The Au Pairs (The Au Pairs 1)

They had assumed they were invited to the barbecue. None of them had realized they were supposed to be cooking it.

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"You said to be here by seven," Eliza said weakly.

There was a frosty silence as the misunderstanding sank in.

Anna frowned. "Huh. Well, Kevin and I have to get to the party in a few minutes, so I guess it doesn't matter. You can take them to Main Beach afterward to see the fireworks."

"No problem, we'll get on it right away," Mara said, standing by the grill and handing Jacqui a flipper.

"And remember the tuna for Madison," Anna reminded them as she hoofed it out of the patio without saying good-bye to the kids.

"Mama! Mama! Cody wanna Mama!" the baby cried after her. "Sh ... shh ... Mara said soothingly. "Mara's here." But Cody continued to howl.

"This is bullsh--," Eliza said, catching herself, as grease splattered on her skirt and Jacqui burned another patty.

Mara pried the tuna off the grill. She wondered if it was safe to feed it to Madison; didn't fish need to be cooked? Mara decided to keep it where it was. Hopefully Anna wouldn't find out she had broken the raw food rule on the first night. She'd have to remember to ask Madison who this Camille was and why she was sent away.

"Don't they have a chef?" Mara asked. She had observed enough servants around the property.

"Uh-huh. Cordon Bleu. But he doesn't do kiddie meals apparently. It's probably below him." Eliza shrugged. She was used to handling difficult help. Laurent, their former French chef, refused

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to cook anything other than five-star meals. He would throw a tantrum when her dad demanded a well-done steak. Her mother eventually had to replace him with someone more flexible.

"Hey, did anyone see the rest of the ahi?" Eliza asked.

"There's just this itty piece," Mara said.

Jacqui shrugged. She'd found a six-pack of beer underneath the soda cans and had helped herself to one. "Miller Lite?" she offered.

Eliza shook her head. She unwrapped all the waxed paper packages in a panic, but they all contained ground meat. Apparently Anna had decided not to waste the precious tuna on the likes of them.

The reality of her status finally sank in: she had been installed in an attic room instead of the corner bedroom. Fed burgers instead of tuna steak. She wasn't a guest on the Perry estate. Eliza Thompson, former "it girl," was now the help.

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main beach: you can only Keep eliza down for so long

The beach was as crowded as Central Park during a free concert. The fireworks show had begun, and as rockets whizzed up to the heavens, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony thundered from temporary overhead speakers. Stylish picnickers popping champagne corks and feasting on three-pound lobsters sat on checkered tablecloths and sent fuzzy photos via their cell phones to provide latecomers with location coordinates. Almost no one looked up. They had better things to do, like blanket-hop to exchange effusive double-cheek air kisses and discreetly check out each other's flowered Murakami handbags.

The three au pairs secured a place on top of the hill, primo real estate, thanks to Eliza's pushiness. She found them a postagestamp-sized area bordered by two identical silk jacquard blankets and managed to expand their territory by letting Cody cry his lungs out as the rockets boomed. Nothing like an irritable toddler to motivate self-involved single Hamptonites to get out of the way.

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Mara couldn't help but overhear some of the chatter around them.

"How's the black truffle ravioli?" a woman asked her guests as she handed out monogrammed china filled with plump, glistening pasta and smothered with a white cream sauce.

"Superb. And the cervelle de canut is divine with this Riesling."

"Did someone bring the opera glasses?" another asked, motioning for a pair of binoculars.

She had never seen anyone picnic like this before. Back home, picnics meant a couple of sandwiches, a bag of chips, and a liter of soda. Not a four-course menu with a different wine accompaniment for each entree. Wresting her eyes away from the neighboring sheets, Mara turned back to her own group.

"Madison, where did you find that candy bar?" she asked.