Southern Lights (12 page)

She sat down in the large, comfortable chair and looked around the room. Everything was pale blue silk and satin. There were heavy curtains pulled back with blue tassels, a beautiful antique dressing table and mirror, and a little sitting area with a bookcase and two small couches. The room was warmly lit and elegantly decorated. It was much more elaborate than anything she was used to, and there was a large four-poster bed hung with heavy silk curtains as well. It was certainly a lovely room, even if it didn’t feel like home. She had known that her father lived well, but hadn’t realized that he lived in such grandeur. She had been taken aback by it when they walked in, and still felt daunted by it now. It didn’t feel like a home where you could walk around in jeans and bare feet, or an old flannel nightie with holes in it. It was a house where you got dressed up and sat up straight on silk chairs and never relaxed or let your hair down. It was hard to imagine living here and feeling at ease. Even harder to imagine a child living here, and she had seen no sign of one yet. Like her mother, her ten-year-old half-sister was nowhere to be seen when they arrived, and the house was deadly quiet, as Savannah stared at her bags and tried to get up the courage to unpack. Instead she took out her cell phone and called her mother. It was ten o’clock, and there was no time difference in New York. She knew her mother would still be up, and was surprised to realize she’d been asleep. Alexa had fallen into a deep sleep after crying for hours but didn’t tell Savannah that.

“How is it, sweetheart?” Alexa asked her quickly, and Savannah sighed.

“Strange. The house is amazing, and Daddy’s been very nice. I’m in some big fancy guest room all done up in blue.” Alexa knew it well, as it had been called the Blue Room in her day too, and she had always stayed there when she came to visit before they were married. And now Savannah was in it. Alexa could visualize it perfectly. “It just seems so fancy and uptight, like a museum.” And it felt so far from home, even if she had lived there as a child.

“There’s a lot of history in that house. Your father is very proud of it. Your grandmother lives in an even bigger house nearby, or she used to. It’s an old plantation that her grandfather bought when he got married.” It was too much for Savannah to absorb. She missed her mother and her familiar room, and her life in the city. It was all she cared about now, not the elegance and history of the South.

“I miss you, Mom,” Savannah said sadly. “A lot.” She was fighting not to cry, and so was Alexa.

“Me too, sweetheart. You won’t be there long, I promise. And I’ll come down as soon as I can.” She wasn’t looking forward to it, but she would have gone to hell and back to see her daughter. And as far as she was concerned, Charleston and all she’d lived through there at the end was hell. “How was Luisa?” Alexa held her breath as she asked. She knew what she was capable of, and hated having Savannah in the front lines exposed to it.

“I didn’t see her. Daddy said she had a headache and had gone to bed.” Alexa held her tongue and didn’t comment. “I didn’t see Daisy either. She had gone to bed too. Everything seems to roll up early here,” contrary to New York, where the city was alive all night. “Daddy says he’ll give me a car to drive.”

“Be careful,” her mother warned her. “You don’t have a lot of experience yet.” But the city was small and the traffic light. It was nice of Tom to give her a car. It would give her some freedom, particularly once she started school. “I can’t wait to see you,” she said sadly, wishing she were there with her.

“Me too. I guess I’d better unpack. We’re going sightseeing tomorrow.”

“It’s another world there. You’ll see. The Confederacy is still alive and well. For them the ‘War Between the States’ never ended. They still hate us and hang on to every shred of their history. They don’t trust anyone but southerners. But there are a lot of wonderful things about it too, and Charleston is a beautiful place. I loved it when I lived there, and I would have stayed forever if…well, you know the rest. I think you’ll like it. It has everything, beauty, history, gorgeous architecture, lovely beaches, nice weather, friendly people. It’s hard to beat.” It was easy to tell that she had once loved it no matter how she felt about it now.

“I just want to be home with you,” Savannah said sadly. The scenic and historical aspects of Charleston didn’t interest her at all, or even the school. She wanted to be with her old friends in New York to finish senior year, and now she couldn’t because of a bunch of stupid letters written by some freak. It wasn’t fair. “I guess I’d better organize my stuff. Did you pack my music?”

“Of course.” Alexa was glad she had thought to do it.

There was no sign of a stereo in the room, but her mother said she had packed her Discman and iPod too. She was all set. And she wouldn’t disturb anyone, which seemed like a good thing.

They ended the call, and Savannah slowly unzipped her bags and started hanging her clothes. It was all there, all her favorite clothes, and her mother’s. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw the two pink sweaters, her mother’s brand-new favorite black high heels, and a leopard sweater she hadn’t asked for but loved, also new. She saw the two teddy bears and set them on the bed with a smile and was glad to see them for the first time in years. They looked like old friends, her only ones here for now. And she set her stack of CDs on the dresser with the Discman and iPod, and as she turned around to go back to the suitcase for more, she sensed someone in the room, and almost jumped a foot when she saw a little girl in a nightgown standing next to the bed and staring at her. She had long blond hair too and huge green eyes.

“Hi” was all she said. She had a serious expression, and the nightgown had bows and teddy bears all over it. She looked like a little doll. “I know who you are,” she said solemnly.

“Hello,” Savannah said softly, still startled by her, but not wanting to frighten her away. “We’re sisters.” It felt odd to say it.

“I didn’t know about you till today. My mom told me. She said my dad was married to your mom a long time ago, for a few months, or something like that, when you were born.”

“More like seven years,” Savannah said, defending her history and her turf, and feeling more like ten than seventeen herself.

“My mom tells lies,” Daisy said simply. It was a tough thing for a ten-year-old to say about her own mother, but it was true. “She does it a lot. She never told me about you. She said Daddy was embarrassed to tell me about you, so he never did. And you’re here now because your mother is in trouble with the law.” It was exactly what Luisa had said, and Savannah laughed out loud. It was an outrageous thing to say, and gave her a preview of who her stepmother was. “Is she in jail?”

“No.” Savannah was still laughing as she walked over to the four-poster and sat down, and patted a space next to her for Daisy to hop up beside her, which she did. “My mom’s a prosecutor, and she’s trying to put someone in jail, a very bad person.”

“Is prosecutor a bad word?” Daisy looked worried, and Savannah laughed again. She knew what Daisy thought it was, and it wouldn’t have surprised Savannah now if Luisa said she was that too.

“No, it means lawyer. She’s an assistant district attorney. She puts criminals in jail. She’s going to be the lawyer in a trial, and put a very bad man in prison, who did a lot of nasty stuff.” She knew enough not to frighten Daisy by telling her he had probably killed seventeen women and maybe more. “Probably one of his friends wrote me some creepy letters, so my mom wanted me to go away until after the trial so he wouldn’t write to me anymore, so here I am.”

“Does he know you’re here?” Daisy looked worried, and Savannah shook her head.

“No, and he won’t find out. That’s why our dad brought me here, so no one knows where I am.”

“Does your mom know you’re here?” Daisy was interested in everything she said and took it all in. She believed her. She knew better than to believe her mother, as sad as that was. She had lied to her before, about people she didn’t like, or to make herself look good. She had fired a nanny Daisy loved because she thought Daisy liked her too much and was too attached to her. So she told Daisy that she had quit and run away and didn’t care about her. But the cook told her the truth. Daisy had never heard from the nanny again.

“My mom and our dad agreed that I should come here.”

“I don’t think my mom is too happy about it,” Daisy warned her with huge eyes, and Savannah nodded.

“I think you’re right.”

“I heard her yell at my dad. She does that a lot. They fight,” she announced, as though it was a sport they played, like golf. She was giving her new sister a rundown on the situation in the first five minutes. But none of it surprised Savannah. She pretty much knew what to expect. And so far it was right on track, with no welcome from Luisa. “She can be pretty mean when she gets mad, so watch out. I like your bears,” she said as she turned to look at them. “I have one too. I sleep with him.” She smiled shyly at Savannah.

“Do you want to listen to my music while I unpack?” Savannah offered, and Daisy responded with a grin. Savannah went to get it and put her iPod on her, turned it on, and Daisy smiled broadly and started to sing, and then sang more softly so no one would hear them. She didn’t want her mother to hear her in Savannah’s room. She liked it here, and she liked her. She was still listening to the iPod when Savannah finished putting her things away. There was tons of room, more than she needed. There was a gigantic walk-in closet and built-in racks for her shoes.

Daisy was still sitting on the bed and took the iPod off so she could talk to Savannah again. “I like your music. It’s cool.” She had the same soft southern drawl their father did, and it sounded cute on her. It was eleven o’clock by then. “Do you like your mom being a lawyer? Mine doesn’t do anything. She plays bridge and goes to lunch, and shops a lot.”

“I like shopping too,” Savannah admitted. “So does my mom, but she works hard. Her work is really interesting, except when something stupid happens, like the letters I got. That never happened before. My grandma was a lawyer too,” she added. “Now she’s a judge.”

“I thought judges were men.” Daisy looked puzzled.

“Nope,” Savannah informed her. “They can be women too. She runs the family court, they do divorces and stuff, custody cases, a lot of stuff about kids.”

“She must be smart.” Daisy looked impressed.

“She is, and nice. I love her a lot.”

“My grandma is the president general of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.” It was a mouthful for a ten-year-old, but she whipped through it, never realizing that she was Savannah’s grandmother too. “And I have two brothers, Henry and Travis.” Savannah laughed at that.

“Me too.”

“That’s odd.” Daisy looked surprised.

“Same brothers, because we have the same dad,” Savannah explained.

“That is soooo weird,” she said, smiling. “I always wanted a sister.”

“Me too.”

“Did you know about me?” Daisy asked, as she lay back against the pillows and looked at Savannah.

“Yes, I did,” Savannah said gently. “My mom told me a long time ago.” And then she had an idea. “Do you want to sleep in here with me tonight?” There was room for ten of them in the huge bed, and Savannah thought it might form a bond between them that was already off to a good start. Daisy considered the offer, and then nodded. “Do you want to go get your bear?” Savannah asked, since Daisy had said she slept with him.

“I better not. Mama might hear me and not let me come back.” She was smart, and right. “I can sleep with yours.”

Savannah pulled the covers down for her, and Daisy slipped between the sheets with a grin. Savannah went to put her own nightgown on then, and was back in a few minutes while Daisy waited for her wide awake. And Savannah turned off the lights and got into bed too.

“Are you scared to be here?” Daisy asked her in a whisper after a few minutes. They were both lying on their backs in the dark, looking up at the blue silk canopy on the bed. The question made Savannah think of her mother and how much she missed her, and how strange it was to be here.

“A little,” she answered in a whisper. “That’s why I asked you to sleep with me tonight.” In answer, Daisy slipped her small hand into Savannah’s and held tight.

“You’ll be okay,” she reassured her. “Daddy won’t let anything happen to you, and the bad man won’t write to you anymore, and then your mama will put him in jail. And we have each other now,” she said with the sweetness and innocence of childhood. What she said, and the little hand in hers, brought tears to Savannah’s eyes.

“Thank you,” she said softly, and leaned over to kiss Daisy on the cheek. It was soft and felt like a baby’s skin to her. Daisy smiled and closed her eyes, and kept her hand in Savannah’s. Her grip relaxed eventually, and they both fell asleep side by side.

It was after midnight when their father knocked gently on the door. When there was no answer, he opened it a crack to peek in. He saw that Savannah was in bed, and tiptoed into the room in the darkness, and then noticed two shapes side by side in the moonlight. He saw both his daughters there, sound asleep and holding hands. He stood looking at them for a minute with a tender smile, as tears ran down his cheeks. And then he left the room as silently as he had come in and closed the door.

Chapter 8

When Savannah woke up in the morning, sunlight was streaming into the room, and Daisy was gone. She was shocked to see that it was ten o’clock and she had slept like a rock. She hadn’t heard Daisy steal out of the room in the morning, and there was no evidence that she’d been there. She had left the room at dawn so no one would find her in Savannah’s bed, or there would have been hell to pay with her mother.

Savannah showered, brushed her hair and teeth and dressed, and made her way to the kitchen, where two women were sitting at the kitchen table. They smiled when she walked in.

“Good morning,” Savannah said cautiously, wondering where her stepmother was.

“We’ve been waiting for you to get up. We didn’t want to wake you,” the older of the two said. “Mr. Beaumont said he’d be back at eleven to pick you up. He had to do some things at the office. And Mrs. Beaumont is at the hairdresser and has a luncheon in town after that.” That meant her father would be back in half an hour for the sightseeing he’d promised. The two women introduced themselves as Tallulah and Jane. Tallulah was Jed’s wife, and Jane was from Memphis, and had an accent but a different one. Savannah was fascinated by how they spoke.