Double Trouble: Seven; A story of the Crane Daughters
 by Cariad  
 
 
 
 

Double Trouble
Seven~
Julia dropped her sister off at the Crane Mansion, then went speeding off towards the Lopez-Fitzgerald house. Once again, she was driving the Audi TT Roadster she was already thinking of as hers. She pulled up in front of the house and hopped out of the car, careful not to slip on the icy sidewalk. A flamboyant Theresa met her at the door, ready to show her “everything!” Julia looked around Pilar’s house and noted that the family should have paid her more. Theresa grabbed her hand and dragged Julia into her room. A stunned Julia Crane looked around and soaked up the flamboyant bedroom. “You really… um… love my brother, don’t you?” she asked, choking on her own words. Sharp eyes noticed photographs of the former Crane around the room. Like a pre-teen with her favorite boy-band, Theresa’s room bordered on being a shrine to Ethan.

Theresa beamed. “I knew from when I was ten that I was going to marry Ethan Crane. It was Fate that we got together,” she declared.

“Fate,” Julia echoed, trying to sound interested. “But what about Gwen?” she asked. “She was dating Ethan all that time. Not that you don’t deserve Ethan,” she added hastily.

Theresa lifted her chin proudly, throwing back her shoulders and pushing her slightly rounded tummy forward. “Their love was like a sandcastle,” she said in self-justification. “I was the wave that washed it away.”

“Wow,” Julia said, unable to say anything else without ripping Theresa’s hair out by the roots. “That’s… an… incredible image,” she added. “How Cinderella-esque.”

“Just after we met,” Theresa said, “Ethan took me to see the Cinderella ballet. It was wonderful.” She twirled around the room.

Julia eyed her warily, wondering what Ethan saw in the flighty creature before her. “So,” Julia began to chance the subject, “I really admire you,” she choked. “I didn’t think Pilar would allow you to have pre-marital sex. It’s really… modern… of you to have the confidence to have a baby before you’re married—especially in your family!”

Theresa scurried over to the bed. “I was going to wait,” she confessed. “But on the night before our wedding, Ethan and I… well… you know,” she said in a rush.

Julia affected a look of terrible shock and sadness. “Oh, dear!” she said, pretending to be concerned. “Don’t you know what they say about making love on the night before your wedding?” Julia almost vomited.

Theresa started to tremble and her eyes filled with tears. “W-what do they say?” she asked in a small voice.

This is almost too easy, Julia thought. “Well, you should know that at Weymouth-Hampsted, where I went to school,” she said aloud, “there are so many girls there just for ‘finishing,’ because they’re waiting to get married as soon as they’re done, so they talk all about it.” Take the bait, Julia thought.

“W-what do they talk about?” Theresa asked, leaning forward.

“Well,” Julia continued, smothering a smile, “They all talk about, well, you know, sex before marriage.”

“And?” Theresa asked, still on the verge of tears.

“They say,” Julia said with a sigh, “that if you say you’re going to wait, giving in the night before is the worst luck…” Julia saw Theresa pale. “And especially if it’s justified that it is technically on the day of your marriage…” Theresa paled further, and some tears trickled out. “Fate just frowns on that and will turn her back on you!”

“No!” Theresa whispered, and started sobbing in earnest, her body shaking with her tears.

Not even Hollis cries this bad, Julia thought, but she put her arms around Theresa, finally giving into her proud smile now that she was assured Theresa could not see her. It was a lovely lie.

“Oh, it’s true!” Theresa sobbed. “It’s true. Fate turned its back on me!”

Julia patted Theresa’s back, wondering if mascara-tears would ruin her blouse. “How can you say that?” Julia asked, forcing understanding into her voice.

“Ethan wouldn’t marry me right away,” Theresa sobbed, “so when I heard that Mr. C-crane was going to Bermuda, I followed him, hoping to get Ethan reinstated as Crane Heir.” Theresa sobbed some more. Julia tried to think that it was Holly she was soothing after her sister received less than an ‘A’ on a paper or exam. She rubbed Theresa’s back.

“What happened then,” Julia asked in a soft voice. “If you don’t tell it all, we can’t fix it,” she urged.

“I don’t know!” Theresa whined. “I got drunk with Mr. C-crane and we got married, and if Ethan ever finds out, he’ll hate me forever and ever!”

Bingo, Julia thought, but kept her thoughts to herself. “Oh, I’m sure Ethan isn’t as bad as all that,” Julia cooed. “I’m sure he’ll forgive you if you did it for the right reasons,” she said. Like a snowball’s chance in hell, she thought, not after Holly and I are through with him.

“But that’s not the worst part!” Theresa cried, tears streaming down her face. She did not cry prettily, Julia observed.

“There’s more?” Julia asked, pretending to be astonished. This is getting better and better, she thought. One word and she’s ready to bawl her eyes out. She must be really high strung, or she just cries at the drop of a hat. She should be on medication. Julia voiced none of her private opinions, she just held the other girl—her stepmother.

“The worst part is that my baby isn’t Ethan’s,” she confided, “but he can never know,” she whispered. “If he finds out, he’ll know I lied to him about Bermuda.”

“But how do you know?” Julia asked. “If you went to Bermuda right after you were supposed to get married!”

That set off a new set of hysterics, Theresa clinging to Julia’s blouse. “But I was on birth control with Ethan, and I forgot it when I wen to Bermuda. And I didn’t leave immediately after the wedding. I ran away for a night or two.”

“Still,” Julia comforted, “two or three days doesn’t make a difference.”

“But Mr. Crane had blood tests done on the baby,” she cried.

“I don’t think it’s big enough for that yet,” Julia said.

“I don’t know,” Theresa said. “But I had all sorts of tests done when I got checked up last time. And I want to get the marriage to Mr. Crane annulled, but Mr. Crane keeps saying it gets delayed for some reason or another. But as soon as it’s annulled, I’m going to marry Ethan. Now that he’s got his law practice all up and running, he’ll be able to support us and Mama too!”

“Have you told anyone this?” Julia asked, feigning concern.

“No,” Theresa whispered. “Only you. I couldn’t trust anyone else. Whit would tell me to tell the truth and harp on me all the time. She doesn’t understand about love. But you, Julie, you just let me get all my problems out in the open, and you don’t tell me what to do!” She picked her head up and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?” She begged. “You’ll keep my secret?”

“Hush, Theresa,” Julia said. “You can always come to me with your problems.” She stood up from Theresa’s bed, forcing Theresa to rise with her. “Now you’ve been crying, and we wouldn’t want anyone to know you were upset.”

“No, we wouldn’t. We’re planning my wedding to Ethan!” she agreed. “That’s not something I would be crying over.”

“So let’s get you cleaned up,” Julia said, “and then we can see what we’re going to do for the wedding.”

As Julia was inciting Theresa to tears, Holly was demurely rapping on her Father’s study door, a tray with a mamosa, fruit slices, and a muffin in hand. “Father,” she said as she cracked the door. “I brought you something for brunch.” Julian slid his head off the desk. He looked as if he had not slept the night before. Holly gently put the tray down. “I’ve brought you some aspirin, too,” she said, sliding a bottle out of a pocket. She opened it up and produced two pills. “I thought you might need them after your drinking last night.” Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Would you like that with water or with your mamosa? The champagne should take the edge off your withdrawal headache. You shouldn’t drink so much, Father, you’re liver will give out, and your kidneys, and the entire Crane fortune will be wasted on dialysis to keep you alive.” Holly pretended oblivion to her father’s bloodshot glare.

“Your mother drove me to drink,” he spat, then narrowed his eyes as he focused on Holly’s outfit. “Why are you wearing your mother’s clothing?” he demanded.

Holly set down the tray near her father and moved to his desk, knowing he followed her with his eyes. “Oh, I found this in Julia’s closet,” she lied easily. Holly knew from stories Pilar told them, and from old photographs, that the dress she wore was one of her mother’s favorites while Julian was courting her. In fact, she knew it was Julian’s favorite. “She’s forever trying to get me to dress more in lines with the current trends,” Holly continued as she searched the top of the desk. Julian sullenly ate his brunch, his mind too fogged with alcohol-induced sleep to think why his daughter was rifling around his desk.

“Why are you here, Ivy,” he growled.

“Holly,” Holly corrected breezily. “I’m here to discover the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Crane Empire. If I’m going to be part of this alliance with Hotchkiss Enterprises, I should at least know the two conglomerates fit together so I can advance the Crane agenda.” Take that load of bull, Holly thought.

Julian began to rouse. “So you are willing to go through with the courtship?” he asked.

Holly gave him a frosty stare—a look she learned from her mother. “I am resigned to the fact that Grandfather Crane wishes me to whore myself for the company and dance attendance upon Jonathan Hotchkiss. And I am resigned to the fact that Grandfather Crane is a sexist bastard who thinks sending Julia and I to college is a waste of money.” She paused, absently picking up a small stack of papers. “What I don’t understand,” she said, fixing her father with an Ivy-like stare, “is why you still want me to go through with this now that you are panting after Rebecca Hotchkiss. Either it’s unnecessary for me to go through with this charade with Jonathan, or it is in incredibly bad taste to sleep with a man’s ex-wife while you are forcing your daughter and his only son together.” She looked down at the papers for the first time.

“I don’t want to marry Rebecca,” Julian huffed, “Father is making me, and Rebecca is....”

Holly arched an eyebrow.

“Get away from my desk, Ivy, nothing there concerns you,” Julian barked.

“Holly, Father,” Holly reminded. “And as I said, all of this here does concern me. I can’t walk into this relationship with Hotchkiss Enterprises with blinders on. I have to know what I am expected to accomplish.” She glanced up at the papers. “And why are you footing the bill for Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald’s pregnancy?”

“Damnit, Ivy,” he stormed, “put those down!”

“Holly,” she said with a tone as cold and hard as marble. “And I’ve seen them now, so you tell me why, Father. And why is she listed as your wife?”

Julian opened his mouth, but a ringing phone silenced any reply. Julian answered it, and after a moment and a grimace of pain, put the phone on speaker.

“Tell us, Julian,” the soulless voice of the Crane patriarch echoed into the study, “why are you paying for the housekeeper’s daughter?” Holly looked at her father, who suddenly seemed small and fearful. If she didn’t already hate her grandfather, she would now. “By the way, Holly Katherine,” Alistair continued into the silence, “I thank you for acting on my behalf to uncover this mess,” he said sweetly. Holly felt unclean and defiled. Not all the soap in the world could remove the taint of Alistair’s backhanded compliment. “And I am pleased to know that you will not do anything foolish and reject Young Jonathan Hotchkiss outright.”

“Yes, Grandfather Crane,” she whispered.

“Now, please be a good child and allow your father and I to have a private conversation,” Alistair continued.

“Yes, Grandfather Crane,” she whispered again and shuffled towards the door.

“And Holly Katherine,” Alistair said smoothly, “no listening at the door. I will be able to tell if you do, and you wouldn’t want anything terrible to happen to you… or your sister.”

“No, Grandfather Crane,” she said softly, swallowing her hatred. If it was just herself, she would have told him off right there—or so she would like to believe. But with Julia threatened, she acquiesced. “I will leave you and Father to your conversation.”

Julian gave his daughter a pat on the hand. “It’s really best this way,” he said. “There are certain things a young girl should not hear.”

“If you say so, Father,” Holly said and fled the room before her father could see her weep tears of frustration. She briefly thought of listening at the door, but images of Julia being cast out of the mansion, of being separated from her sister for life, danced through her imagination. She made a brief stop at her room for her winter coat and, dropping down the servant’s stairs, found the quickest exit from the mansion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~