Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood (20 page)

“I have a confession.”

Grace blinked. “Oh?”

Lucy smiled. “I actually asked Missy to bring me along today, so I could meet you.”

Grace felt embarrassed. Reports of her social standing had clearly been exaggerated. “I’d be happy to show you around, and answer any questions, but I’m not really the social one out here — that’s Hallie. Well.” She paused. “It was.”

“No. That’s sweet of you, but it’s not what I meant.” Lucy smiled again, perky beneath the kind of ruffled bangs Grace could only dream of. “You see, we already have someone in common.”

“We do?”

Lucy leaned closer, confidential. “Teddy Coates.”

Grace stopped. “You know Theo?”

“Very well.” Lucy nodded. “We met over the summer; I was nannying in the Hamptons with my last family.”

“Oh. That’s . . . nice.” Grace swallowed. “I mean, Theo’s a great guy.”

“The best.” Lucy sat back, and gave a little laugh. “This is such a relief! You have no idea what it’s been like for me, having nobody to talk to about this.”

“About what?”

“Teddy!” Lucy gave her a meaningful look. “You know what his family’s like, of course, so we’ve had to keep everything hush-hush. But he always speaks so highly of you, I knew our secret would be safe with you!” She reached across the table and took Grace’s hand, squeezing it. “You won’t tell, will you?”

Grace’s hand felt like deadweight in Lucy’s bony grip. “Tell what?” she ventured, clutching at the faint hope that she was totally misunderstanding the British girl. Lost in translation, it had to be.

“About us, silly!” Lucy beamed at her. “Teddy and I are in love!”

Grace stared at the strange girl in disbelief. Lucy was gazing at her serenely across the kitchen table, a tiny smile playing on the edge of her lips. Grace struggled to respond. “You . . . and Theo . . . You’re . . . ?”

“Lovers,” Lucy replied airily.

Grace choked on a slice of cold chicken. Even worse! “I . . . When . . . ?”

“We dated in secret all summer,” Lucy told her, a romantic sheen to her gaze. “Walks on the beach, trips out on his boat. He swept me off my feet!”

“A summer romance?” Grace asked hopefully.

“At first,” Lucy agreed, “but then we fell in love, and Teddy wouldn’t hear about ending it. He even wanted to transfer to Columbia, to stay close to me, but I couldn’t let him do that, so I found a job out here. It’s still hard.” She sighed. “But we talk all the time, and visit. We’ll make it work, until his family comes around.”

“Right,” Grace said faintly. She felt dizzy, like the earth was shifting beneath her. All this time, Theo had been with someone? In love! Why hadn’t he told her?

“I can trust you, can’t I?” Lucy suddenly looked at her, wide-eyed. “You can’t tell anyone. If this got back to his family . . . I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone but I’ve been dying to share it!”

“Uh-huh.” Grace tried to recover. “I mean, of course. But, why the secrecy?” she asked. “Theo isn’t the kind of guy to sneak around.”

“I know,” Lucy said, her tone sharper. She smiled quickly. “But his family wouldn’t approve, with my being a nanny. You know his grandmother.” She rolled her eyes.

“No,” Grace admitted. “I never met her.”

“That’s right, you haven’t.” Lucy looked smug. “She’s a sweet old lady, but she has all these outdated opinions, about class, and position. It’s all rubbish, of course, but we have to be careful. We don’t want her disinheriting him.”

“She would do that, just for dating you?” Grace frowned.

Lucy laughed. “We’re dating
now,
” she told Grace, with another smug look. “But this is only the beginning. One day, I’ll be part of the family. See, he gave me this.”

Lucy lifted a pendant over the neckline of her shirt. A simple silver chain, with . . . Grace gasped.

It was her necklace!

The periodic element pendant, the one she’d made for her craft project; the one Theo had helped her pack! He must have taken it instead of putting it in the storage box, and . . . given it to Lucy?

“It’s the symbol for gold,” Lucy explained, as Grace sat, reeling. Her blankness must have shown, because Lucy added, “You know, for commitment. Like a wedding ring.”

Grace couldn’t muster a response.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” Lucy said again, still wide-eyed. “It has to be our little secret. Promise?”

Grace was still trying to understand how her necklace had wound up around another girl’s neck as a symbol of undying love. “Sure,” she managed.

“No, I need you to promise,” Lucy insisted. “I’d be forever in your debt, and it’s only the teensiest secret.” She beamed at Grace across the table, so eager that Grace wilted in the face of her enthusiasm. What else could she say that wouldn’t reveal her own pathetic — oh! so pathetic — hopes?

“OK.” Grace nodded, the very word feeling like a betrayal. “I won’t say a thing.”

Amber and Missy soon bustled back in, and Lucy departed under a load of diaper bags, wafting promises to get together soon and “do lunch.” “I’m so glad I met you!” She beamed at Grace on the doorstep. “I knew we’d be friends, just from the way Teddy talks about you. You know, you’re like a sister to him!”

Grace managed a vague murmur of assent before shutting the door in her face.

“What a sweet girl,” Amber cooed, moving to rearrange the vase of lilies cascading from the hall table. She plucked one from the heavy crystal vase, breathing in the scent. “I love that accent of hers, so classy. I bet she’ll have the boys swooning over her in no time.”

But Lucy already had. At least, the only boy who mattered. But why wouldn’t Theo fall for her? Grace thought of the visitor morosely: her pretty auburn curls, and button nose, and light sprinkling of freckles. Yes, Lucy was cute, and sweet, and clearly more adventurous than Grace would ever be: venturing out half a world away from home.

Once she had the picture of them together, Grace couldn’t stop the images from coming, just as Lucy had described to her: them walking hand in hand on the beach, taking romantic trips out on his boat, watching the sun go down, leaning in for a perfect kiss . . .

Grace turned abruptly to Amber. “I’m going out tonight, to a party,” she said, before she could change her mind. “Do you think you could help me, with clothes, and my hair, and everything?”

Amber squealed. “Absolutely! I have this amazing black minidress, with diamanté spangles —!”

“I meant more, jeans and a shirt,” Grace interrupted. “It’s just a casual, hangout thing.”

Amber took a step back and assessed her with a well-practiced eye. “Shirt yes, jeans no. I have the cutest denim mini for you to borrow.”

Grace must have blanched, because Amber laughed, scooping her into a hug. “Relax, girl. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll have boys lining up to fill your dance card.”

Worn out, Grace let Amber steer her upstairs, toward the great wonderland of her walk-in closet. She didn’t have the heart to tell her that it didn’t matter who was lining up — it didn’t even matter what she wore. The boy Grace really wanted couldn’t have been further out of reach.

Harry lived in a sprawling Spanish compound set in the hills above Bel Air. The moment Grace stepped through the doors, she realized what a mistake she’d made. Far from the small gathering Palmer had promised, the marble-floored house was thick with kids from school: juniors, seniors even, and a host of those designer-clad cliques. The air vibrated with a heavy bass, red plastic cups littering every surface. This was a full-on party, and Grace couldn’t be further from the partying mood.

She paused in the marble-floored lobby. Every instinct said to turn back, but what was her alternative: pull on a pair of sweatpants, and join Hallie sitting shivah in the gloom of her bedroom, tormented by thoughts of Theo and Lucy together?

“You came!” Palmer ambushed her, a red cup in one hand; her trilby hat already askew, with one lone feather drooping over a kohl-rimmed eye. “What are you wearing?” She stood back to take it in.

Grace tugged the hem of her skirt. “Amber made me wear it,” she said quickly. “It’s dumb, I know.”

“No!” Palmer grasped her hand and made Grace do a twirl. “It’s hot! I just didn’t know you had it in you.” She giggled. “To paraphrase what a very inappropriate math teacher once said to me, ‘Miss Weston, you’ve got
legs.
’ ”

Grace flushed. She tugged again, but the hemline on the denim cutoff skirt didn’t budge: it remained six inches above her knees, which, in Grace’s opinion, was a good four inches higher than necessary.

“Seriously, you look great.” Palmer grinned, already dragging her into the crowd, pausing only to pluck a cup full of Lord knows what from the makeshift bar and thrust it into Grace’s hand. “Look, there’s Harry!”

Grace paused by the French doors at the back of the den. Outside, the backyard was lit bright with dozens of tiny lanterns, the brave exhibitionists already stripped down to their bikinis in the hot tub. She could see Harry hanging out with some of his skater friends, eating pizza from a stack of boxes by the pool.

“Ooh, and who’s his friend? He’s cute.” Palmer’s eyes widened as she noticed the boy beside him with dark curls and a punk-rock T-shirt. “Let’s go say hi,” she added, with a meaningful grin. “After all, he’s our host. It’s only polite.”

“I don’t know . . .” Grace hung back, reluctant.

Palmer rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me that. You didn’t come here, wearing
that,
if you didn’t want to have some fun.”

Grace’s expression must have revealed something, because Palmer lit up. “See, I know it. Deep down, your soul is crying out for some recreational flirting and light make-out action.”

Grace couldn’t help but laugh. “Recreational flirting? Who says that?”

“I do.” Palmer beamed, pulling a lip balm from her pocket and swiftly smearing a fresh layer on her lips. “And I want some. So let’s go!”

Grace saw the anticipation on Palmer’s face and relented. “OK,” she said. “But don’t you dare leave me alone with Harry!”

“Why?” Palmer shot back. “Afraid you might succumb to your hidden passion and throw yourself into his arms?”

Grace laughed. “Sure, my heart beats for him alone!” She linked her arm through Palmer’s and steered them outside. “Also, note for future reference? We have got to get you away from those romance novels!”

The dark-haired object of Palmer’s desire was named Jesús, a senior from a public high school across town. “I feel a religious experience coming on,” Palmer whispered to Grace as Harry pulled up a couple of lawn chairs for them and made room at the table.

Grace elbowed her. “Behave!”

Palmer stuck her tongue out in response and turned back to Jesús. “Those are cool pants.” She smiled, edging her chair closer. “Do they have any secret pockets?”

Grace had to look away. Part of her was embarrassed by Palmer’s outré flirtation, but part of her was just plain envious of her friend’s confidence. Lines that would sound cheesy and desperate coming from Grace’s lips took on a nonchalant power with one of Palmer’s no-nonsense stares. If only Grace could be so bold.

“You want some pizza?” Harry asked, on her other side. “It’s pepperoni,” he added, “but there’s veggie somewhere in the pile, if you want.”

“No. I’m good.” Grace caught her dismissive tone, and turned back. “Thanks, though,” she added. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty good.” Harry nodded. “Everyone seems to be having a good time.”

His words were punctuated by a group of jocks hurling themselves in the pool, whooping. Grace laughed. “Looks like it.”

She paused, trying to look at Harry with fresh eyes. His hair flopped over his eyes appealingly, she could see, and the rumpled oxford shirt he wore with his baggy skater jeans was mismatched in a cute, scruffy way. Yes, Harry was more than eligible. He was sweet, and generally smart, and didn’t have a secret girlfriend from the Hamptons, or think of Grace like a sister. He even liked her! So why shouldn’t she like him back?

Grace noticed Harry’s gaze drifting lower. She glanced down, and realized with horror that seated, the skirt was even shorter. She started to cross her legs, but realized that was even worse: the fabric riding up another perilous inch.

Grace downed the mystery punch in her cup and leaped up. “I’m, umm, going to get another drink.”

“I’ll show you!” Harry quickly got up too. Grace sent Palmer a desperate look, but she was leaning in close to Jesús, tracing the outline of the tattoo on his wrist with a dreamy expression. To drag her away would be cruel.

“Sure.” Grace exhaled, turning back to Harry. “Thanks.”

She followed him back into the house, and fought her way through the crowd. It was even louder now: punch splashing liberally onto cream carpets, and formerly spotless couch covers looking far more spotty. “Your parents don’t mind?” she asked.

Harry frowned. “What?”

“The party!” Grace yelled. “Are they OK with it?”

Harry shrugged. “They’re out of town. They said I could have a few people over to study.” He guided her into the kitchen, quieter, but littered with empty cups, half-eaten dip, and a sink piled high with dirty dishes.

“How will you get everything cleaned up before they get back?” Grace asked, looking around. “This place is a mess!”