Authors: Anna Carey
Sloane Sisters
A Novel by Anna Carey
For the sisters I've found in friends
O
nce upon a time there lived four beautiful, fabulous sisters. Except they aren't sisters yet. And that once upon a time? Well, it's now.
There are a lot of stories about girls in New York City, but nothing beats a modern fairy tale. And no place is more magical than Manhattan, with its glittering skyscrapers, stately town houses, and glamorous residents.
Our story begins with Cate and Andie. Their mom died when they were both pretty young. Sounds like the start of a Disney movie, right? Wrong. Cate thinks her past tragedy excuses her present diva attitude. As for Andie, all she wants is to steal the spotlight from her picture-perfect older sister. If only she had a fairy godmotherâer, godsisterâto help her figure out howâ¦.
Across the pond, Stella's as beautiful and breezyânot to mention socialâas a butterfly. Her younger sister Lola? Not so much. But maybe a change of scenery can transform this cheeky caterpil
lar into a charming beauty. After all, isn't metamorphosis the most timeless theme of all?
So sit back and enjoy this little bedtime story. And don't think you know how it'll all come to a close.
Not all fairy tales have happy endingsâ¦.
S
tella Childs watched, annoyed, as her twelve-year-old sister Lola held her Burberry cat carrier steady on the black leather seat and peered inside.
“Don't be scared, Heath Bar,” Lola cooed. “We're here! New York Sit-aaaay!”
A few whiskers poked out the front of the mesh grate and the giant orange cat mewed. Stella rolled her eyes and turned back toward the window.
“Stella, darling, you all right?” Emma Childs glanced across the limo at her oldest daughter, who was sitting on the other side of the cat carrier, tracing a finger over a red line in the Burberry plaid.
“Fine.”
Just fine.
Stella rolled down the tinted window and let the warm wind whip through her shoulder-length blond curls. Times Square flew past outside, with its towering walls of garish billboards. A six-story-high Rolex watch showed the time: 4:07. Which meant it was a little after nine o'clock in London. Robin Lawrence was having a party at his flat in South
Kensington, just like he did every year the Friday before school started. He had huge dark brown eyes and wild black hair that looked like it was cut with a machete. He was adorable. Stella should have been there.
Emma kept her green eyes on Stella and unbuttoned the top of her beige cropped trench coat. “I'm looking forward to spending the weekend together, getting settled before you girls start school. I missed you both so much this summer.”
Stella and Lola had spent the summer in Tuscany with their grandmother, who had moved there ten years ago to grow organic grapes and make her own vinegarlike wine. But anything was better than being stuck in London, where the tabloids were cataloging every detail of their parents' recent divorce.
“Mum, are you going to be on the Ralph Lauren billboards?” Lola asked excitedly, staring up at an advertisement for Calvin Klein tighty-whiteys.
“I assume,” Emma replied. “But we haven't started shooting yet, so not for a while.”
Stella rolled her eyes. Emma, as British as cricket, tea, and crumpets, was now the face of the most American label on the planet. Soon she'd be eating corn dogs and throwing barbecues for the Fourth of July.
“Will you sit front row at their show at Fashion Week?” Lola continued excitedly.
“Probably.” Emma just smiled.
“When you do, make sure you thank Ralph for ruining my life,” Stella muttered, keeping her eyes on the mustard yellow cab
speeding next to them. The little boy in the back seat had his thumb lodged up his nose.
“I know this is hard for you, Stella, but New York will be good for us. Winston is so excited to have you here, too,” her mom said softly. “I'm glad you'll finally have a proper introduction.”
Stella curled her toes in her Juicy espadrilles. There was that name againâ
Winston.
The first time Stella heard about Winston was in the spring, after Emma got back from signing the Ralph Lauren contract in New York. Stella and Lola had been walking with their mom in Kensington Gardens, watching the miniature sailboats cut across Round Pond, when Emma dropped the news. Stella had only processed a few wordsâ
deep connection, New York, magical, banker, two daughters
âbut it had been enough to know her mum had a boyfriend. And she didn't want to think about Emma having a “deep connection” with anyone.
Five months later, it was clear that Winston wasn't going to disappearâbut Stella intended to stay as far away from him as possible. After all, New York was a city of eight million people. How hard could it be?
Her mother kept her eyes on her older daughter as she finger-combed Lola's wind-knotted waves. “I know you're angry with me right now,” she said as the limo wove through Central Park, where groups of teenage girls were sprawled on beach blankets, enjoying their lazy Friday afternoons. “But moving here is the right thing for all of us. I couldn't keep you in London a second longer. This job wasn't just a good opportunity
for meâit's going to be good for all of us. It's justâ” Her mom's voice cracked.
Stella waited for her to go on, to mention her dad and the affair that had brought them to New York, but she didn't.
Lola shot Stella a why-do-you-have-to-be-such-a-horrid-person look, but Stella just sneered back. She wasn't horrid, she was honest.
It was true that London had been awful this past year, but Stella was supposed to go to the Millshire Preparatory School this fall, the most elite school in London. She had already gone shopping with her best friends Pippa and Bridget for outfits for the entire first semester. But now she'd be attending Ashton Prep, an
all-girl
school where they wore
uniforms
every day. It was such a waste to leave London now, with a new wardrobe that would only get to come out and play on the weekends.
Stella bit a cuticle. She hated New York City. She hated that she had to leave her friends, her school, her clothes, her
life
behind. But more than anything, she hated Cloud McClean, that unitard-wearing, pop-singing
twit
who had stolen her father, Duke Theodore “Toddy” Childs, from her momâfrom all of them.
After she'd found out that her dad was cheating with the Britney Spears of the U.K., she hadn't wanted to talk about it or think about it. Even now, Pippa and Bridget were the only two people outside her family who knew
why
her parents had divorced.
“Sorry, Mum,” Stella finally said, so quietly she doubted Emma could hear. Her mom pressed her finger to her temple and sighed. Even when Emma was nervous or upset, she still
looked beautiful. Her light blond hair fell just to her shoulders, and her weekly facials gave her skin a permanent glow.
“Look!” Lola shouted.
The limo sped north up a wide avenue, and Stella watched the shops pass one by oneâArmani, Versace, Donna Karan, Chloéâfeeling like she'd spotted a few old friends. Stella slid into the middle seat to look over Lola's shoulder. A girl with enormous black Gucci sunglasses waltzed out of Donna Karan, clutching a handful of shopping bags from Searle and Prada.
After a few more blocks, they turned down a tree-lined street and pulled over in front of a Victorian that was five stories tall and covered with shiny green ivy. Protruding from one side of it was a brick tower, making it look like a castle. There was a short wrought iron fence out front and a glossy black door with a wide half-moon window above it.
“This is it,” Emma told the girls, studying their faces.
“Bloody hell,” Stella breathed, staring at the massive brick building.
“Stella, language,” her mom said gently.
“It's brilliant!” Lola cried, pushing out the door, cat carrier in hand. “Look, Heath Bar!” Her skinny arms strained to lift up the canvas bag so the twenty-pound cat could get a better view. “It's practically a castle!”
Heath Bar pushed his pink nose against the mesh and mewed.
“This isâ¦our new house?” Stella asked, sliding across the slick seat and stepping out. She loved her town house in West London, a three-story beige building with two pillars on either
side of the red front door. But
this
was grand, a house fit for a princessâa newly transplanted Upper East Side princess.
“Mum?” Stella peered into the car. Emma was sitting with her hands on her lap, her face a little pale. “Mum?”
“Right,” Emma said, finally following them onto the sidewalk. The driver, a muscular redheaded man, walked around to the back of the limo and opened the trunk. Emma brought her fingers to the platinum chain around her neck and played with it nervously. “I have something to tell you.”
Lola spun around and set the carrier on the sidewalk. Heath Bar mewed again. “Do we each get our own floor?” she asked, her green eyes wide.
“No⦔ Emma answered slowly, resting her hands on the front of her dark wash A.P.C. jeans. “It was difficult to find a place over the summer, so I thought we could try something a little moreâ¦
temporary
.”
“This is brilliant, mum, really.” Stella wondered if it had a garden out back or one of those funny lap pools where you could swim forever and always stay in the same place. Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad after all.
The driver set the four Louis Vuitton suitcases on the sidewalk. Stella grabbed the handle of one of the smaller ones, ready to break down the door.
“Stella⦔ Her mom rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “This is Winston's town house. We're going to be staying with him for a while, here, with his daughters.”
“
What
?” Stella spun around.
Lola pressed her hands to her freckled cheeks.
“It's a trial period,” Emma continued. “We're going to take it day by day and see how we all get along. This way you can start Ashton Prep with the girls on Monday.” Stella squeezed the suitcase handle tight, the leather sticky against her skin. “I think you'll like them, Stella. They're quite lovely.”
Stella looked back at the house, her head spinning. There was a small gold plaque above the mailbox, engraved with the word sloane. The black metal box was filled with mailâthe
Sloanes'
mail. She peered inside the front window. The foyer was all white marble, with a massive staircase and an ornate silk chair that looked like it had been stolen from Versailles. It was the Sloanes' foyerâtheir staircase, their chair. In one of the top windows a girl peered out from behind the curtain.
The house suddenly didn't seem
that
incredible.
Lola clapped her hands together quickly in front of her face, the way she always did when she was excited. It was beyond annoying, but right now Lola's spastic movements were the least of Stella's problems.
A man opened the door and walked out onto the stone steps. “Emma!” he called. He was in his late forties, with salt-and-pepper hair and a tanned, chiseled face. He wore a crisp blue button-down shirt and burgundy penny loafers.
“You must be Stella,” Winston said, reaching out his hand. Stella kept her arms firmly at her sides. No way. There was absolutely no way she was going shake this man's hand, let alone live in his home.
She turned to step back inside the limo, but it was already pulling away from the curb.
It isn't too late,
she thought as it
stopped at the red light at the end of the block. She could make a run for it. The driver would take her to JFK and she'd get on the next plane back to Heathrow. She'd stroll in the gate of Millshire in her strappy blue sailor dress, flanked by Pippa and Bridget, and they'd have another fabulous year.
But then the light turned green, and the limo disappeared around the corner.
Stella looked back at her mom's worried face, at Winston's overtanned-from-a-season-in-the-Hamptons nose, at Lola's wide green eyes, and then back at the Sloanes' house. The girl had disappeared from the window.
She let go of her Louis Vuitton carryall and it fell to the sidewalk with a thud. Winston took her limp hand in his and shook it up and down for a good ten seconds, smiling like he was a little dim.
Welcome home!
