Chapter 2
On Saturday morning, Charlotte was the first one awake in her household, as always. Her mother would be rising soon enough to start her morning yoga routine and rounds of meditation. Why she did any of that, Charlotte had never understood. She had tried and failed. Balance was not her strong suit, nor was sitting still for too long.
She hopped into the shower, turning the knob to hot until steam filled the bathroom from floor to ceiling. Almost an hour later, she finally stepped out, cleaned and scrubbed and ready to start the next part of her morning grooming routine. It usually took her two hours to get her hair dried, curled, and pinned up. She admired her up-do in the mirror and smiled. Not a hair out of place. Her lotions and perfume came next, followed by makeup that made her skin appear flawless under any light. Once that was finished, she headed into her large walk-in closet wrapped in a towel. It was more like a second bedroom, but she was used to that.
Charlotte took her time choosing an outfit. Usually, she picked out her clothes the night before, but today was special. Today was her birthday. The big old twenty-five had snuck up on her fast, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.
She had not done much with her life. Of course, she had lived with her mother and worked with various charity organizations, even setting up and running the local orphanages, but Charlotte had never felt the need to go to college or get an office job. She simply floated through life on the wings of the rich and wondered occasionally where life would take her next. She ran her fingers along the silks and expensive dresses. After last night’s storm, the sky was still cloudy, so perhaps a dress with sleeves wouldn’t be a bad idea today.
“Charlotte?” the maid called through her bedroom door.
“Yes, Milly?”
“Your mother would like to know if you will join her on the patio for breakfast. She has something to discuss with you.”
Charlotte frowned. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
What could her mother possibly want to talk to her about now? Birthday plans, no doubt. Charlotte had turned down a party once again. She didn’t enjoy them anymore. She might enjoy her life, but being around other rich people wasn’t always what it was cracked up to be. Most of them were fake. She hated being forced to socialize with them and to make nice so her mother could look good.
Charlotte put on a mid-length, sea-blue dress with three-quarter-length, lace sleeves, a corset tie in the back, and a V-shaped neckline. She slipped her delicate feet into black flats—it was after Labor Day, so no white—then headed out of her room and through the mansion on the outskirts of the city.
Her mother was in the middle of her yoga regimen when Charlotte appeared and took the cup of steaming coffee Milly offered before she left them to talk in private.
“Mother, I think if you stay in that pose any longer, you will be stuck, and then what will I tell everyone?”
Her mother, Victoria, laughed as she straightened and lifted her arms skyward. “Almost finished, my sweet. I need to do my breathing.”
“I think your breathing is just fine,” she replied. Under her breath, she whispered, “Other things might need improving.”
She plopped two sugar cubes into her coffee followed by a hefty amount of creamer. Absently, she stirred it as she listened to her mother’s deep inhales and loud exhales. She did it on purpose, just to annoy her daughter. Charlotte wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with her mother lately, but something was changing. There were days she would sit and stare out the windows of the sunroom. And only last week, Charlotte had found her staring at a portrait of her late husband, muttering something under her breath. Very peculiar.
“There, all finished,” Victoria said as she patted her sweaty neck with a towel and sat down at the large metal table with Charlotte. “Now then, I know you said no plans for tonight, but being your mother, I completely ignored your request and have made arrangements anyway.”
Charlotte stopped stirring her coffee and stared at her mother, wide-eyed. “Why would you do that? I specifically asked you not to.”
“Yes, which is why I had to.”
“Unbelievable. Why don’t you ever listen to me?”
“I am not going to let my daughter’s birthday go uncelebrated because she feels the need to hide from the world. Not that I would know why. You don’t speak with me on such matters anymore.”
Charlotte set her mug down and straightened the bottom of her dress over her crossed legs. “It’s nothing personal. I simply… I don’t know. I have nothing to talk about.”
“You hardly leave the house anymore.”
“I don’t have a need to unless it’s with Helen and Prudence.” She certainly had no boyfriend in her life at the moment. She sighed at the thought of her best friend, the only man she knew at the moment—but that’s all he was. A friend.
“I guess I can’t really blame you. It’s not like I leave the house, either. Most of my communications are through the computer nowadays. All this new technology makes things so much simpler to take care of, leaving me free to enjoy other activities.”
Charlotte raised a perfectly shaped brow. “Like yoga? Is that really how you’re going to spend your days now?”
She wasn’t even sure what was bothering her, though perhaps it had something to do with the way her mother had been acting. Was she dating someone, maybe? Charlotte was old enough to understand. Her father had died over ten years ago, and she would be more than happy to see her mother move on.
“I think it’s time we start discussing your future.”
“Are you planning on kicking me out of the mansion?”
Her mother smiled. “No, that is not what I mean.”
“Then I see nothing to discuss.”
“Charlotte, you have to find something to do with your life. The time has certainly come for you to find a man to settle down with. I would like grandchildren eventually, you know.”
She stared long and hard at her mother. “Hard to do when all the men I seem to find are dull and rude once I get to know them.”
Her mother sighed dramatically, a sound that used to be followed by her father’s laughter at his wife’s habits. He and her mother had stayed together because of their opposite natures, the perfect high society couple. They had been powerful and strong, able to make waves and get things done. Then he died, her mother had lost her other half, and Charlotte was left with a mother who, every year, had steadily changed.
“I just think it’s high time you plan your future.”
“I have, Mother. The right man will come along when the time is right. For now, I’m content with my life.”
Victoria shook her head as she watched her daughter closely. “That’s what worries me.”
“Do you want me to go speed dating or something? I’m sure the ladies would love to gossip about that.”
“I don’t,” Victoria said and reached across the table for her daughter’s hands. “All I want is for you to get out from under your father’s shadow. He’s not here anymore. If you want to do something with your life besides what he planned, you have my blessing.”
She had been totally focused on following in her father’s footsteps lately and carrying on the legacy of their name. Charlotte nodded but had nothing to say on the matter. “So this party you planned without my permission, what is it exactly?”
“Oh, nothing big at all, just a few friends—your friends. Quin, of course, and a few others.”
Quin. Charlotte fought the urge to sigh. That poor young man, her best friend. He’d been her friend for as long as she could remember, always there for her when she needed him. And he was just as rich as she was. They’d suffered through the turmoil of growing up waited on hand and foot and having their every move watched to ensure they grew up to be proper adults in society. But Charlotte knew there was more than Quin being her friend. She had known since her mother started dropping hints here and there. Why she just wouldn’t come right out and say it, Charlotte hadn’t the faintest idea.
But, until that moment came, she would act like she didn’t suspect a thing.
“I guess I will make an appearance.”
Her mother grinned. “Good. Dinner is at six as always, drinks at four. It will be good for you, I promise. Oh, and then tomorrow, we have a function to attend.”
“Another one? For whom?”
“Quin’s family, funnily enough.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “What are they celebrating? Another merger?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but I hear it is hopefully going to be big news depending on the outcome of a final question.” Her mother stood, kissed the top of her head, and disappeared inside the house.
Alone on the patio, Charlotte watched the storm clouds move in once again as she finished her coffee. Milly came outside at the first sign of lightning and told her she'd better hurry on inside before she ruined her dress. Usually, Charlotte wouldn't have been worried about it, but her mother’s words bugged her more than they should have. Aimlessly, she wandered around the mansion as rain pelted the windows. At the portrait of her father, she stopped and stared up at the man.
“Father, I think Mother’s losing it,” she whispered when she was sure no one was around. It was a habit she had as of late, needing to speak to someone who had once been as sane as she was. “What am I supposed to do if she suddenly goes off the deep end?”
Charlotte knew her mother had done nothing but stay strong and keep it together for her daughter when her father, William, had passed away from a sudden heart attack. She only remembered seeing her mother cry once and admired how proper and pristine the woman had been, even in the face of such grief. What if that was all coming to an end? There was something bubbling under the surface of her mother’s perfect image that was slipping away. If anything happened to her mother, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.
But she wasn’t as worried about that as she was about the party.
Charlotte smiled as she thought of her two friends, Prudence and Helen, hoping they would turn up. She headed to her study—once her father’s—and checked her e-mails and accounts for the local orphanages that she helped establish and now ran. Hours ticked by and, before she realized it, it was nearing four o’clock. Smells of food being prepped dragged her from the computer, and she hurried upstairs to change into something more appropriate for cocktail hour.
She had barely slipped into a black, tight-fitting dress with a lace overlay when her cell went off.
“Helen, please tell me you’re going to make it,” she said as she struggled to zip her dress. “I can’t deal with mother’s friends by myself tonight. And Quin. He’s been very clingy of late.”
“Will you stop talking and look out your damn window?” Helen laughed.
Charlotte hurried to her window and stared down. Helen and Prudence leaned against the side of a black limo, waving at her. “Uh… What are you doing?”
“Open your window.”
“What—why?”
Prudence took the cell and grinned. “Because we’re kidnapping you!”
“I can’t! The party and the guests—”
“Charlotte, really? It’s your twenty-fifth birthday, and you’ve never been to a bar, so we’re taking you to one. Get your lacy butt out the window and down here right now, or I’ll climb up there and get you myself,” Prudence threatened.
Everything in her screamed to hang up the cell. What would her father think? She paused and thought about her life lately and how she’d been the perfect daughter for so long. She hadn’t wanted a party in the first place, so what was the harm if she stepped out for a bit? She’d turn up eventually.
She hung up and hurried back into her room, snatching her black clutch, strappy heels, and a sweater. She went back to the window and threw it open.
“Hurry up,” Helen called out as she waved.
Charlotte took a deep breath then tossed everything out the window for them to catch. Prudence cursed as Helen laughed when a heel conked her in the head. Charlotte joined her as she climbed quickly down the trellis that ran up the side of the house. When she was little, she used to climb it up to the roof to look at the stars.
“Take me to a bar!” she exclaimed when she touched ground.
“Did I say bar? I meant strip club, then maybe a bar.”
Charlotte’s smile fell, but it was too late to turn back. Helen and Prudence each grabbed an arm and shoved her into the limo.