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“What if you could learn something fun?” Though the question is asked rather nonchalantly, there’s a glint in Gideon’s eye that tells me he has something up his sleeve.
Victoria’s curiosity gets the better of her. “Like what?”
“Like… ballet, maybe.”
“Really?” In a fingersnap, Victoria goes from sulky to bouncy. “We could really learn ballet?”
“Maybe. But you’d have to do your other lessons, too.”
“Okay!”
“Oh, that would be so precious.” Cat sighs, the sound so full of longing it’s nearly painful. “Can you imagine all of our little ones, dressed up in their little tutus putting on a show for us?You have to make it happen now, Gideon, or you’ll break my heart.”
“Well we can’t have that, can we?” Gideon says with a laugh.
Looking to my left, I smile down at my own Little girl. “What do you think, Juju? Would you like to start taking ballet lessons again?”
“Huh?” As if snapping out of a trance, she gives her head a little shake and blinks up at me. “Ballet?”
“Yes, princess. We’re talking about building a school and your Uncle Gideon suggested ballet lessons. What do you think?”
“I like ballet,” she says, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from her tone that she actually loves to dance.
Leaning over, I press a kiss to her forehead. Hmmm. No fever, as far as I can tell, but she isn’t acting like herself. “Are you feeling alright, princess?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’m fine. Just a little sleepy, I guess.”
“I thought so. If you can eat three more bites for me, we can go home. Sound good?”
Nodding, she opens her mouth for another bite, and I feed her some more chicken as the conversation continues around us.
“Gideon, is the lumber delivery still on track for tomorrow?” Maxwell asks.
“Yes. Last report from the ship they were estimating an arrival time around five in the evening. They’ll likely dock overnight to unload everything and then head back.”
“Perfect.” Excitement glints in Maxwell’s eyes. “Do you think we’ll have enough to start work on the school?”
“Absolutely. Should we bring in our back-up construction team? The contractors are still working on finishing up at your place.”
“Not a bad idea. Let’s pull the trigger on that sooner rather than later.”
When I go to feed Juliet another bite of chicken, her eyes are wide, far more alert than they have been all through our meal. And her gaze shifts from Maxwell to Gideon, as if she’s taking in everything they’re saying.
Unease settles in my gut. What could my little princess find so fascinating about a conversation about lumber deliveries and construction work?
Juliet
The conversation between Uncle Max and Uncle Gideon plays over and over in my mind as we drive home.
My plan has always been to try and convince Uncle Max or someone to talk Jasper into sending me home. But Uncle Gideon’s present made it clear that they all see me as his Little girl, and after listening to Victoria’s tale of how she came to live on the island, I’m less sure than ever that trying to appeal to their sense of human decency will work in my favor.
Which means it’s up to me to find a way off this island. And the lumber shipment might just give me the opportunity I’ve been looking for. I can stow away on the ship, and just sneak off again wherever we land. Somehow make my way back to New York and beg my parents to reconsider cutting me off. Maybe now that we’ve had some time apart, they’ll realize how harsh they were being.
The thought of crawling back to my parents and groveling for forgiveness makes my stomach churn. But it’s better than living the rest of my life as Jasper’s Little girl.
Is it really, though? Is life here really that bad?
No. It’s not. But I miss my life back in New York. I miss my friends. My freedom.