The car ride to Sir Reginald’s summer house was actually very pleasant. Joss played snippets of Evonian pop songs on her phone and made Mel try to guess the rest of the lyrics. Jasper even joined in, making terrible guesses. All five of them were laughing by the time they reached the estate.
But as soon as LaRue dropped them off at the front door, things got weird.
The house was even bigger and grander than Darnley Place. The butler who met them in the front hall was a lot more elaborately dressed than Baines. “Sir Reginald and Lady Cecily have not come down yet, sir,” he informed Jasper. “But the guests have gathered in the library, the parlor, and the ballroom.”
“I feel like someone’s gonna get murdered any second,” Mel muttered to the Js as they entered what must be the ballroom. When they gave her blank looks, she said, “You know, Colonel So-and-So in the ballroom with the wrench? Don’t you have that game in Evonia?”
“No,” said Jess. “You’ll have to teach us how it works.”
Mel smiled. “Deal.”
People in formal attire were milling around while equally formally dressed staff offered them refreshments on silver trays. Mel didn’t recognize most of the appetizers, but they looked very elaborate and seafoody. She remembered what Jasper had said about his parents being on a tighter budget than they liked to admit. From the looks of those appetizers, their credit card debt had probably spiked recently.
The people at the party all seemed to know Jasper and Ro and the Js. A lot of them said “And who’s this?” in a tone of fake enthusiasm and curiosity—which made it clear they knew exactly who Mel was. Jasper kept introducing her as Melissa Novak-Valmont, which was way too many syllables for her liking.
A few people actually seemed friendly and even interesting. Mel was in the middle of a surprisingly enjoyable exchange with Jasper’s cousin Louisa when everyone turned toward the French doors that bordered one side of the ballroom. Sir Reginald and a woman who must be Lady Cecily had just entered through those doors.
“Good evening,” said the woman crisply, speaking to the room at large. “I hope you’ll forgive my late entrance. Sir Reginald and I have just been taking a stroll in the garden. Thank you all for coming.”
The whole crowd replied with vague, respectful-sounding murmurs, and people raised their wine glasses in Lady Cecily’s general direction. Cousin Louisa smiled at Mel and her family. “I’d better let you say hello.”
“Right,” said Jasper, squaring his shoulders. He led Ro, Mel, and the Js over to his parents.
“Hello, Mother.” Jasper gave her a quick, awkward peck on the cheek. “Happy birthday.”
“Hard to be happy about turning sixty-five,” said Lady Cecily. “But I suppose we have to make the best of things. Speaking of making the best of things, Rosalie, did you wear that same dress to my niece’s charity fundraiser?”
“I’m sure you’re thinking of another dress, my lady,” said Ro with an innocent smile. “I do tend to stick to the same color palette. Happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday, Grandmother,” chimed the Js in eerie unison. Mel had to stifle a laugh at how well they pulled it off.
“I’m glad to see you girls have made yourselves presentable for once,” was Lady Cecily’s response.
Jasper cleared his throat. “Mother, this is Melissa. Melissa, Lady Cecily Valmont.”
Deploying the charming smile. “Pleasure to finally meet you, my lady. And happy birthday.”
“Have you got anything original to say, Miss Nomak?” said Lady Cecily dryly.
Mel kept smiling through gritted teeth. “It’s Novak,” she corrected her grandmother. “Is that original enough for you, my lady?”
Lady Cecily blinked once, very slowly, as if blinking a second time would be beneath her. “I understand that you’re the person who’s currently in possession of my father’s personal correspondence.”
“Yep,” Mel chirped.
“And do you really think you’re the best person to keep those letters?”
“Probably not. I’m actually thinking of donating them to the National Museum.”
Lady Cecily’s whole face froze, except for her eyes, which were horrified and angry. “You can’t be serious.”
“I would never lie about something so important,” said Mel sweetly.
“Anyway,” Jasper cut in, shooting a nervous glance in Mel’s direction, “Melissa will be here for another few weeks, Mother, so you’ll have plenty of time to see more of her. Right now we won’t keep you from the rest of your guests . . .”
He put a hand on Mel’s elbow and started steering her off to the side. Ro and the girls were already heading toward the nearest appetizer tray.
Not a bad performance, Mel thought. I was polite, I kept my cool, I didn’t let her get under my skin, and now I’m walking away calmly . . .
“I don’t know what I expected,” Lady Cecily muttered to her husband. “Considering who her mother is.”
Scratch that.
Mel spun around. “Excuse me?”
Lady Cecily stared back at her coldly. “I wasn’t speaking to you, Miss Nolak.”
“Novak. It’s Novak. It’s not that hard to remember. You have a gigantic family tree and everyone on it has fourteen different titles, and you’re telling me you can’t remember N-o-v-a-k?”
Mel didn’t think she’d been talking that loudly, but the whole room had suddenly gone silent. Her voice echoed ten times more powerfully than it had at the auction.
And she didn’t care.
“Young lady,” said Lady Cecily, “you are out of line.”
“No, you are out of line,” Mel snapped. “What did you just say about my mother?”
“Only that it’s not surprising that someone like her would raise such a disrespectful daughter.”
“Someone like her? You mean caring and fun and down to earth?”
“I mean irresponsible and self-centered and vulgar,” Lady Cecily snapped back. Wow, the word vulgar really gets used a lot in this country.
“It’s interesting that you think you know so much about my mother, Lady Cecily. Considering that you’ve never met her.”
“I know what kind of life she led and what kind of choices she made.”
“Well, you don’t get to judge her. You can think whatever you want about her, but you don’t get to talk about her like that. Her choices are none of your business. I know that’s a hard concept to grasp—that not everything revolves around you—but just trust me on this, okay? My mom has stayed out of your lives, just like you wanted. So you need to stay out of hers.”
At this point, Jasper tried to take hold of Mel’s elbow again. “Mel, if you could just—”
Mel jerked her arm away. “You know what, Jasper? I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m not the only one you’ve thrown under the bus because you can’t stand up to these people. It’s one thing that you haven’t been there for me—and that you ditched my mom the way you did. But you also let your wife and legitimate daughters get treated like crap. They’re the people who are supposed to matter to you, and you can’t even stand up for them. Is that a family tradition too?”
One look at Jasper’s stunned expression made it clear that Mel wasn’t going to get an answer. Ordinarily, she’d be proud of herself for delivering a zinger that had struck someone speechless. But right now, Jasper’s silence was the last thing Mel wanted.
Of course he isn’t going to say anything, she thought miserably. Of course he isn’t going to prove me wrong.
So she played the last card she had, which was to storm dramatically out of the house through the French doors.