Southern Lights

“Did you say I was married to her mother?”

“I said that we didn’t need to talk about it, and preferred not to, and Sava

“For God’s sake, Luisa, you make it sound like her mother is in rehab, or jail.” He was appalled, but not surprised.

“Daisy is too young to know that criminals are threatening Sava

“I want you to come and say hello to Sava

“Don’t try to drag me into this. I don’t want her here.”

“That’s clear. But she is here, for extremely important reasons. All I want is for you to be polite.”

“I’ll be civil to her when I see her. Don’t expect more from me than that.” He nodded and left the room. It was obvious that Luisa was not going to meet Sava

“Luisa isn’t feeling well, she’s in bed,” he said simply, and Sava

“No, I’m fine, Daddy. Thank you. I’m not hungry, I’ll just unpack.” He nodded and went to his study, to look at his mail. He was so a

She sat down in the large, comfortable chair and looked around the room. Everything was pale blue silk and satin. There were heavy curtains pulled back with blue tassels, a beautiful antique dressing table and mirror, and a little sitting area with a bookcase and two small couches. The room was warmly lit and elegantly decorated. It was much more elaborate than anything she was used to, and there was a large four-poster bed hung with heavy silk curtains as well. It was certainly a lovely room, even if it didn’t feel like home. She had known that her father lived well, but hadn’t realized that he lived in such grandeur. She had been taken aback by it when they walked in, and still felt daunted by it now. It didn’t feel like a home where you could walk around in jeans and bare feet, or an old fla

“How is it, sweetheart?” Alexa asked her quickly, and Sava

“Strange. The house is amazing, and Daddy’s been very nice. I’m in some big fancy guest room all done up in blue.” Alexa knew it well, as it had been called the Blue Room in her day too, and she had always stayed there when she came to visit before they were married. And now Sava

“There’s a lot of history in that house. Your father is very proud of it. Your grandmother lives in an even bigger house nearby, or she used to. It’s an old plantation that her grandfather bought when he got married.” It was too much for Sava

“I miss you, Mom,” Sava

“Me too, sweetheart. You won’t be there long, I promise. And I’ll come down as soon as I can.” She wasn’t looking forward to it, but she would have gone to hell and back to see her daughter. And as far as she was concerned, Charleston and all she’d lived through there at the end was hell. “How was Luisa?” Alexa held her breath as she asked. She knew what she was capable of, and hated having Sava

“I didn’t see her. Daddy said she had a headache and had gone to bed.” Alexa held her tongue and didn’t comment. “I didn’t see Daisy either. She had gone to bed too. Everything seems to roll up early here,” contrary to New York, where the city was alive all night. “Daddy says he’ll give me a car to drive.”

“Be careful,” her mother warned her. “You don’t have a lot of experience yet.” But the city was small and the traffic light. It was nice of Tom to give her a car. It would give her some freedom, particularly once she started school. “I can’t wait to see you,” she said sadly, wishing she were there with her.

“Me too. I guess I’d better unpack. We’re going sightseeing tomorrow.”

“It’s another world there. You’ll see. The Confederacy is still alive and well. For them the ‘War Between the States’ never ended. They still hate us and hang on to every shred of their history. They don’t trust anyone but southerners. But there are a lot of wonderful things about it too, and Charleston is a beautiful place. I loved it when I lived there, and I would have stayed forever if…well, you know the rest. I think you’ll like it. It has everything, beauty, history, gorgeous architecture, lovely beaches, nice weather, friendly people. It’s hard to beat.” It was easy to tell that she had once loved it no matter how she felt about it now.

“I just want to be home with you,” Sava

“Of course.” Alexa was glad she had thought to do it.

There was no sign of a stereo in the room, but her mother said she had packed her Discman and iPod too. She was all set. And she wouldn’t disturb anyone, which seemed like a good thing.

They ended the call, and Sava