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CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

JADE

Grace and I are sitting in a room I’ve never been in before. The only things in the room are a grand piano and a long white sofa. Nobody in Garret’s family plays the piano so I don’t know why they have a room with a piano.

Grace and I came in here to talk. If we didn’t, Victoria would be watching us and wondering why I’m talking to Grace. We left William out there to keep an eye on her. Victoria seems to like William, as in more than just a brother-in-law way. All night I’ve noticed her hanging on him and talking really close. William’s wife didn’t come with him tonight and Victoria seems to want to take her place.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be asking this, but does Victoria have a thing for William?” I ask Grace.

“Yes,” she says, matter-of-factly. “She always has, but then again her eyes wander to a lot of men. She was never faithful to Royce. But as you know, he wasn’t faithful to her either. William, on the other hand, has no interest in other women. His heart belongs to Meredith. Always will.” She smiles and smooths her skirt. “Pearce did a lovely job tonight. Don’t you think?”

“You mean when he talked about his father?”

“Yes. I thought his words were very heartfelt. I know the two of them didn’t always get along, but it’s nice to hear Pearce speak of his father that way.”

If Grace knew the truth about Holton and what he did to Arlin, she would’ve hated Pearce’s speech. She wouldn’t have even shown up here tonight to hear it. But Garret said I can’t tell her the truth. He said it’s best if she doesn’t know, and he’s probably right.

I couldn’t stand listening to Pearce’s speech, hearing him go on and on about how Holton was a great man and did all these great things. Pearce was doing what he was expected to do, but it was hard to listen to. And then when Katherine tried to get Garret to speak, I almost went up and strangled her.

“Jade, honey, are you okay?” Grace rubs my arm.

“Yes. Sorry. I’m just tired from getting up so early.”

“So how is your friend, Harper, doing? Will you be seeing her while you’re in town?”

“Yeah. I’ll see her tomorrow. She’s going through a rough time. She just had shoulder surgery and she broke up with her boyfriend.”

“Sean. The chef.”

“That’s right. I forgot that you met him at the wedding.”

“It’s too bad they couldn’t have ended things sooner. Waiting makes it so much more difficult.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Jade, you know the rules. And Kiefer has known them for months. He just hasn’t taken action until now.”

“How do you know about Kiefer?”

“I’ve been around long enough to know what’s going on. And when I found out he was meeting with Roth last July, I assumed they changed the rules.”

We shouldn’t be talking about this. And yet I want to know more.

“Is there any way Harper can be with Sean?”

“Honey, you already know the answer to that.”

“Who will she end up with?”

“She’ll be given some choices.”

“They won’t just pick someone for her?”

“They used to, but it’s not that way anymore. At least not for everyone.”

I don’t know what that means. Why do some people get to choose and some don’t? Why wouldn’t the rules be the same for everyone? I know she can’t tell me so I don’t ask her about it.

“So they picked Arlin for you?”

“Actually, his father picked me and got the other members to agree to it. Back then, parents had more influence on the decision. I actually had several parents wanting to set me up with their sons.” She laughs. “I was a real catch back in the day. Not to be boastful, but I was a very pretty young woman. And I come from an excellent family.”

“Did Arlin like you right away?”

“He liked me before we were even set up together. Arlin wanted to date me for years and his father knew it. So he purposely told Arlin he was picking a different girl, just to see how much Arlin would fight for me. And he did. Arlin argued with his father until his father finally told him that he’d picked me. His father even planned our first date. He got us reservations at a very nice restaurant in Manhattan and theater tickets for a Broadway show. It was quite an evening.”

“And you liked Arlin?”

She smiles. “I always did. Even when he was younger, Arlin was a gentleman, much like Garret. That’s hard to find, Jade. You’re very lucky.” She checks her watch. “We should be getting back before Victoria starts asking William where I went. Oh, before I forget, the taxes on the land I gave you will be due shortly. I wasn’t sure if you received a notice in the mail so I wanted to mention it to you.”

“I’ll tell Garret. We’ll look into it and make sure they get paid. I can’t thank you enough for giving us that land. It’s the perfect spot for our house. It’s exactly what we wanted. But Garret and I still feel like we should pay you for it.”

“Jade, don’t be silly. You’re my granddaughter and the land was a gift.” She pats my leg. “Now let’s go before people start looking for us.”

“Too late,” a voice says from behind us.

The couch is facing the piano, and with our backs to the door, Grace and I didn’t see anyone come in. We both stand up and turn around to see someone standing in the doorway. Someone my age. With long brown hair. Who looks a lot like me.

“Sadie, honey, what are you doing here?” Grace walks over to her but I stay where I am.

“What did you just call her?” Sadie’s eyes are on me.

“That’s Jade,” Grace says. “You’ve met her before. She’s married to Garret.”

“I know who she is. But I heard you call her something.” Sadie looks at Grace. Actually, it’s more like a glare. “What did you call her?”

“Sadie, calm down. There’s no need to get upset. Jade and I were just talking.”

“You called her your granddaughter. Why would you call her that?”

Grace looks back at me, like she wants me to answer instead of her. My heart is pumping so hard I feel breathless. How did this happen? Where did Sadie come from? She lives in DC. She doesn’t transfer to Yale until the spring. What is she doing in Connecticut?

“Why, Grandmother?” Sadie yells it. “Why would you call her that? Tell me!”

I can’t stand watching Sadie yell at Grace that way.

But Grace remains perfectly calm and says, “Jade. It’s up to you.”

She’s asking if I want to tell Sadie the truth. Do I? I don’t know. She kind of already knows the truth. She heard Grace say it. But Sadie doesn’t know the whole truth and I don’t know if I want her to. No daughter wants to hear that her father is a rapist and a murderer.

I walk over and stand next to Grace. “I’m her granddaughter.”

“No, you’re not.” Sadie’s eyes move over my dress, inspect my shoes, then go back up to my hair and finally my face. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s true. I’m not lying.”

“William never had a child.” She stands up straighter, crossing her arms over her chest.

“William isn’t my father.” I pause and let her figure it out.

She stares at me, and the only sound in the room is the sound of her breathing, which keeps getting faster. Finally, she looks at Grace. “Grandmother, don’t let her say these things about our family. Say something!”

“Royce was Jade’s father,” Grace says. “Jade is your half sister.”

Sadie huffs. “If she told you that, she’s lying.”

“Honey.” Grace tries to hold Sadie’s hand but she pulls it away. “She’s not lying. Your father had proof that he was Jade’s father. He had a file in the safe in his office. That’s how we learned about Jade. We found out shortly after your father passed away.”

“He didn’t pass away! Would you stop saying that? He killed himself!” Sadie takes a deep breath to regain her composure. She narrows her eyes at me. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Is it to get money? The Kensington fortune isn’t enough for you? Now you have to come after the Sinclairs?”

“Sadie, that’s enough!” Now Grace is yelling. I’ve never heard her yell. “Jade is not after anyone’s money. She is a Sinclair, just like you and me. Your father had no contact with her when she was growing up. She was raised by her mother.”

“And who’s your mother?” Sadie gets right up in my face. “Some whore who forced herself on my father? Some stripper who got my father drunk, then used him to get pregnant so she could get his money? I’d love to meet this whore! Tell her what I think of her.”

“Sadie! Stop it right now!” Grace says from beside me.

I haven’t backed away. Sadie and I remain face-to-face, my eyes locked on hers. “My mother is dead. And she wasn’t a whore. She wasn’t any of those things you said. Your father—” I stop because I don’t know if I should tell her.

“My father what?”

Sadie would never believe the truth, so I say, “He met my mom when he was in Iowa for the caucus. He was working on a political campaign and he was there for a speech. My mom didn’t know he was married. He asked her out for dinner. And that’s it. It was one night. She never heard from him again.”

Sadie takes a step back. “How old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“So you’re saying he did this while my mother was pregnant? He wouldn’t do that. He’d never do that.”

“Sadie, your father wasn’t perfect,” Grace says. “Nobody is. He had his faults like everyone else does.”

“Does Mother know?”

“Not that I’m aware of. If she does know, she hasn’t told anyone. Jade just found out about this last year, but she hasn’t told your mother.”

“Who else knows?”

“Your Uncle William knows. And your grandfather knew. He’s the one who found the file.”

“Don’t tell Mother this,” Sadie orders. “Or my sisters.”

“We don’t have to tell them,” I say.

“Maybe we should sit down,” Grace says.

“No.” Sadie scowls at me. An actual angry scowl, as if what her father did to my mom is somehow my fault. “We’re done here.”