Page 31 of Austen, Edited

Chapter 18

Abby tugged at the A-line skirt she’d chosen for this morning’s brunch. Her aunt preferred everyone to dress up on these occasions as they usually invited someone to eat with them, and, as always, appearances were the most important thing in their lives.

Once Abby made it to the front door, she pushed the lever and the door swung open. The smell of bacon and some kind of pastry wafted to her nose. At least there was one benefit to eating here—as good as the cafeteria food was at school, she’d been cooking more and more in her dorm and already missed the special things Lita, the Harrington’s cook, made especially for her.

Shutting the door, Abby dropped Tiffany’s keys on the side table against the wall. Since her skirt didn’t have pockets, she didn’t want to lose them when she needed a quick escape.

“Hello?” she called, walking in the direction of the kitchen.

“Ah,mi Abbycita.Que linda. How are you, my dear?” Lita stood arranging fruit on a large platter.

Scanning the island, Abby noticed the amount of food there was significantly higher than what would be needed for just the five of them. Even if her uncle had invited one person, it would still be way more than normal.

Abby picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth, enjoying the sweetness as she bit into it. “Lita, who else has been invited to brunch?”

The older woman shrugged. “I do not know,mi hija. The boss tell me to make enough for eight.”

Three extras. Abby took in a deep breath, holding it for several seconds as she tried to think of who it would be. She wished it could be Greyson and his parents, but his older brother and younger sister would mean an extra five. Unless Karly was already at college. But that still left Lance. She grabbed another small bunch of grapes when Lita had her back turned and strolled through the kitchen to the formal dining room.

Her aunt was inspecting each place setting, holding the glasses and silverware up to the light and mumbling to herself. She jumped when she saw Abby standing there.

“Abby, you’re here. Come take these things to the kitchen. Scrub them until there are no spots whatsoever. I don’t want anything to ruin our meeting, uh, brunch, this morning.” Her aunt extended two glasses and a mixture of forks and spoons to Abby.

It was times like these that made Abby realize her real place in the family—servant. She took the things, wishing she could just say,I’m done!and march out of the house. But there was no way she could pay back the college debts she’d incurred, even after the several scholarships and grants she’d gotten. Someday she wouldn’t be at their beck and call. But was it better to be noticed as a kind of servant or to be forgotten about completely, like her parents had?

After she’d taken the things and cleaned them to a sparkle, she walked back into the dining room where her two cousins slumped in their chairs, their hair done and makeup on but their eyes looking like they’d only gotten two or three hours of sleep.

The doorbell rang, and Aunt Lucille hit the back of Stacy’s and Gwen’s heads. “Wake up, you two. You know better than to stay out late when we’ve got brunch scheduled.” The girls groaned as Aunt Lucille marched toward the front door yelling, “Carl! It’s time.”

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Abby could hear Uncle Carl’s voice as they bickered over the look of his tie.

Abby took her usual seat across from Gwen and tried to relax. “Who’s coming to brunch?”

Stacy and Gwen glanced up from their phones, looking like they’d rather be anywhere than there right then. The feeling was mutual.

“Dad said something about the Summers family,” Gwen said. It must have seemed like a satisfactory response because she ducked her head back down, her fingers and thumbs flying across the screen.

“The Summers?” Abby thought out loud. It was the family down the road that she hadn’t seen much of in the past few years. She remembered their son trying to hang out with her and Greyson before he moved in with his mom after his parents’ divorce. She hadn’t really seen or heard much about them since. The billionaires that kept to themselves were a rarity in these parts.

Gwen nodded. “Dad is still trying to get a contract with them for exclusive rights to their shoes. He thinks it will boost City Athletics all over Boston.”

Abby sat back. She should have known there was some angle to this. It had been a while since they’d had a brunch that hadn’t actually turned into a business meeting. She listened as introductions and greetings were made at the door but then got bored and picked up her butter knife, turning it over a few times.

Footsteps walked in their direction, and Abby stood on reflex, knowing she’d be chastised if she didn’t. Stacy and Gwen took a little longer to do the same, but as the family walked through the door and they saw the younger version of the patriarch of the Summers family, they perked up, smiling like idiots.

Aunt Lucille waved to the girls. “These are our daughters, Gwendolyn and Stacia. Both are attending Wellesley College.” She paused a moment, and a flicker of a frown crossed her face as she turned to look at Abby. The smile was back in an instant. “And this is Abigail Price, my niece. She’s been living with us for, well, how long has it been, dear?”

The look in her aunt’s eyes meant death if Abby did anything out of line. “About twelve years.” Her mouth was dry as she tried to focus on the wall just behind her aunt’s head, close enough that it seemed she was making eye contact but away enough that she wasn’t going to faint.

“Yes, that’s right. My sister has had some troubles, so we took Abby in when her mother went to prison, hoping to give her the stability she wasn’t able to have before.”

Abby stiffened and bit the side of her tongue, effectively stopping herself from saying anything in retort. Nothing like airing dirty laundry in front of wealthy guests.

Lucille introduced the Summers family, Dan Summers and his newer wife, Cora, along with his son, Jeff. Abby inspected him, realizing how the same little details she remembered of him as a kid had deepened or slightly changed with age. He had a small scar on his jawline near his left ear where he’d tripped and fallen on a log when trying to follow Greyson and Abby out to the hideout.

Abby gave them all a forced smile before sinking into her seat when all the introductions were over. To her left sat Jeff, and part of her wished she could switch spots with one of her cousins. From the looks of them, they were more alert than she’d seen them all morning, both of them leaning in to ask him questions.

Lita and another server brought out the platters of fruit, pastries, and breakfast foods, setting them on the table at different points. There was quiet chatter as the guests and family passed the platters around the table, scooping some from each.

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