Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

started toward my bedroom.
    “I imagine there are a few surprises for you here now,” she said.
    I paused and turned to her. “Yes, there are.”
    She nodded, and we went to my bedroom. No matter how short or long the interval between my being here and somewhere else, I always felt a little numb when I first set foot in my bedroom again. Daddy tried to make changes for me after the date rape. He had replaced the carpeting with a darker color, bought new bedding and comforters, and redone the curtains and had the walls repainted, but when I looked at my room, I always saw the old room, the room in which Cassie had arranged for mypregnancy. It made it hard to take that initial step, but of course, I did. Daddy’s words resonated: “We must face our demons here.”
    “I can unpack everything for you, Miss Semantha. Go ahead and shower and change if you want. I’m sure you want to join your father and Mrs. Bennet.”
    “Is she here often?” I asked.
    Mrs. Dobson paused. I knew it was against her nature to gossip, but my question apparently struck a deeper vein in her thinking. In fact, she looked surprised by it.
    “Maybe you should let your father tell you, Miss Semantha.”
    “Tell me what? If she’s here often? I don’t care. I just wondered why—”
    “Miss Semantha, Mrs. Bennet’s moved into the Heaven-stone house,” she blurted. She put her hand over her mouth as if the words had escaped.
    “Moved in? When?”
    “About two weeks ago. Oh, dear me, dear me. I really wish your father had been the one to tell you this. I’m not sure he’ll like it that I’m the one telling you. Maybe they’re preparing to do just that right now. Oh, dear.”
    “Don’t worry, Mrs. Dobson,” I said, squeezing her hand gently and leaning in to whisper. “When they do, I’ll act as if it is the first time I’m hearing it.”
    She nodded and smiled. “Here we are like two conspirators in Buckingham Palace,” she quipped.
    “Do you like her moving in, Mrs. Dobson?”
    “Oh, it’s not my place to have an opinion about such a thing, Miss Semantha.”
    “Nevertheless, I’m sure you do have an opinion,” I said.
    She glanced at me, but she didn’t respond. It would be cruel to force an opinion about it out of her, I thought, and went to take a quick shower and change. When I looked at myself in the mirror just before going downstairs, I saw Cassie behind me.
    She didn’t have to say a word.
    We were sisters. From the look on her face, I knew exactly what she was thinking.
    Lucille Bennet might have moved in, but she would never take our mother’s place.
    Not if we had anything to say about it, and with Cassie always beside me, I was sure we would.

Facing Demons
    I HEARD D ADDY and Lucille’s laughter as I walked toward the den. They were standing beside each other, hovering over the bar. Then they kissed. I stepped back out, not wanting them to see I had walked in on them. I waited a moment and then walked in. They both turned as I entered.
    “Well now, officially welcome home, Semantha,” Daddy said. He stepped forward to give me a kiss. “How about a drink? You’re old enough. What do you like?”
    “Just some white wine, maybe,” I said.
    “Very wise,” Lucille said, holding up her wineglass to show me that was what she was drinking.
    Daddy poured me a glass, and I sat on the ruby leather settee. I remembered when Mother had decided to buy new furniture for the den. It was always a major decision to replace anything in the Heaven-stone mansion, no matter how worn or damaged it might be. Daddy used to say it was like burying history when we changed anything.
    Lucille sat in what had always been Daddy’s favorite heavy-cushioned leather chair, and he remainedstanding beside her. They both looked at me for a moment with identical silly grins on their faces.
    “I suppose,” Daddy began, “you’re wondering why Lucille is still here.”
    I shrugged. “No.”
    She looked at him and smiled, and he took her hand and held it as he turned back to me. “Lucille has moved into Heaven-stone, Semantha. It was on a trial basis, and I do believe the trial is over and the verdict is in.”
    While he spoke, Lucille continued to look up at him with admiration. I remembered how Cassie would look at him that way. It always made me feel as if I weren’t paying enough attention to him or showing him enough respect and love.
    Suddenly, he put down his glass of scotch and reached into his jacket pocket to