking studies at a high school level, and some days, Lena was sure she was the most emotionally mature person in the house. “She’d love this, too. I don’t know why she’s so scared of them. Did you know she won’t even go upstairs anymore? She won’t do any of their laundry or cleaning? It’s a pain. I’d call her a brat, but she’s so sensitive.”
It was true; Marie was sensitive. Lena couldn’t blame her, because she hated being around her grandfather just as much. If anyone had a problem it was Cheryl for being so fearless. She had even told off Griffin once for staining a new shirt, letting it sit, and then getting angry when Mrs. Ralston couldn’t get it out. Griffin had almost gotten her kicked out for that stunt, but Howard had refused to do it, and in a rare twist of events Master Daray had chosen to abstain from backing Griffin up; Lena had to wonder if he found Griffin’s sudden ambition of leadership within the household a challenge to his own authority. Cheryl collected the clothes that she wanted, and the ones she thought might fit Marie, and left.
Lena!
What?
Ryan Ashmore’s on my cell phone for you—I’m in the office!
Lena’s term at Waldgrave was becoming too drawn out again. She needed to get on a plane or in a car, but as things were, there was no hint of a promise that she would ever be allowed to leave again. Her whole life was stuck in a cyclical rut, and there would never be anything to look forward to besides birthdays, Council, and the rare occasion that Cheryl badgered Griffin for making a mess. And, apparently, unexpected phone calls.
Lena rushed from her room to the office down the hall, where Howard was sitting diligently at his desk, typing on the computer with one hand while holding the cell phone at arm’s length with the other. Lena grabbed it and sat down in a chair.
“Hello?” She said, trying to keep her voice level after her jog down the long second floor hallway.
“Lena, nice to hear from you again.” Ryan Ashmore’s voice came back at her, as pleasant and confident as ever. Ryan was a confirmed Council heir, and a natural at the political games the Silenti liked to play. When he spoke, Lena could imagine the easy smile that would grace his eyes. “We’re settling all the planning for the rafting trip on the Colorado next month, and I was wondering if you’re still interested in going?”
Lena flinched. She wanted to go more than she’d ever wanted to do anything in her life, but composed herself to sound professional. “Ryan, it’s nice to hear from you, too. Life’s been a little hectic around here lately…”
“Oh?” He asked; he sounded so concerned. Lena had to wonder where he had learned to fake such wonderful social skills, because she was sure his interest in her was merely political. They had only managed less than a handful of meaningful conversations in the time that they had known each other.
“Oh, yeah…Paperwork.” Lena responded, hoping she sounded half as genuine as Ryan did. “Howard’s got me doing a lot of paperwork, and there’s been some hassle with the arrangements for Mrs. Corbett.” Mrs. Corbett had given birth to a son last March, greatly complicating the future of representation for the Corbett household. Griffin was in the process of trying to arrange for his last remaining blood family to live at Waldgrave until other arrangements could be made. “And I’d love to go, I really would.” Howard stopped typing and his eyes wandered over to Lena. “But I’ll need to work out my schedule first. What date were you planning on leaving?”
“The reservation’s been made for July thirteenth.”
“Reservation?”
“For the first camp site.” Ryan responded.
“Oh, right. Well,” Lena looked over at Howard, who was still watching her, “I’ll look things over and get back to you later today, alright?”
“That sounds great.” Ryan smiled. “Have a good afternoon, then.”
“Yeah, you too…”
Lena hung up the phone and Howard crossed his arms. Trying not to blink, Lena shaded the phone call as best she could. “I’ve been invited on a political outing with some other heirs, and I believe it would benefit my future on the Council to go.”
Howard sighed; his arms remained crossed. “And where is this outing being held?”
“Colorado.” Lena said quickly.
Howard didn’t move anything but his lips. “Where in Colorado?”
“Well…” Lena tried to think, but there was no other way to say it. “Progressively downstream on the Colorado River.”
Howard went back to typing. “Don’t get your hopes up. You’ll need an escort. I have to stay here with your mother, grandfather, and Griffin. And to my knowledge, Rosaleen doesn’t do rivers.”
Lena tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. “There will be lots of other people there—people who will be on the Council someday. It’s not like I’ll be alone. Isn’t that enough?”
“They may have status as adults in our community, Lena, but we still recognize them as a bunch of naïve teenagers. They’re young and stupid—and I’m not sure how I feel about you going off with a bunch of young, stupid boys, anyway.” Howard looked away from his computer screen just long enough to see the depressed look on Lena’s face. He shifted uncomfortably. “Get me a list of names and I’ll see what I can do.”
Lena jotted down Ryan Ashmore’s number from Howard’s cell phone and headed back to her room. Convinced that she had to make it work or she would die of seclusion, she programmed the phone number into her cell phone and called it. A moment later, she had acquired the guest list—and she wasn’t sure if it was longer or shorter than she would have liked it to be. There were only seven people going besides her, and of the names she knew, at least three were from Old Faith families. She made another jog back to the office, where Howard looked over the list with an uncertain expression.
“Lena, I don’t know…” He said, scratching behind his ear.
Lena pouted. “Please, Howard…Please. I really want to go. I need to get out. And I’m pretty sure I’ll really need to get out after two more Corbetts have moved in here. Please, please, please let me do this!”
Howard continued to stare at the list and heaved a sigh. “Let me think about it, and even then I’m not too sure how the Council will react to this request. We’ll see.”
At dinner that night, with everyone gathered around the table (excepting Cheryl, Marie, Pete, and Mrs. Ralston, whose presence at the table had annoyed Master Daray to such an extent that they now ate in the kitchen instead), Howard was unusually quiet. This was typically a sign that the answer was going to be ‘no,’ as he liked sharing good news. Instead, the conversation turned to Griffin’s family.
His three-month-old brother was in good health and his mother wasn’t doing nearly as well since the loss of her husband, who she still refused to believe would have killed himself. Hesper was going to pop any day now, which would land her arrival to visit with Lena around the time that Mrs. Corbett was planning to move in. Ava was the
only one who didn’t see a problem with this inconvenient fact, as she was too overjoyed to have babies in the house again—ones whose diapers she would not be obliged to change.
Griffin was acting as though the situation was a bomb that needed to be diffused. “You’ll have to tell her to delay her trip, Lena. My mother’s dealing with enough already, and having the family disgrace in the house might put her over the edge.”
Lena fought the temptation to hurl a fork load of peas at Griffin. He had become entirely too bossy in the past months, even given how little she had seen him. “She’s my best friend. In fact, she’s probably closer to being my sister than yours. So no, I’m not asking her to delay, and I’m not going to be making her stay out of your mother’s way any more than your mother should have to stay out of hers. She’s my guest, and I want to meet my niece. Your niece.”
“Yes, it’s a pity it’s not a boy. Mason will never get an heir now—not that it’s a bad thing. I voted against letting him in to begin with.” Lena tried ignore Master Daray, but he had known her long enough to have figured out exactly which buttons to push. “But then, these things do tend to happen. Similar types are drawn together with similar results; that’s why the girl went off with them to begin with. She goes off with young Mason and then they have a girl, and their only blessing is that they’re both too stupid to mourn the loss.”
Lena’s jaw dropped and Howard set his utensils down to hold his face in his hands. He shot an apologetic look at Lena.
“Excuse me.” Lena stood up and took her plate into the kitchen, where she sat down to eat between Pete and Mrs. Ralston. She felt bad for leaving Howard in the dining room alone, but was sure he understood.
The next morning, Howard confirmed that the Council was, indeed, refusing Lena’s request. Even one of the families represented on the guest list had spoken against her going, and this fact particularly upset Howard, even though he had only been cautiously okay about her going to begin with. Apparently he felt insulted on a very personal level because his heir was being snubbed for reasons that didn’t have much to do with the political disagreement surrounding her bloodline. Lena, however, was just upset that she wasn’t going to go.
“Why can’t I go? Why?” Lena was trying to hold the tears back, and was failing miserably. She was starting to hyperventilate, and on a perverse level she was hoping it might require someone to take her to the hospital—anything to get out and away. “I’m going to die here. They’re going to keep me trapped here until I die, and there’s nothing I can do about it…”
Howard walked out from behind his desk and sat down in the chair next to Lena. “Stop being so melodramatic. You’ll get your chance. You’ve just got to find a way to make them trust you. My father was the foremost among researchers, scholars, and historians who specialized in the portal, but he was also married to a human woman with two sons, and one of them was human. He was a hard-core integrationist and believed in equal rights and representation for our lower classes, but he still found a way to get along with your other grandfather to continue his studies.” He passed her a box of tissues. “He found a way to make it work, and so can you. It might not happen quickly, but you can make them trust you.”
“How?”
Howard took a deep breath and looked out the window. A moment later he looked back. “I don’t know. But you know what? You’re a smart one. You’ve snuck out of this house twice without anyone knowing until after the fact, you’ve managed to learn the whole of Latito in only a few months, you know exactly what to do to aggravate every person living here, and you got yourself onto the Council with a much better margin than anyone expected. And you’ve been here just over a year—it’s truly impressive what you’ve accomplished so short a time. You’re clever, and you’ll figure it out. You’ll find a way to make them trust you.”
Lena smiled. It was good to know that someone had faith in her—maybe she would figure it out. She certainly didn’t think she would, but if Howard did, then maybe she would.
June 30th was as bright and cheerful as anyone could have asked. The lawn was a deep, sultry green and Pete had been keeping up well with the gardens. Marie had been helping him since she wanted to stay as far away from Master Daray as possible. She had quite a gift, and as Lena and Howard sat outside waiting for Hesper and Eric’s arrival, he commented that he had never seen the flowers look so bright before. Reds, yellows, oranges, whites, and pinks danced in the slight summer breeze as butterflies, the first ones Lena had ever seen at Waldgrave, flittered about between them.
A grey sedan pulled up the drive and parked at the side of the house. Howard and Lena helped the guests move the luggage into the house where it was cooler, and then they settled into the living room. Hesper lifted the blanket cover from the car seat carrier, revealing a pink, wrinkled little body clothed in a bright white creeper with a glitter heart on it. Her name was Maren Delaney; the former name came from Eric’s mother, who had died when he was very young. ‘Delaney’ had been the name on a piece of mail accidentally delivered to the Mason household on the day of the birth, and Hesper, tired and delusional from all the drugs, had liked it so much that she had written it down on the birth certificate. Maren yawned and stretched her tiny arms, then settled back into her nap.
Eric took her up to a room on the second floor to let her nap and to unpack their bags, and Hesper and Lena sat in the living room a while longer. Ava had wandered off when Maren left, and Howard excused himself to give the two friends some privacy.
“So. You’re looking good.” This, in fact, was an understatement. Hesper didn’t look any different than she had before the pregnancy.
“Thanks. I’ve got three more pounds to go.” Hesper and stretched out on the couch. “How are you?”
“Good.” Lena shrugged.
Hesper gave her a look and smiled coyly. “Just good?”
Hesper bobbed her eyebrows suggestively, and Lena laughed. “What do you mean?”
“Griffin moved back in, didn’t he?” Hesper pointed towards the upper floors.
“Oh. Yeah.” Lena’s voice deflated.
“Shut up. You’ve always had a crush on him and you know it.”
“He’s not the way he used to be. And you shut up, because I don’t. He’s a jerk.” Lena sighed.
Hesper rolled her eyes. “How’s everything else, then?”
“Well, speaking of Griffin, he’s going to get back tomorrow with your mom. Apparently there’s been some trouble with the family servants, so they’ll probably both be in a great mood when they get here.”
Hesper cracked a wry smile. “You’re just one big freakin’ ray of sunshine today, aren’t you? What happened?”
Lena sank down on the couch. She had only heard what Howard had been told by Griffin, who had basically slated it to sound like an unfounded mutiny. “Well, you know your mom was a little high strung to begin with, right? And then there was the thing with your dad, and she’s alone in the house except for the baby, and she started drinking a little so the staff took the baby away to keep him safe. Well, your mom still maintains that your dad didn’t kill himself and that he was somehow murdered. She thinks the staff are trying to kill her and Darius Jr., and they got so fed up with her abuse that some of them walked out. Griffin disbanded the rest of the house because he’s bringing the two of them here.”
Hesper remained quiet for a moment, a pensive look on her face, then sat forward. “I guess it was bound to happen someday. My dad was the only one keeping order there. The baby’s okay?”
Lena stood up and started walking to the kitchen; she needed something to rip apart with her teeth. “Yeah…about him. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to him. Griffin is about ready to have her legally declared incompetent, and I think he thinks I’m going to surrogate his little brother, which isn’t going to happen.” She threw the refrigerator door open and pulled out some leftover meatloaf.
“He wants the baby to stay here?” Hesper asked in a surprised, sligh
tly twanging tone. “Can’t Ava take him?”
Lena shut the refrigerator door and glared at Hesper, raising her eyebrows sarcastically. Ava couldn’t be trusted to take care of herself for more than a few hours, let alone a baby.
“Oh…right. Well, what about Mrs. Ralston?”
“Do you want some?” Hesper accepted the offer, having briefly forgone her vegetarian diet during her pregnancy and breastfeeding, and Lena pulled down two plates and started hacking away. “My grandfather doesn’t believe that human-borns should be allowed to raise ‘high-blooded’—his words, not mine—Silenti. So we have a competent parent who’s unacceptable, an incompetent parent who is acceptable, and me. And I am sure as hell not going to adopt the kid, because I have no freaking clue how to raise a child, and I’m not going to ditch my political career to learn how. Griffin can get in touch with his maternal instinct.”
Hesper took her meatloaf and they sat down at the table. “You’re a little stressed out today. What’s really up?”
Lena sighed as she fell into a chair. She’d been a little vicious with the meatloaf, and it wasn’t really a loaf anymore. She stared at the meat crumbs on her plate. “I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to get out of here before I’m responsible for a child and I can’t leave. And I can’t leave because they don’t trust me not to bring about the apocalypse.”
They ate silently for a while. Lena could sense Hesper’s sympathy, and wanted to feel better for it, but her life was just too dark. She couldn’t shake the cloud that had been hanging over her since she had been disallowed from the rafting trip, no matter how hard she tried.