Barbara Wilkes pushed open the hidden panel which gave the servants access to the library in the main house of the Montgomery Estate. She knew she shouldn’t have been in there, but after delivering lunch in there the other day, she was in awe of the objects around her. Priceless paintings hung on the wall. Sculptures, pictures, and family mementos filled the space. Barbara felt as if she were in a fine museum, the type which never would have existed in her old world. She stepped into the darkened room, glanced around, and drank in the enormous wealth all around her.
Even though she’d only been in town for a full week, Barbara felt like she’d finally made it. While everyone from her past told her she’d never amount to anything, she would finally prove them wrong. She had made it into the home of one of the wealthiest families in America. It didn’t matter that she worked as their maid, what mattered was that she had access to them. Standing in the vast library which was ten times the size of any library she’d seen before, Barbara closed her eyes and let the smell of money, privilege, and elegance wash over her.
“What on earth are you doing in here?!”
Barbara’s eyes shot open. “I… Uh…”
“Are you crazy?!” Ada grabbed Barbara by the arm, pushed open the panel, and pulled Barbara into the servant’s stairwell. “If one of the family had seen you, you’d be out of here like that!” Ada snapped her fingers with a shake of her head. “You’ll never get another job in Kingsport. Don’t mess it up by going above your station!”
“I… I just wanted to see the library again. I love books…and…when I delivered Will’s lunch the other day, I was mesmerized.” Barbara hung her head with noticeable sorrow and regret. A stray tear fell down her cheeks. “Please don’t tell Dane. I really am very sorry, Ada.”
Ada eyed Barbara with motherly concern. “Next time ask someone or go to the public library. Ain’t no use in getting yourself fired over some books.”
Barbara held her hands up to her eyes in a vain attempt to stop her ice-cold tears. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, Ada. I’m so, so sorry…”
“I know… I know…” Ada led Barbara down the servant’s staircase and into the staff room. “Don’t even give the people who live here any thought. You’ll probably never meet them…most of the times, you’ll only see them in passing.”
“I understand. You won’t tell on me, will you?”
Ada squeezed Barbara’s hand. “Of course not. Just don’t go poking around where it’s none of your business. It’s frowned upon in this town. They like to keep everything separated. We’re down here and they’re up here. Remember that, Barbara.”
Will Montgomery stood in the middle of the polo field as he surveyed the sight of three new polo ponies. He inspected them closely as his broker intoned about their lineage, statistics, and potential. Will’s mind should have been concerned about the topic at hand, but he was otherwise preoccupied about Connor and his sister, India. He bade the broker goodbye, instructed his business manager to purchase the ponies, and made his way into his office at the King’s Polo Club.
Charles had purchased this club for Will ten years ago as a way to keep Will focused on something other than his army of fly by night boyfriends. Although he loved playing polo, Will had no interest in running the day to day activities of the club. However, as time marched on, he grew to love the business and practical sides of the polo business. He instructed his assistant to have his horse, Sir Galahad, ready for a ride in an hour. As Will turned around to check his e-mail, the door to his office swung open. “Sorry, I don’t have time…”
“You should make time for me, Billy.”
Will froze. His blood ran cold. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Will took a deep breath as he looked up to see India glaring at him from the doorway. “India…” he croaked. “I…”
“Give me a hug, Billy.”
Will remained seated in his chair, unable to comply with India’s demand.
“Give me a hug,” she seethed.
“India, I don’t have time to talk to you right now.”
Never one to be blown off, India Montgomery removed her fifteen hundred dollar sunglasses and dropped them into her thirty thousand dollar purse. “Billy, I’ve decided to come back to town for good. It would be wonderful if we could be friends. We’ve never been close…”
“You tried to kill me when I was six. I remember you locked me in the guest house and started a fire.”
“You lived,” sighed India. “Besides, you picked dare.” India loved to taunt him. “You got out unscarred. Mother sends her love from Paris.”
“I’m surprised she let you leave.”
“No one tells me what to do. It was time to leave, Billy. I didn’t want to wind up stuck in Kingsport like you and Warren,” sighed India, curtly. “I do think this will be a wonderful time for the family to reunite. I even think Mother will visit us from Paris in the next month or so.”
Will eyed his sister carefully. While she was a vision in a floral Pucci dress with nude heels and a trim body, he couldn’t shake the feeling that behind her façade was a woman on the verge of losing her mind. No matter what, Will knew that he had to keep his distance from India. “Well, we’ll sort it out as it happens.”
“I want to have a dinner at the house. I’ll have Chef whip up a rustic Tuscan feast! You, me, Daddy, and Warren. I would invite Jill and the girls, but I don’t like Jill. Warren won’t mind…”
“You have to invite Jill and the girls. Dad won’t stand for it otherwise. You know that. India, you’ve only been in town for five minutes and you’re already looking to ice out Jill.”
India narrowed her eyes. “Everyone knows she doesn’t like me.”
Will bit the inside of his cheek. “Jill is a lovely person. You have a problem with her.”
“Oh, so now everything is my fault, Billy?”
“India, I didn’t say that!”
“You implied it! Everyone in this family hates me. Even Mother tried to send me away because I didn’t fit into her perfect Parisian fairytale!”
Will stood up defiantly. “I’m not listening to this anymore.”
“You’ll have to, Billy. I’m staying at the estate in the main house.”
Will felt like a knife had been shoved into his gut. “Stay in the guest house!”
India let out a cool laugh. “If I stayed there, I couldn’t have fun, Billy.”
Will watched as India’s eyes narrowed followed by a dark cloud which engulfed her whole being. “Get out,” croaked Will.
“Billy, I…”
India spun around to see Dr. Connor Windsor standing in the doorway of Will’s office. She watched as his eyes went wide at the mere sight of her. How she hated this man more than life itself. “What are you doing here?!”
“India… I… I didn’t know you were back in town.” Connor felt like he was going to be sick.
India’s eyes darted between Connor and Will. She knew something was up… She knew they were keeping something from her. Somewhere in the depths of her soul, India knew that something was wrong. Something was off. She knew she’d been betrayed.
“Tell her,” said Connor, quietly.
Will took a deep breath, climbed out of his chair, and walked over to Connor. He took his hand in Connor’s and stared at India, his big brown eyes glistening with tears. “Connor and I have been together for two years.”
“Of course, you’d date the man who raped me,” spit India.
“You’re a crazy liar!” shouted Connor.
With that, India pushed her way past Will and Connor and made her way outside. Her heart was racing. Her mind was spinning. She climbed into the idling town car and ordered the driver to take her to the Montgomery Estate.
India couldn’t believe that Will was dating Connor. Connor was hers. Connor belonged to her. After all of the years she’d spent trying to get him to love her, she was so close to getting him. Now this. Now Will was in the way. One way or another, India knew that she would stop at nothing to get Connor for herself. She didn’t care how many lies she had to continue to tell or how many lives she had to ruin in the process, but she was going to get Will out of the picture and have Connor to herself. She’d done it before…and she was ready to do it again.
In our next installment, Jill Montgomery must face the past…
© 2021; SoapKast, Inc. All rights reserved.