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She’d fired Rhea, kept Pen from seeing me, and was an all-around terrible human being. Given my current mood, she was lucky if I didn’t stab her with my heel.
Her own heels clacked against the tile floor as she came up beside me. She reached into her bag and fished out a lipstick.
“I didn’t expect to see you here on a Tuesday afternoon,” she said, reapplying the understated mauve color with precision. “Aren’t you supposed to be at that little job of yours?”
“My littlejobhappens to be one of the top PR firms in the country.” I gave her a brittle smile. “Not everyone marries up for money. Some of us are smart enough to earn it.”
“How quaint.” Caroline recapped her lipstick and dropped it in her purse. “As much as I love hearing about yourplebeianadventures…” She wrinkled her nose. “I have something else I’d like to discuss.”
“I don’t know where you can polish your horns. Perhaps you should googledemon servicesand go from there.”
She pursed her mouth. “Honestly, Sloane, this is why you’re better offworkingthan trying to find a proper husband. No respectable man would tolerate such juvenile humor.”
“It’s a good thing I don’t like ‘respectable’ men, then. They have a habit of saying one thing and turning around and doing the opposite—sometimes with your sister.”
Caroline’s eyes narrowed at the Bentley reference, but she didn’t take the bait. “This is about Penelope,” she said, and just like that, my snarky quips vanished.
I hadn’t gotten any updates about Pen since the one Xavier gave me. I didn’t want to give Caroline the satisfaction of begging for information, but my pulse beat a frantic rhythm while I waited for her next words.
“She hasn’t been acting like herself lately,” Caroline said after a pause. “She barely eats, and her transition to a new nanny has been…difficult. She’s normally so well-behaved.”
How would you know? You barely talk to your own daughter.I bit back the stinging retort so I didn’t alienate my stepmother when she was giving me firsthand insight into what’d happened after Perry’s bombshell post. The revelation that Pen wasn’t eating concerned me, but I couldn’t believe Caroline sounded shocked by the developments. She shouldknowwhat the cause was.
“She misses Rhea,” I said. “Rhea has been with her since she was born. She’s practically a mother to her, and you sent her away in the middle of the night without a word. Of course she’s upset.” Caroline tensed. I didn’t think she cared about anything other than her clothes and social status, but I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of hurt at themothercomment.
“Yes, well, perhaps we were a bit hasty in our actions in that regard,” she said stiffly. “However, Rhea conspired with you to sneak visits to Penelope while George and I were gone. She’s untrustworthy, and her actions couldn’t go unpunished.”
“Untrustworthy?” I would’ve laughed had I not been so incensed. “If you’re worried about untrustworthiness, you should look to a few other people in your household. Yes, Rhea lied by omission, but she did that for Pen. You may be happy to keep your daughter at home and pretend she doesn’t exist because she’s notperfectenough for you, but she’s a child. She needs someone who cares about her, and you just took away the one person in your household who fits the bill.”
Caroline’s lips formed a thin slash of mauve. “Be that as it may, you understood the gravity of the situation when you walked away andhumiliatedthis family years ago. Because of you, the Kensington name will forever be tainted by scandal. No one in our world forgets estrangements, Sloane, and youchoseto give up Penelope along with the rest of your privileges. You couldn’t get past your pride then, and you dragged Rhea down with you now. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
“The fact that you consider access to Pen aprivilegelike she’s a credit card or bank account is exactly why you’re not fit to parent her,” I said, my voice quiet with fury.
“Oh, get off your sanctimonious high horse,” Caroline sneered. “If I weren’t ‘fit to parent her,’ I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. Trust me, I have better uses of my time than chatting up myex-stepdaughter in a restaurant bathroom.” She took a deep breath before saying more calmly, “As I mentioned, Penelope has been acting up. She’s also been asking for you. Incessantly. And contrary to what you think, I’m not a heartless monster. She’s my only daughter. Idocare about her wants and needs.”
I didn’t buy the sudden loving mother act. Maybe Caroline cared a bit about Pen’s wants and needs, but she cared about herself much more.
“So much so that you’ve ignored her since she was diagnosed with CFS,” I said. I couldn’t help it; I’d been dying to read Caroline the riot act for ages, and now that I had the chance, it was impossible for me to let it go.
I must’ve hit a nerve, because her face instantly flushed red. “I haven’t ignored her,” she snapped. “I kept her at home to protect her. I hardly think she should be gallivanting around town with her condition, and you of all people should know how our world treats anyone they deem ‘different’ or ‘not good enough.’” Her mouth twisted. “Lord knows I had a difficult time after I married George. They wouldn’t let me onto any good charity boards foryears.”
“My condolences. I can’t believe you survived such a terrible hardship.”
“Make all the wisecracks you want, but this isn’t about me or you,” Caroline said through gritted teeth. “The only reason I’m even talking to you is because we’ve tried everything else to help Penelope, and it didn’t work. We even had Georgia talk to her.”
“Asking Georgia to make someone feel better is like asking a scorpion for a hug.”
To my surprise, my stepmother snorted in agreement. “I’ve never liked your sister. She always thought she was better than me.” “She thinks she’s better than everyone, and you never liked me either.”
“No, but you’re the only one who can get through to Penelope.
This is more than your typical child’s tantrum. If she continues acting the way she has, it’ll have a serious impact on her health.” Caroline’s gaze flitted around the bathroom. “George doesn’t know I’m doing this yet, but I’m willing to make a deal. Penelope says she wants to see you, and I can make that happen if she gives up her hunger strike.”
My heart stumbled at the possibility of seeing Pen again without having to sneak around, but a part of me remained wary. “What’s the catch?”
Caroline wasn’t altruistic enough to do this solely for Pen’s benefit.
“So young yet so cynical.” My stepmother produced a humorless smile. “There’s no catch. Believe it or not, not everyone is out to get you all the time. Keep an eye out for a message once I’ve talked to George. Until then, tellno oneabout this conversation.”
