Ella sighed and unzipped her duffel bag. “I’m fine,” she repeated to herself.
Willow’s Arrival
Okay, so London wasn’t as miserable as she’d imagined. Willow watched the passing scenery, amazed at the glorious colors in the flowers and trees. It was different. More lush than her precious Texas, but, apparently, England wasn’t so bad. There was a bit of watery sunshine, but it wasn’t nearly as warm as the wonderful Texas heat. Also, the trees here in England were…wonderful! The neatly planted trees and bushes lining the streets and pathways more than made up for the lack of warmth. She’d never seen so many trees. They were big and beautiful and the leaves danced in the rays of the weak sunshine. Big oak trees seemed to smile down at her as the driver slowly maneuvered down the long, gravel road towards her future prison.
Grey, stone buildings stood in stately elegance in a square. She stepped out of the limousine and looked around, pulling her sweater closer to protect her from the chill. Damp, she thought. Not humid like a Texas spring, but…nice. This sensation was softer. More gentle. Nice!
The roses against the stone wall were organized and tidy, forming a small triangle at each of the entrances to the buildings. Nothing like the wild beauty of a Texas flower, but Willow figured she could get used to this.
Finally, the driver pulled the limousine to the corner and it was Willow’s turn to step out. Taking it all in, she tried not to feel intimidated by the age of the buildings and the businesslike manner in which everyone else seemed to be moving as she stood awkwardly to the side while the driver hefted her suitcases out of the trunk of the limousine, setting them beside her.
“Good morning, Ms. Mills. It is a pleasure to meet you,” a stern looking woman said as she stopped on the sidewalk beside the long, curving driveway.
“Good morning,” Willow replied and had the silly urge to curtsy. She didn’t, instead standing very still as the woman looked sternly down at Willow. This woman was nothing like Number Five, the nickname Willow used for her father’s wives since it didn’t make sense to learn the women’s names. There were too many of them – wives and mistresses – that traipsed through the house back in Texas, all of them trying to befriend Willow in the hopes of remaining in her father’s life longer than the last woman. None of them ever did, but Willow’s presence here at this exclusive boarding school was due to Number Five’s desire to be alone with Willow’s father, thinking that exclusive time together would help her be the last in Jimmy Mill’s love life.
Willow watched carefully, and saw the woman’s features…soften? No. No one would say that the headmistress’s features softened. Willow suspected that softness wasn’t possible with this woman. But her features were suddenly less harsh.
“Ms. Dunworthy will be your faculty advisor here at The Burling School. She would have been here to greet you, but she accompanied another student and hasn’t yet returned. In her absence, I will guide you. This way,” she said and turned on her sensible shoes. “I’ll show you to your dorm room and introduce you to your roommates.”
Willow followed, not sure what to say. “Thank you,” was all that she could muster as she took everything in. The Burling School was so foreign compared to her home back in Texas. And interesting! Everything was surprisingly delightful. Even the harsh headmistress was…intriguing. Fascinating!
She liked it. For some reason, the stone buildings gave her a sense of security. A feeling that had been lacking in her life for too long. She loved the trees and the softer sunshine and the roses and…well, she loved all of it!
The dormitories were off to the left, just beyond the four main buildings, but they were built with the same, grey stone that looked to be centuries old.
“Your roommates are Tamara el Hamid,” Ms. Hendricks explained as they walked. “And Ms. Lana Kosta. Both are lovely, intelligent ladies and could be excellent connections for your future.”
At fourteen, Willow had no idea why she’d want “connections”. She was fourteen and only wanted friends. Friends who she could talk to and get advice from. But apparently, “connections” were very important, if the headmistress’s attitude was any indication.
“That is nice,” she finally replied. Apparently, that was the required response as the headmistress nodded approvingly.
“Your blankets and sheets have already been delivered to your room, but you’ll need to make your bed. The dining room is over there,” she said, waving to the right at a low building with large windows on both sides. “The chapel is there,” she said, pointing towards the left to a building with a steeple and stained glass windows. “You will be expected to attend services every Sunday morning. Class meetings are also held in the chapel.” She held the door open to the dormitory and allowed Willow to precede her into the building, lugging her suitcase up the stairs.
There was a great deal of noise at first, but as soon as the other students realized that the headmistress had entered the building, silence quickly descended. The girls in school uniforms backed quickly out of the way, but kept their curious eyes on Willow as she proceeded to the room about halfway down the hallway on the third floor.
“And this will be your room,” Ms. Hendricks announced and ceremoniously opened the door to a room with three beds, three desks and one big window. But the more interesting aspect of the room were the two other girls. They were both gorgeous and staring right back at her with equal amounts of surprise and resentment.
“This is Tamara and Lana. They will be your roommates for the duration. We pride ourselves on ladies who are smart and able to get through life on their own, but with strong friendships for support.” The headmistress turned to face the other ladies. “Ladies,” she said, looking at the suitcases that had yet to be unpacked and the beds still with the sheets and blankets neatly folded at the end of the beds, “I see that very little progress has been made. Lunch will be in less than thirty minutes.”
With that, the headmistress nodded to the group, and departed.
Willow stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure what to say or do. Being the daughter of country music legend Jimmy Mills, she’d never really had strong friendships. The other girls at her old school in Texas had stayed back resentfully. Or when someone thought her father could be of use to them for a fundraising event, one of the girls would pretend to be a friend. But that friendship only long enough to find out that Jimmy Mills didn’t do favors or fundraising events. Generosity that didn’t help Jimmy Mills in some way simply wasn’t worth his time and effort.
These girls…they were stunningly beautiful.
“If you are Tamar el Hamid,” Willow started off, surprised and amazed by the assertiveness in her tone, “then you must be related to the royal family of Nadir. Are you really a princess?” she asked the one with long, dark hair and the creamy complexion that a blond could never achieve.
The exotic beauty stood up, a hard look to her eyes. “Are you really the daughter to a dork?”
Willow was shocked at first. But she couldn’t contain the giggle. Most people were in awe of her famous father. No one had ever referred to her father as a dork before. Pressing her lips together, she shrugged one shoulder. “I am.”
The other girl stood up, her dark curls bounding around her lovely features. “I don’t like his music,” she announced with a soft, lilting accent that made Willow think she was even more lovely.
Willow leaned forward slightly, a sparkle to her eyes. “I don’t either,” she whispered with a conspiratorial manner.
The two girls were so stunned, they stared at Willow for a long moment. Then at each other. Then back at Willow. Slowly, a huge grin formed on each of their pretty faces. A moment later, they burst out laughing.
Willow stood there in the room, stunned that she’d actually made these two shockingly beautiful women smile. Normally, she was a wallflower, her father’s personality too big for anyone else to sparkle. But these ladies…they found her funny?
“You’re going to do just fine,” the
one with the long, dark hair announced. The bouncy brunette jumped off of her bed and took Willow’s bag. “I agree. This is going to be fun.”
Naya’s Arrival
Naya stepped out of the worn, tired sedan and looked around. The school was buzzing with energy and what looked like about a hundred students walking around, all of them in The Burling School’s uniform of navy and grey plaid skirts, white shirts and navy blazers.
“All the other students arrived yesterday, so you’re a day late,” the social worker in charge of her case told Naya with a tone that implied that she didn’t like being here. “But don’t you dare complain about anything. You’re lucky this school was willing to accept you as a student,” the social worker snapped as she came around to stand beside Naya on the stone steps. The social worker looked around, her eyes squinting up at the sun peeking through the leaves of the trees. “Fortunately, you’re grades are good enough, plus they had another charity student drop out. Otherwise, you’d be back in foster care with another family.”
Naya didn’t speak, not really sure what to say. Besides, humiliation at being a charity case choked back her words. Naya suspected that her embarrassed silence was the intended reaction from the resentful social worker who had grumbled during the whole drive out here to the school. Naya had heard an almost continuous rant about how much work the tired-looking woman had to do back at the office and the burden of having to drive “all the way out here” to this exclusive boarding school wasn’t fair, blah blah blah. After the first half hour in the car with the woman, Naya had stopped listening, peering out the window instead.
“Well, don’t just stand there!” the social worker barked. “The sooner I drop you off at the headmistress’s office, the sooner I can get out of here.”
Of course, Naya thought and fought the instinct to bow her head in shame. She was a burden to everyone. Her father had abandoned her mother at the first mention of the word “baby”. And her mother…well, her mother couldn’t really handle sticking around in one place for too long. The last time Naya had lived with her mother, Jessica had simply driven off one day, forgetting that Naya was still swinging on the playground swing set. If it hadn’t been for a neighbor who had seen Naya sitting on the park bench as the sun started to set that night, Naya wasn’t sure what she would have done. The neighbor had called the police, not wanting to be bothered with a stray child’s care other than to call in the authorities. The police had simply dumped six year old Naya off at the welfare center. At that time of the night, the social worker who had been called in to find a place for Naya to sleep for the night had been irritated at being brought back into work after hours.
After that horrible, sleepless night, Naya had been brought to a foster home which had, actually, been better than the small cot she’d slept on in her mother’s tiny, musty apartment. The foster home hadn’t been upscale but her first foster mother had provided food three times a day, gotten Naya registered for school and ensured that she had clothes to wear, even if those clothes had come out of the church’s cast-offs from the other church members.
Unfortunately, that foster mother hadn’t lasted very long and Naya had been shuffled off to two more homes, both of which had been fine, but school had been Naya’s escape over the years. She’d worked hard on her lessons, because school was the only constant in her world. School was also the only place where she’d found validation for her efforts. Naya had learned that working hard in school meant that the teachers were nicer to her, looked out for her. They gave her extra assignments that allowed her to stay in the library to work, which meant she didn’t have to head back to the foster home where her world was a bit less…secure.
Apparently, her study habits had paid off. One of the teachers at her last school had recommended Naya for a scholarship here at The Burling School.
So here she was, being cast off to someone else. Despite this being another school, a place she normally found comfort, Naya hated this! She hated being a burden! She’d worked very hard at school in order to not be a burden to anyone, wanting to show the world that she was good and smart and worthy!
Why was she here? This place looked terrifying! The cold, stone buildings looked like some of the buildings out of the books she’d read. Books filled with stories of girls getting lost in the hallways and eaten by evil monsters!
“Come on!” the social worker snapped when Naya hesitated at the bottom of the stone steps. “I don’t have all day!”
Naya stepped forward automatically. Ever since her mother had driven off and forgotten about her, Naya had done exactly as she’d been told, and for what? Just to be dumped off somewhere else!
And yet, she swallowed her pride once again and followed the social worker obediently, even as resentment hit her, obliterating her humiliation.
The social worker stepped through a heavy, wooden door, jerking her head slightly, indicating that Naya should go in first. Naya lugged her small suitcase through the door. It contained everything she owned in the world. The rest of the girls here at this horrible, miserable, ugly school probably had tons of beautiful clothes and jetted all over the world. Naya had never been outside of London. In fact, this school was the furthest she’d ever traveled.
Furthermore, she didn’t own any school uniforms, so her second- and third-hand clothes would cause her to stick out like a sore thumb. Maybe there was some work she could do at the school to earn some money that she could eventually use to buy the beautiful, pristine uniforms. Naya had no idea how much a school uniform cost, but they looked lovely, all pressed and pleated and clean!
Unfortunately, she doubted she’d ever earn enough money to afford one of those uniforms!
“I’m here to speak with Ms. Hendricks, the headmistress,” the social worker called out as soon as they stepped through the doors of what looked to be the administration building. The hard, scuffed wood floors caused her steps to echo around the room and Naya stopped moving, trying to remain very still so that she wouldn’t draw more attention to herself. “This is Naya Banks. She’s your latest charity case.”
Naya glared at the back of the social worker, wishing that she had some gum or maybe peanut butter. She’d spit the gum into the social worker’s messy hair, then press it in deep so that the woman would really struggle with getting it out. How dare that woman introduce Naya as a “charity case”!
Then a pretty woman with sandy blond hair peered around the social worker. And she smiled!
“Oh my! Is this really Naya Banks?” The pretty woman rushed around to the other side of the big, wooden desk. “Naya, I’m Ms. Dunworthy and it is a very great pleasure to meet you,” the woman said.
Naya wasn’t sure how to respond. Automatically, she just stuck her hand out, shaking the woman’s hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” she replied, remembering a movie where someone had done that. Although, no one had ever bothered to introduce themselves to Naya before this moment. In the past, people had simply sighed with irritation or resignation at first meeting Naya, then looked her up and down. After a cursory, unconcerned and uncaring perusal, the new person did their “duty”.
“I’ve been here waiting for your arrival.” Ms. Dunworthy approached again and looked at Naya’s clothing. “I doubt that you have any school uniforms, do you?” she asked.
The social worker snorted. “What you see is what you get,” she told Ms. Dunworthy.
Oh boy! Naya watched the other woman’s features tighten with anger as she turned to face the social worker. “Ms. Matthews?” Ms. Dunworthy asked, extending her hand to the social worker.
“Yes. And I’m still waiting for the headmistress so that she can sign these forms.”
An older woman with grey hair and a very stern expression stepped out of an office to the right.
“I’m Ms. Hendricks, Ms. Matthews,” the stern woman announced and moved forward.
Naya swallowed, not sure what this woman would do next. She looked…angry and mean! Not a woman Naya wanted to mess with!
The social worker must have thought the same thing because the woman backed up slightly. The belligerent expression vanished and she appeared almost deferential in the face of the headmistress’s disapproval.
“That’s me,” she replied.
Ms. Dunworthy caught Naya’s eye and…winked? Had she actually done that?
Naya didn’t dare relax! This was all a trick. Adults didn’t wink at her. They ordered her out of their stores! They eyed her suspiciously!
“Ms. Matthews, as a social worker, I’d think it was your job to ensure that the children in your care are protected. Both physically, emotionally and psychologically. Is that not correct?”
The social worker, obviously named “Ms. Matthews”, although she’d never bothered to introduce herself to Naya, looked caught off-guard. “Yes, but…”
The older woman drew herself up even more, her body language demonstrating her anger towards Ms. Matthews. “Your disdain for this very special girl has been recognized and I will report your actions and insensitivity to your superior. If you’re treating one child in this manner, then you are most likely treating others with the same inappropriate attitude and, therefore, your responsibilities for young, impressionable children is probably toxic to other children. Your verbal and mental abuse of your charges might even be considered criminal. Please exit these premises immediately! We have charge of Ms. Banks and will treat her with the respect and dignity that she deserves!”
Ms. Matthews jerked, her mouth falling open in horror. “I was just…!”
The headmistress didn’t want to hear the social worker’s excuses. “Please depart these premises. You are now trespassing on private property!” the headmistress snapped.
The woman stumbled backwards, shocked that anyone would speak to her in that manner. Naya knew that none of the foster parents she’d spent time with over the past few years would speak in that tone with the social worker. The foster homes received money for taking in the kids. None of the families wanted to lose that income.
Forbidden Seduction (The Diamond Club Book 12) Page 10
