She nodded.

"I didn't mean to leave it behind," Rose cried. "I--"

"That's not important now. What else did your brother dig up, as you say?" she asked Rose.

"He found out you had a daughter named Gerta in a clinic in Switzerland and he found out she had died. Which," she added looking to me. "you had told Honey."

Madame Senetsky gazed at me. Suddenly, the sternness and the anger drained from her face. She sat back, looking more like an exhausted elderly woman. It was an instant metamorphosis, as if she had removed a mask.

"It was bound to happen someday. Mother. I told you this years ago," Edmond said.

She nodded.

"I've never had nor expected to have a group of determined little detectives living in my midst," she said.

"We didn't mean to pry," Cinnamon said. "We were naturally very curious and we went back and met Gerta. We felt very sorry for her, and for a while we thought we might give her so

me companionship."

"How did that include putting her on stage to be seen by all these people?" she demanded, the fury rushing back into her face.

"That came about for another reason," Cinnamon said, looking to Howard.

His face exploded in a panic.

"Whatever they say isn't true," he cried. "It was them. They were toying with her, making her play silly games, humoring her in those costumes, reciting lines to let her to repeat speeches from plays. I saw it myself, firsthand."

"So you were up there, too, then?" she asked him. "That's not a lie then, is it?"

"What? Well. I saw that they were up to something, and I made them take me up there one night to see for myself"

"Why didn't you come to me to tell me about it if you say they were toying with her?" Madame Senetsky asked almost calmly.

"Well. I was... I was going to, but... we had this Performance Night..."

"He went up there without us afterward," Cinnamon said boldly. "More than once. And we are sure he took advantage of her. We went up after him and found her crying, claiming she had been bad again.'

"That's a lie. This whole thing about Gerta Berta is just..."

Madame Senetsky's eyes blazed. She leaned forward, looking at us first.

"She told you all of that?"

"Yes, Madame," I said.

She turned to Cinnamon.

"Are you saying he pretended to be my husband?" Cinnamon could only nod.

We all looked down. but I could see Howard's eyes shifting from side to side like a trapped rodent.

"Steven apparently knows nothing about all this." Madame Senetsky concluded, looking at him. He had never looked more stunned and confused.

"No, ma'am," he said. She nodded.

"I would like to speak privately with the young ladies, first, Edmond, would you please take Howard to the parlor, and then take Steven and please look in on the reception and tell everyone I'll be there as soon as possible. Please," she begged him.

"All right. Mother. but I'll be right back,"

Tags: V.C. Andrews Shooting Stars Horror
Source: readsnovelonline.net