Southern Lights

by Danielle Steel

  He told Daisy to go and do her homework, and left Savannah in her room and told her to relax. She thanked him for the nice day again, but her eyes were worried, and she called her mother as soon as he left the room, and told her what had happened.

  “She is such a bitch,” Alexa said in an exasperated tone.

  “I don’t know what to do, Mom. I think I should go. She’s scarier than the guy writing me letters. She looked like she wanted to kill me a minute ago.”

  “She probably did want to kill you, but she won’t. The ‘guy writing you letters’ might. I don’t want you back here. I hate to do this to you, but you have to try and stick it out. Just stay away from her as much as you can. Did your father say anything to her to shut her up?”

  “He tried. She ran right over him and told him off.”

  “She always did, and so does his mother. The two of them together are a force to be reckoned with, and he’s no match for either of them. I don’t mean to be ungrateful for what he’s doing now, having you there, but he has no balls. Luisa cut them off ten years ago.” Savannah didn’t like hearing it, and Alexa was instantly sorry she’d said it. He was Savannah’s father, but it was true. She was living proof. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Alexa apologized quickly. “Just stay in your room, or go out, or wear your iPod. I don’t want you back in New York until after the trial.”

  Savannah felt as though she had been sentenced to hard labor, or prison, no matter how pretty the furniture was or how big the house. She hated it here. And Luisa hated her. It was going to be a miserable three months. And her mother was right. Her father was no match for Luisa. Savannah had just seen it for herself.

  “I’ll try” was all Savannah would commit to, and promised herself to stick it out till her mother came to visit. And if it didn’t get any better, she was going back to New York with her, or she’d run away. She wasn’t going to live like this for three months, for anyone.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I can’t come down this weekend, but I’ll be down the following one. I promise. Just keep your head down and ignore her.”

  “Yeah, right,” Savannah said, and hung up. She was mad at her mother now too, for sending her here to live with this witch. She was worse than the evil stepmother in any fairy tale or bad movie. Cinderella’s life was a snap compared to this. As she thought it, Daisy slipped into the room with a worried look. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Savannah said, looking discouraged, and then smiled at her. “I’m not used to this. I wish I were home,” she said honestly, and Daisy nodded.

  “I know. She can be pretty mean. She’s like that to my dad a lot.”

  “That must be hard for you,” Savannah said sympathetically, as Daisy shrugged.

  “My dad is always nice to me, and my brothers.” She smiled at Savannah and gave her a hug. “I hope you stay.”

  “We’ll see how it goes,” Savannah said noncommittally, but she couldn’t imagine it for the next three months until after the trial, or even four, if the trial took a long time, which it probably would. It sounded like a complicated trial to her.

  As the two girls sat talking in Savannah’s room, Tom and Luisa were in a pitched battle in theirs.

  “What the hell are you thinking?” he raged at her. “Saying those things, in front of Daisy, and Savannah. How can you be so threatened by a seventeen-year-old girl?”

  “I don’t want her here!” Luisa shouted back at him. “She’s the result of a mistake you made, and I don’t want her in my face, or my home.” She looked righteous about it, and he stared at her in astonishment.

  “Are you crazy? You can’t rewrite history with me, Luisa. I was there. You walked out on me and our boys, you dumped me, divorced me, abandoned them, and married someone else who had more money than I did. I married Alexa while you were married to him, happily spending his money in Dallas, and you didn’t give a flying fuck about us, me, or your boys. You didn’t give a damn about me until he died, and you decided you wanted your old life back, God knows why. Lonely maybe, because you sure didn’t need the money. And then you conned me into an affair with you, and I was stupid enough to fall for it, while you saw to it that you got pregnant and cried to my mother that I couldn’t let you have an illegitimate baby, and I actually felt sorry for you, and left the woman I loved for you. Savannah is the result of a respectable marriage with a terrific woman who was wonderful to your boys, and whom I was dumb enough to give up for you, in order to be ‘honorable.’ What a crock of shit that was, and this marriage is. And I’ve allowed you to force me to keep Savannah away from here for ten years, to make you happy. I pushed out my own daughter. It’s a wonder she even talks to me. And now when her life is at stake, and I bring her here for three months, you’re rotten to her, and beat me up, and act as though she’s a ‘mistake’ I made with some hooker while I cheated on you. You abandoned us, Luisa, flat and simple. And I’m not going to abandon my daughter again to make you happy. What I did to her mother was bad enough.”

  “If you’re so sorry about it, go back to her,” Luisa said coldly.

  “That isn’t the point. I may have been honorable to you, but I was anything but to her. We all know that, and so do you, so lay off, and be civil to Savannah, or you’re going to have some very serious trouble with me.” And without another word, and before Luisa could respond, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door. Both girls heard it from Savannah’s room, but didn’t comment. They could both guess what it was, and why. It was the first time in a long time, if ever, that Tom had stood up to Luisa like that, and she was in a rage, but she didn’t pursue it, or him, any further and stayed in her room.

  He went back to his study and called their older son, and invited him and his fiancée, Scarlette, to dinner that night. He had told Travis that morning at the bank that Savannah was there. Travis was surprised, as his father explained it to him. And he could easily guess how unhappy his mother was about it. He hadn’t been allowed to mention Alexa or Savannah in ten years, and had always felt guilty about not keeping up contact with them. He had tried to for a while, and then just let it slide, and he knew his brother had too. Travis was fifteen when Alexa left, and still young, although he had loved her and she had been good to him, which made him feel even worse. His mother had made it clear that any contact with her would be considered treason and a betrayal of his “real” mother, and he’d been young enough to buy into it. He was twenty-five now, worked at his father’s bank in town, and was planning to be married in June, to a girl from a very social Charleston family, whose ancestors were even more steeped in the Confederacy than his. She had more generals in her family than they had oak trees on their property. She was a wonderful girl, and he was deeply in love with her. She was a nurse, and a very kind person. He liked the fact that she worked, and was unpretentious, no matter how illustrious or wealthy her family was. She wanted to keep nursing until they had babies, which his mother said was ridiculous. She didn’t think it looked right for the wife of a Beaumont to be a nurse. Travis was entirely happy with it, and supported Scarlette’s decision.

  His father sounded tense and exasperated when he called and invited him and Scarlette to dinner. “Things are a little rocky around here,” he said honestly. “Your mother is upset about Savannah. Very upset. You know how she is.” Travis knew her raging temper tantrums only too well. She had them about everything, although he could imagine that the current one was a lulu. The only thing worse, in her mind, would have been to bring Alexa back instead of her daughter. But having Savannah there was bad enough, to her. Travis could easily imagine how unpleasant the atmosphere was at the house right now, and felt sorry for his father. “I thought if you and Scarlette came to dinner, it might distract her a bit, and ease things up.”

  “Sure, Dad. I’ll see what Scarlette’s doing. She just got off work an hour ago. I’ll call you back.” He did, and said they would be there at seven-thirty, in time to sit down to dinner, and Tom called the cook
to tell her, after he thanked his son profusely. He announced it to Savannah and Daisy when he cruised past Savannah’s room a little while later, and found both girls there, still talking. Daisy was excited to see Travis and her future sister-in-law.

  “You’ll like her,” Daisy assured Savannah. “She’s really nice. And Travis is great.” Savannah barely remembered him after almost eleven years. She was six the last time she saw him.

  The two girls trooped down to dinner together at precisely seven-thirty, just as Travis and Scarlette walked in. She was a pretty girl with features like a cameo, and long straight black hair, and he was the image of his father, but younger and even better looking. The young couple were both wearing jeans and nice sweaters, which apparently was allowed. Savannah had worn a skirt, sweater, and high heels, and looked very proper. Her long blond hair shone after she brushed it. And Daisy was wearing her school uniform with slippers. Tom had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, so apparently dinner at the Beaumonts’ was not as formal as Savannah had feared.

  Tom introduced Travis to Savannah, and the two stood smiling at each other, shyly. Travis said she had just been a little squirt the last time he saw her, and he didn’t say it, but seeing her reminded him totally of her mother, just as it did everyone else. She was the image of Alexa. She and Scarlette chatted easily while they waited to be called in to dinner, and Scarlette talked about how busy her mother was with the wedding, which was going to be huge. She said they were inviting eight hundred people, which sounded like most of Charleston.

  As they were talking, Luisa came down the stairs and walked into the living room, stunned to see her oldest son and his fiancée.

  “What is this?” she asked coldly, fearing that Tom had organized some kind of dinner party to celebrate Savannah, and hadn’t told her.

  “Travis called and said he wanted to come to dinner,” Tom said quickly, and Luisa wasn’t sure she believed him. “I didn’t think you’d object. It was half an hour ago, and you were resting.” They both knew she hadn’t been resting, but they hadn’t been on speaking terms either, and still weren’t, except in public. Privately, they were still furious with each other.

  “Of course I’m happy to see Travis, and Scarlette,” Luisa said, gushing as she rushed toward them. Her eyes were still smoldering, but she smiled broadly as she embraced them both, and made idle chitchat with them, while she totally ignored Savannah, which was a relief to her. She had no desire to talk to Luisa.

  They went in to dinner, and Luisa sat between her husband and son. She put Scarlette next to Travis, and Daisy next to her father, lest he needed to be reminded who his “real” daughter was, and she seated Savannah between Scarlette and Daisy, by simply pointing to the seat and saying nothing. Savannah was well aware that if Luisa could have seated her in the garage, or someone else’s home, she would have. But Savannah had a nice time at dinner talking to Scarlette and Daisy. She liked Scarlette a lot, as Daisy had promised. She was warm, kind, well brought up, compassionate, and unpretentious. She was an oncology nurse and worked with people with cancer, and said she loved what she did. Travis was very proud of her and looked very happy. And they talked about the wedding a lot during the meal. Luisa was obviously very excited about it. They were giving a rehearsal dinner for three hundred at their club, and Daisy was going to be Scarlette’s flower girl. Scarlette had already ordered a dress from Badgley Mischka, and the bridesmaids’ gowns were being done by Vera Wang. Her own mother was planning to wear a very elegant brown satin coat and gown by Oscar de la Renta. And Luisa hadn’t told anyone what she was planning to wear yet, but Daisy knew because she had seen it in her closet and overheard. Her mother was planning to wear red.

  Everyone seemed to relax during dinner, and Tom’s plan to have Travis there had been a good idea. Luisa seemed to have unbent a little by the end of dinner, and looked less angry. She said nothing to Tom after Travis and Scarlette left, but at least she made no vicious comments. She went back up to her room, and this time closed the door and didn’t slam it. Tom said goodnight to his girls and went to his study, where he had moved his things. Daisy went to her room to finish her homework, but promised in a whisper to sleep in Savannah’s room again that night so she wouldn’t be scared. And Savannah went to her own quarters and collapsed on the bed with a groan. Being here was a lot of work. And she was starting school tomorrow.

  She called her mother and told her she had met Travis and Scarlette, and they were really nice to her. Savannah and Alexa chatted for a while. Alexa was really busy. And as promised, Daisy showed up in her room at ten o’clock and sneaked into Savannah’s bed. Her mother had already said goodnight to her, so the coast was clear.

  The two girls held hands again after chatting for a few minutes, and this time, even faster than the night before, they fell asleep. For Savannah, it had been one hell of a first day.

  Chapter 9

  Savannah was nervous when her father drove her to Bishop England High School the next day. Daisy had already left on her school bus when Tom and Savannah drove away. Luisa was still in her room, and as she always did, Savannah had gobbled a quick bowl of cereal, and had been ready for her father promptly at eight a.m.

  She said little on the drive north on Mark Clark Expressway. And she was obviously worried about it, as he tried to reassure her. Once they reached Daniel Island and the sprawling fifty-acre campus on Seven Farms Drive, he put his Jaguar in a space in the parking lot and walked her into the principal’s office, where they congratulated her on her good grades in New York and welcomed her to the school. The assistant principal handed her a schedule, which looked reasonable to Savannah, and offered to take her to her classroom for her first class, and Savannah quickly kissed her father goodbye.

  The school was much larger than the one she’d gone to in New York, and looked like the schools she’d seen in movies, with miles of lockers lining every hall. There were students congregating in little clusters, with books in their arms, laughing, and then hurrying to class. A few of the boys glanced at her with her lithe figure and long blond hair. She had worn jeans because they said it was allowed, Converse sneakers, and a plaid blouse that hung out of her jeans, with a sweatshirt from her volleyball team in New York. She knew it was too late to join the team here, but she was hoping to play intramural sports if she had the chance.

  The first class on her schedule was French. She took AP French classes in New York and had gotten good grades for her boards. The teacher was reading a paragraph from a book as Savannah slipped into her seat. She glanced up, looking slightly annoyed by the distraction, nodded, and went on. There were thirty students in the class, and most of them looked bored. The class lasted for fifty-two minutes, and when the bell rang, after the teacher had given them their assignment, everyone bolted for the door. The teacher smiled at her as she left, and Savannah wandered down the hall. She had been given a map, but everything was confusing and she had no idea where she was. She was turning the map around and around, with her books still in her arms, when a girl with bright red hair in a pony-tail and freckles came over to her with a smile.

  “Looks like you’re lost. Can I help?” Like everyone else except Savannah, she had a heavy South Carolina drawl.

  “I think I have history next. Thanks,” she said as she handed the pretty redhead the map.

  “You’re on the wrong floor,” the girl explained. “The class is straight up, right over our heads where we’re standing, and Mr. Armstrong sucks. He gives too much homework and has bad breath. Where’re you from?” She was still smiling and Savannah was grateful for the help. No one else had asked, although several boys were staring at her from their lockers across the hall, and Savannah thought they were cute. She hadn’t had a boyfriend since the end of junior year. She just hung out with friends. And she knew that if she’d had to leave a boyfriend in New York to come here, it would have been worse.

  “I was from here originally. I was born here. But I’ve been living in New York for ten
years.”

  “Welcome back.” The girl smiled broadly. “I have to go upstairs anyway. I’ll walk you up. I have chemistry. I always flunk. I can’t wait to get out of school. I’m taking a year off.” Savannah nodded as they hurried up the stairs. The girl was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, and so were most of the boys. It was no different than New York, although she felt out of place here somehow, as though there were a sign over her head, “I’m new.” “Why’d you come back?” the girl asked her.

  “I came to stay with my dad till the end of school. I live with my mom in New York.” She didn’t want to say that she was there because her life was at risk. That was too heavy to share with other kids, particularly one she didn’t know.

  “If you’ve been fighting with your mama, I know alllllll about that,” the girl said with a grin. “My mama and I fight like cats and dogs, but I love her to pieces anyway, bless her heart. I can get around my daddy, but my mama is a bitch,” the girl said, and Savannah couldn’t help but laugh. “Yours too?”

  “No, mine is pretty good. Great actually. We just thought it was a good idea if I visited my dad for a while.” It sounded suspicious even to her, but she didn’t know what else to say.

  “What’s your name, by the way?” She was curious about the girl from New York. She had style even in her sweatshirt and jeans, and a spark in her eye.

  “Savannah Beaumont. What’s yours?”

  “Julianne Pettigrew. My great-grandfather was a general or something like that. Sounds pretty boring to me. I get so tired of all that crap. My grandmother’s in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and goes to tea parties all the time.” She was tired of it but had mentioned it anyway. It made Savannah think of her father’s mother.