“You!” Mrs. Florence Bamford snarls, “What will it take to get rid of you?”
Leilani typically believes in keeping her cool, in negotiating things gently and civilly, but she knows she has to stand her ground with Waylen’s grandmother. She stands tall and lifts her chin defiantly.
“I want you to call, Mr. Francis Bamford and tell him that I’m to blame for everything bad that has happened,” she said evenly, “It had nothing to do with Waylen. Ask Mr. Bamford to let him go.”
“Ok,” Florence agrees, “That’s no problem.”
Leilani begins to climb the stairs, then turns.
“And, I hope we’re celebrating my birthday at the party tomorrow,” she calls over her shoulder as if the idea is an afterthought.
She knows that the true purpose of the party is to announce Leonie’s candidacy to become the next Mrs. Bamford. Gossip magazines have made sure that everyone knows she and Leonie share the same birthday—and she refuses to be humiliated and shoved aside at the party.
“No!” Leonie m.o.a.ns, near tears, “Mrs. Bamford, my friends and family all think that it’s my party. If they come and see they have to celebrate that awful woman instead, I’ll be so embarrassed.”
Mrs. Florence Bamford purses her lips. She didn’t expect Leilani to be so bold and ask for the party.
“Mrs. Bamford, she’s bluffing,” Leonie continues, “I don’t believe she really wants to sleep with you! She just wants to embarrass us.”
Leilani shrugs lazily and turns to walk upstairs again.
“Go ahead, see if I’m bluffing,” Leilani says with a smirk, “I’m going to rest now. Mrs. Bamford, I’ll see you later this evening, and I promise to take good care of you.”
To the astonishment of the nervous maids, Leilani walks into Mrs. Florence Bamford’s bedroom. She pursues the room and rifles through some drawers before walking back to the stairs. She carries envelopes and letters in her hand and reads aloud as if she’s putting on a play.
“Dear Florence, you are like the moon in the sky, illuminating the darkness; and you are like snowflakes, which are pure and beautiful,” Leilani reads, “All I have is for you.”
Leilani has found love letters from Mrs. Florence Bamford’s youth and she’s reading them aloud for Leonie and the servants to hear.
“Don’t read them, Leilani!” Florence screeches, “I command you to stop reading them!”
“But it’s such a beautiful and moving letter,” Leilani replies, “Do you really want to deprive us of hearing it?”
“That’s enough!” Florence roars at top volume, “I promise you there will be consequences!”
Leilani finishes descending the stairs, pausing at every step to dramatically page through the thick love letters and diaries in her hands. Then she drops them unceremoniously next to Mrs. Florence Bamford.
“Mrs. Bamford, before you drag me to your house next time, think about what kind of trouble you’re inviting in with me,” she says mockingly, “It may be easy for you to force me here, but consider if it’s just as easy to make me leave when you tire of me.”
She knows that they call her a devil and worse in secret, but she doesn’t mind. She can sense her imminent victory. Mrs. Florence Bamford looks defeated and presumably, she’ll think twice before harassing Leilani again. Slowly, Leilani swaggers out of the room, carrying her head as high as a queen.
Leilani sleeps restlessly in her bed through the dark night. Every time she closes her eyes, she has the same vivid nightmare: Gabrielle is being crucified on a wooden cross, and venomous snakes slither up and down her body. She wakes suddenly and her movement alerts Lucky. Leilani and the dog strain their ears and hear the door to the room creak open.
Two men furtively close the door and creep into the room on tiptoes. Quickly they approach the bedside. One man yanks the quilt back while the other man throws himself into the bed. They’re startled to find that the bed is empty, though the fine linen sheets are wrinkled and warm.
“Where is she?” one man whispers.
A beam of light flickers on behind them. The men turn toward the light and freeze.
“Ghost!” they scream.
The light illuminates a pale woman in a white dress. Glossy black hair. Falls across her face, obscuring her features. Though the room is still, the ghost’s dress seems to flutter in some supernatural breeze. The two men stumble backward and prepare to run out of the room, but an icy voice stops them.
“Stop right here and come back!” the voice calls.
The men stop and slowly turn around. The ‘ghost’ is removing a dark wig from her head, and she scowls fiercely at them.
“How dare you try to kidnap me?” the ghost asks.
The men exchange astonished glances and then look back at the ghost. They quickly realize it’s the woman they were meant to kidnap. Emboldened by this realization, they decide to carry out their original task.
“There’s no choice,” one man says, “We were ordered to take you away, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“Where are you going to take me?” Leilani asks.
“That’s information that you don’t need to know,” one of the men answers, as he takes a black cloth bag out of his pocket.
The other man uncoils a rope, and approaches her slowly, still slightly frightened by the phantom apparition.
“Why do you think I’ll let you take me away?” Leilani asks calmly.
Though the men are much bigger and stronger than her, she seems completely unperturbed.
“You think you can fight us off?” the first man asks with obvious amus.e.m.e.nt.
Leilani hits another light switch and bright light floods the entire room. The men freeze and scream again.
“A-a lion!” stammers one.
“Idiot!” shouts the other, “That’s a German shepherd!”
Leilani laughs at the two men. Despite their size, they’re both quite timid and she wonders who would choose such men for kidnapping. Lucky lies on the ground near Leilani’s feet and growls low. With one quiet command from Leilani, the dog stops growling and begins to bark.
The big men slowly back away from Leilani and Lucky, their hands raised defensively in front of their faces. Leilani looks at the men with amus.e.m.e.nt. She’s surprised to find that they look alike—even the beards on their chins are identical. They must be twins.
“Don’t set that beast on us,” one of them pleads, “We were paid to take you away. It has nothing to do with us.”
“Lucky, stop barking,” Leilani commands.
Lucky reluctantly quiets but continues to bare his teeth at the men.
“Tell me, how much did your employer give you?” Leilani asks.
“Half a million dollars,” one of the men answers.
“Oh? My life is worth only half a million dollars?” Leilani asks casually, turning off some of the lights as she speaks, “I’ll give you an even million.”
The two men looked at each other with shock. By now, most women would have called the police or screamed for help. Instead, there would be a victim offering them a million dollars.
“Do you want us to kidnap our previous employer or something?” one man asks fearfully.
“No, I’ll give you a million dollars to take me away,” Leilani replies.
Though the men are confused, they want the money. Even if they were inclined to refuse, the massive, snarling German shepherd helps persuade them to agree to Leilani’s terms.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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