Pure Sin (Privilege 5)

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” he said.

“You don’t know that,” Ariana snapped, past being polite.

Palmer didn’t seem to notice, however. He stared at the crowd near the desk as if trying to read their lips. Jasper walked in and sat down at Ariana’s other side.

“I’ll be right back,” Palmer said. “I’m gonna see if I can find out what’s going on.”

The second he was gone, Jasper took her hand. “I’m here,” he said. “I’m here, Ana.”

She turned and looked at him. “This is my fault,” she said aloud. “I should have been there with her. I should have protected her. I should have done a better job.”

“What are you talking about?” Jasper said. “You couldn’t have stopped her.”

“I could have,” Ariana said. “I should have. I should have seen this coming. I—”

Suddenly Ariana’s words died in her throat. Her mouth snapped shut. The entire world faded to gray around her. Jasper wasn’t there. Palmer wasn’t there. Soomie and Hunter and Rob and Tahira and Mr. an

d Mrs. Greene. The boy with the broken arm, the woman in labor in the corner, the young girl holding her head in her hands, all of them were gone.

All there was in the world was Reed Brennan. Reed Brennan, Reed Brennan, Reed Brennan.

Reed Brennan, who was standing not twenty feet away.

Even at the tender age of sixteen, Elizabeth Williams was the rare girl who knew her mind. She knew she preferred summer to all other seasons. She knew she couldn’t stand the pink and yellow floral wallpaper the decorator had chosen for her room. She knew that she would much rather spend time with her blustery, good-natured father than her ever-critical, humorless mother—though the company of either was difficult to come by. And she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that going away to the Billings School for Girls was going to be the best thing that ever happened to her.

As she sat in the cushioned seat of her bay window overlooking sun-streaked Beacon Hill, she folded her dog-eared copy of The Jungle in her lap, making sure to keep her finger inside to hold her place. She placed her feet up on the pink cushions, new buckled shoes and all, and pressed her temple against the warm glass with a wistful sigh. It was September 1915, and Boston was experiencing an Indian summer, with temperatures scorching the sidewalks and causing the new automobiles to sputter and die along the sides of the roads. Eliza would have given anything to be back at the Cape house, running along the shoreline in her bathing clothes, splashing in the waves, her swim cap forgotten and her dark hair tickling her shoulders. But instead, here she was, buttoned into a stiff, green cotton dress her mother had picked out for her, the wide, white collar scratching her neck. Any minute now, Maurice would bring the coach around and squire her off to the train station, where she and her maid, Renee, would board a train for Easton, Connecticut, and the Billings School. The moment she got to her room in Crenshaw House, she was going to change into her most comfortable linen dress, jam her floppy brown hat over her hair, and set out in search of the library. Because living at a school more than two hours away from home meant that her mother couldn’t control her. Couldn’t criticize her. Couldn’t nitpick every little thing she wore, every book she read, every choice she made. Being away at school meant freedom.

Of course Eliza’s mother had other ideas. If her wishes came true, Billings would turn Eliza into a true lady. Eliza would catch herself a worthy husband, and she would return home by Christmas triumphantly engaged, just as her sister May had.

After two years at Billings, eighteen-year-old May was now an engaged woman—and engaged to a Thackery, no less. George Thackery III of the Thackery tanning fortune. She’d come home in June, diamond ring and all, and was now officially their mother’s favorite—though truly she had been so all along.

Suddenly the thick oak door of Eliza’s private bedroom opened and in walked her mother, Rebecca Cornwall Williams. Her blond hair billowed like a cloud around her head and her stylish, ankle-length gray skirt tightened her steps. She wore a matching tassel-trimmed jacket over her dress, even in this ridiculous heat, and had the Williams pearls, as always, clasped around her throat. As she entered, her eyes flicked over Eliza and her casual posture with exasperation. Eliza quickly sat up, smoothed her skirt, straightened her back, and attempted to tuck her book behind her.

“Hello, Mother,” she said with the polished politeness that usually won over the elder Williams. “How are you this morning?”

Her mother’s discerning blue eyes narrowed as she walked toward her daughter.

“Your sister and I are going to shop for wedding clothes. We’ve come to say our good-byes,” she said formally.

Out in the hallway, May hovered, holding her tan leather gloves and new brimless hat at her waist. May’s blond hair was pulled back in a stylish chignon, which complimented her milky skin and round, rosy cheeks. Garnets dangled from her delicate earlobes. She always looked elegant, even for a simple day of shopping.

Eliza’s mother leaned down and snatched the book right out from under Eliza’s skirt.

“The Jungle?” she said, holding the book between her thumb and forefinger. “Elizabeth, you cannot be seen reading this sort of rot at Billings. Modern novels are not proper reading for a young lady. Especially not a Williams.”

Eliza’s gaze flicked to her sister, who quickly looked away. A few years ago, May would have defended Eliza’s literary choices, but not since her engagement. For the millionth time Eliza wondered how May could have changed so much. When she’d gone away to school she’d been adventurous, tomboyish, sometimes even brash. It was as if falling in love had lobotomized her sister. If winning a diamond ring from a boy meant forgetting who she was, then Eliza was determined to die an old maid.

“Headmistress Almay has turned out some of the finest ladies of society, and I intend for you to be one of them,” Eliza’s mother continued.

What about what I intend? Eliza thought.

“And you won’t be bringing this. I don’t want the headmistress thinking she’s got a daydreamer on her hands.” Her mother turned and tossed Eliza’s book into the crate near the door—the one piled with old toys and dresses meant for the hospital bazaar her mother was helping to plan.

Eliza looked down at the floor, her eyes aflame and full of tears. Then her mother did something quite unexpected. She clucked her tongue and ran her hands from Eliza’s shoulders down her arms until they were firmly holding her hands. Eliza couldn’t remember the last time her mother had touched her.

“Come now. Let me look at you,” her mother said.

Eliza raised her chin and looked her mother in the eye. The older woman tilted her head and looked Eliza over. She nudged a stray hair behind Eliza’s ear, tucking it deftly into her updo. Then she straightened the starched white collar on her traveling dress.