“How long do you intend to stay here?”
Will Montgomery ignored the question as he walked through the high-end jewelry store tucked along a quiet street in the middle of Paris. He looked at few diving watches, waved over a shop assistant, and asked to see three of them. “I’m not sure,” he finally replied. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Alison Farrell Montgomery turned towards her son with a modicum of concern in her eyes. While she always enjoyed Will’s all too infrequent trips to see her, she was worried about her youngest child. He was a person who love hard, wanted it all on his terms, and never liked confrontation. For Alison, she knew Will would never have an easy life when it came to love because he made loving him very difficult. “Billy,” said Alison, “you can stay with me as long as you’d like.” She walked over to him and placed her hand on his. “I just wish you wouldn’t let India get under your skin.”
Will groaned. “I don’t want to talk about India.”
“Billy…”
“My life was terrific until you let India leave Paris,” seethed Will.
“I didn’t let India leave Paris! She’s an adult. She can do as she pleases,” snapped Alison. “Billy, don’t you think that the reason India left Paris was to get under your skin?”
Will thought about the statement for a while. He’d never considered it, but it was a possibility…and it was something India would do. “You don’t think…”
“When I spoke to Warren a few weeks ago, he mentioned how happy you were with Connor. It’s possible someone from the country club saw you with Connor and came to the same conclusion. If someone tipped off India, that may explain why she left one night without nary a goodbye.”
Will kicked himself for being so stupid…for being so blind! How could he have not seen right through India’s surprise return to town?!? She’s done this on purpose! “I didn’t even think about that!”
“Why would you? You aren’t very perceptive when you’re only thinking about yourself, Billy.”
“Ouch, Mom.”
“It’s true.” Alison told the sales assistant they would take the three watches Will wanted along with a diamond tennis bracelet for herself. “Billy, if you love Connor – and I don’t know why you do – then go home and be with him. All of this drama with India is pointless. She’s always been obsessed with Connor. That will never change. However, if you do love him, then you’ll go home, be with him, and show her that you two are impervious to her machinations.”
“I will,” said Will, triumphantly. “I can’t believe I was too pigheaded to see what was right in front of me. Thank you, Mom.”
Alison smiled, lightly. “Thank me by not letting India push you around. You’re not a child anymore, Billy.
“Barbara, Miss India Montgomery is by the pool and she would like her lunch.” Ada handed Barbara a printed menu which listed the exact lunch order of India Montgomery including the precise number of croutons to be placed in her salad. “Chef is almost done with it. Get everything ready so you can take it to her without delay. You don’t wanna keep that one waiting because she’ll have you fired if you’re fifteen seconds late.”
Barbara nodded in agreement. While she hadn’t spoken to India Montgomery, she still remembered how she observed India eavesdropping outside of Will’s bedroom last week. To say Barbara was intrigued by India would have been a very accurate statement. “Oh, Ada,” Barbara called after her colleague, “which pool is India by?”
“The outdoor pool. Pay attention, Barbara!”
A few minutes later, Barbara was being sent up a service elevator she hadn’t seen before towards the outdoor preparation area near the pool. She quickly ensured everything was up to snuff on the lunch tray as she pushed open the door. The blinding afternoon sun nearly made Barbara cry out in pain. For the last few weeks, she’d been working inside of the main house which rendered her vulnerable to the unrelenting summer sun. Once she regained her composure, Barbara wheeled the cart through the oppressive humidity. She began to sweat profusely through her uniform and, for a few moments, Barbara thought she would drop dead from heat stroke and suffocation.
“Just leave the tray there.” India pointed to a spot to her left without ever lowering her sunglasses or looking up from the magazine cradled between her knees.
“Yes, Miss Montgomery,” said Barbara, quietly.
“You’re the new one.”
Barbara picked up the tray from the cart and placed it on the table to the left of India. “Yes, Miss Montgomery.”
“Your manners are too sparkling,” sniffed India. “They’ve trained you well.”
“Would you like anything else, Miss Montgomery?”
India lifted her head for the briefest of moments before lowering it once more. “If I need anything,” she began, “I certainly won’t ask you.”
Shock and humiliation coursed through Barbara. She felt like the lowest form of being in the known universe.
“You can go now,” India said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Stunned, Barbara forced a smile onto her face as she went back to the outdoor preparation area. She could feel the tears begin to swell in her eyes while she frantically hit the buttons on the elevator. No one had ever spoken to Barbara like that before, not even when she was at her lowest moment in life. That snooty heiress didn’t even talk to her; she barked at her. She treated her worse than a dog…worse than nothing. In the elevator, Barbara held back her tears because she knew every area of the servant’s areas was awash in cameras. The last thing she wanted to do was let any of these people see her cry.
Back in the servant’s area, Barbara returned the cart to its corner and resumed her place on the stool in the chef’s kitchen. Maybe, thought Barbara, this was a bad idea after all. Before she arrived in Kingsport and during the first two weeks, everything seemed possible and full of opportunity. However, very slowly it was dawning on her that the gulf between people like the Montgomerys and everyone else in Kingsport may be too vast to ever cross. Even with all of her planning, Barbara had been dismissed by India Montgomery and made to feel like she was worth less than less. She felt inhuman. Yet, before the tears began to flow, Barbara swallowed her pride. She hadn’t come to Kingsport to make friends or become popular. It was then that she realized that India Montgomery had given her the greatest gift of all: A window into the world she lived in. If Barbara could exist around India without being the victim of her wrath, Barbara realized that she may achieve she goals quicker than anyone could have imagined. As Barbara sat on that stool to await her next assignment, a small smile formed on her lips. If she played her cards right, Barbara could learn everything she needed to know from Miss India Montgomery.
In our next installment, India plots her next move…
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