"It's not a mansion, Ami. Please don't exaggerate," Wade chided.

"Well, how big is it, Wade? Go on, describe that," she ordered, folding her arms and nodding her head once as though she was throwing down a challenge.

He turned, and after a deep sigh, said, "It's eight thousand square feet on twenty acres."

"Eight thousand square feet. There you are. How big is the orphanage, Mother Higgins? Well, how big?"

"Well, I don't know exactly, but I think it's about that, if not a bit smaller."

"Yes, precisely." She turned back to me. "You live in a building the size of our house or a bit smaller, with a dozen or so other young women. I'm sure you're crowded. And how many acres do you have here, Mother Higgins?"

"Please," Wade pleaded.

"How many?" Ami insisted.

"Five, I believe."

"Five. Exactly my point. We have twenty."

She turned back to me and nodded her head firmly.

"So you see, I wasn't exaggerating. Our house will certainly seem like a mansion to you. Why, I bet your room in our house is as big as the living room here."

"Ami, you're making us sound like snobs," Wade gently complained.

"I am not. I've never been a snob. I hate snobs. My mother made me into a debutante, but I hated every minute of it, and you know I did."

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"All right, Ami. All right. Let's get on with it, is all I'm saying."

She turned back to me.

"Wade is always embarrassed by our good fortune. I don't think of it all the same way. If you have it, if you've been blessed with it, be proud of it, but most of all," she said, beaming at me, "be generous and charitable." She turned to Mother Higgins. "It was like a surge of goodness came into my head. It was like an electric shock. I thought, Why not go out and help someone in need? I'm sure you understand why I feel it was like a holy moment."

"Yes, yes, I do," Mother Higgins said, holding on to her tight, amused smile. She raised her dark eyebrows. "The Good Lord acts in mysterious ways."

If she could have, she would have winked at me.

"Amen," Wade said dryly. He kept his gaze on the floor. Ami scowled at him and then turned back to me.

"I'll enroll you immediately in the nearby private school, Celeste," she continued, barely taking a breath. Her hands fluttered about as she spoke, the large diamond ring on her left hand catching the sunlight that poured through the window and then sending beams of reflected light over the walls, Mother Higgins's face, and me. "The timing is perfect. You've just begun your senior year, so transferring won't be so damaging. I'm sure you'll catch up quickly, Celeste.

"By the way," she said, lowering her voice, "I absolutely adore your name. Celeste. Your mother was so imaginative. My name is like a nickname," she said, grimacing. "Ami. Mon Ami, my father used to say. That means 'my friend' in French. Who expects to be called my friend by her father? My friend?"

"Could we please get on with it, Ami?" Wade pleaded in a tired voice.

"Yes. Back to what I was saying, Celeste. Wade and I have already discussed it and decided the private school would be the best place for you. The teachers will give you the personal attention you might need to make the transition from the school you are now attending. And don't worry," she quickly added, "they don't make you wear those stupid, ugly uniforms at this private school. The girls and their mothers wouldn't stand for it," she said, and laughed.

Wade didn't crack a smile. He stared ahead like someone counting to himself. Mother Higgins looked a little upset now, but kept her face as stoic as she could manage. I stopped smiling. I didn't like to see her irritated. She had always been very nice to me. I didn't want to bring it up, but it wasn't the school that had us wear this uniform; it was the orphanage. It was Mother Higgins's way of keeping us from being upset about our wardrobe. There was no way we could compete, and wearing the uniform made that irrelevant. At least, that was Mother Higgins's hope. In truth, although the uniforms solved our immediate concern, they served to identify us all as orphans. I couldn't keep track of how many times and how often other students, especially the girls, asked us why we had to wear "those stupid outfits" all the time. Memories of how I felt and how the other girls felt when that happened rushed back over me.

"Oh," Anti said, "I see you're upset about what I said. You're worrying about your own meager wardrobe, I'm sure," Ami continued, before I could even think of that problem.

In fact, I don't think I managed a breath in between her excited speeches.

"Well, don't worry at all. The first thing I'm going to do with you is take you shopping to my personal boutiques. Wade and I have already agreed about that, too, haven't we, Wade?"

"Yes, Ami," he said with even more fatigue in his voice.

Tags: V.C. Andrews Gemini Horror
Source: readsnovelonline.net