Perfected (Entangled Teen) (8 page)

I scooted closer to him, settling into the music. Both of us sat perfectly still and listened to the strum of the guitar and the beat of the drums that played underneath like a heartbeat. Next to me, I could feel the heat of Penn’s leg seeping through the fabric of my dress, making my thigh burn.

He leaned in. This close I could see the bursts of gold inside his eyes, but all I could think about was that kiss, the way his lips had felt against mine. So soft. So warm. I wanted to feel that again.

There was a knock at the door and Penn scooted away from me, but not fast enough. His father threw the door open.

“Thank God,” he said, striding over to us. “I looked all over the house for you, Ella. Didn’t you hear me calling?”

“With the music playing, I must not have heard you,” I said. “I’m terribly sorry, Master.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Penn cringe. I should have remembered that I wasn’t to use that word, but I was so nervous, and the congressman’s face was flushed and red, distracting me. I couldn’t think straight.

The congressman turned on Penn. “What were you thinking, taking her up here?”

“I was just playing her some music. It’s not like I—”

“Your music is the last thing I want you to introduce her to. If I remember correctly, you need to be focusing on catching up on your school work, not wasting time listening to songs.”

“Dad, I—” Penn started to say, but the congressman didn’t seem at all interested.

“Not now. I’ve got two campaign donors waiting in the conservatory to meet Ella. I’ve wasted ten minutes looking for her, so I really don’t have time for your excuses right now.”

As the congressman took me by the elbow and led me from the room, I chanced one last glance back at Penn.

He had already turned away.

Ten

D
ownstairs in the conservatory, the congressman’s colleagues sat waiting with their arms crossed over their chests and their legs folded at the knee. There were two of them, big men who seemed as proud and intimidating as my own master.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” the congressman said, leading me gently into the room. “It seems my son was trying to commandeer her.”

“Well I can’t blame him,” one of the men said. He must have been a little older than the congressman, because his hair was almost completely white.

The congressman sat down in his usual chair and motioned for me to sit on the ottoman at his knee.

”So…I wasn’t joking, was I?” he said. “This is the reason everyone was so excited about Bill 467.” He gestured to me and smiled broadly, leaning back in his chair. “If it wasn’t politically unethical I’d be buying stock in Greenwich Kennels myself. As it is, I’m just happy to be able to recommend them to people like you. Actually, I thought that you two might be interested in applying for the lottery. The owners at Greenwich are still grateful for my work on passing the legislation; one of the perks being that I have a little sway with getting names moved up on the waiting list.”

The congressman’s colleagues both nodded, smiling as their gazes moved back over me. I could see them each imagining how it would be to own someone like me.

“And you’re sure they’re less care than your typical pet?” the other man asked.

“No comparison,” the congressman said.

“How about a teenage girl? I’ve already had two teenage daughters and believe me, that’s not something I want to live through again. Although, I must say, this little beauty brings me close to seriously reconsidering.” He leaned forward and picked up my hand, turning my palm up so that he could stroke the soft skin along the inside of my wrist.

The muscles in my arm twitched, but I didn’t dare pull away. Why hadn’t Miss Gellner warned us that we’d be touched this way? It didn’t seem to bother the congressman, but my skin crawled.

The congressman grinned, oblivious to my discomfort. “I can assure you, Tom, they’ve been trained to be practically self-sufficient. Sure, you’ll need to spend some money on them. This little gal is a luxury; of course you’re going to want to outfit her with the best. But the payoff…well, who wouldn’t want to see this face over breakfast every morning?”

I should have been used to hearing people boast about how great we Greenwich girls were. Miss Gellner had certainly done it enough. But hearing it come out of the congressman’s mouth made me feel oddly small and inconsequential. Not important at all.

“I have to be honest, John,” one of them said. “I heard that you’d had some sort of trouble with your first one. Did you have to take it back?”

The congressman waved his question away. “Oh, I wouldn’t call it trouble,” he said. “We did have another pet before we got Ella here, but she came down with something that we couldn’t treat on our own. The kennel said it was a fluke and they
insisted
that we return her so that they could give her the special care she needed. But they were wonderful about putting our names at the top of the list for the next lottery and, of course, they waved all the fees.”

The men nodded, seemingly unbothered that the other pet had been replaced so easily. Nobody cared. Maybe we were really that disposable. The other pet’s sickness might have made her defective, but what about the improper thoughts that kept running through my head? Did those make me defective, too?

“Well, I really can’t get over it,” one of them said. “Who would have imagined when we were first starting out that they would come up with something like this?”

The congressman nodded. “It’s going to completely redefine what it means to be one of the elite. Nowadays it seems like everyone has a yacht and a villa someplace. But these pets…they’re a completely new indicator of class.”

For a minute the three of them sat back in their chairs, chewing on their ideas as if they were feeding some barely disguised hunger inside them. I did as Miss Gellner had instructed and looked eagerly between their faces. It wouldn’t do for them to think I found their conversation boring. Even if they assumed I didn’t completely understand their conversation, I was still to appear engaged.

“She really is charming, John,” the silver-haired man said. “What did you say I’d have to do to get my name on that list?”

“I’ll go over all the details with you in just a moment,” the congressman said. “But first let’s have Ella play us a little something. Did I tell you they’re classically trained in an instrument? Our Ella plays the piano.”

He gave me a nod and I rose from the ottoman and made my way over to the piano, carefully arranging myself on the bench so my gown billowed out beside me on either side. I knew the picture I made sitting before them was as important as the music I produced.

I folded my hands in my lap and turned slightly so they could see my profile as I spoke. “Is there a song that you would prefer to hear?”

“Oh no,” the congressman waved his hand. “You go ahead and play us anything, love.”

I nodded. “Very well.”

I turned around to face the piano, my fingers shaking. It seemed so strange to think that less than an hour ago I’d ached to play this instrument. But it felt tainted now. In my mind I kept replaying Penn’s words.

Your music won’t be important to my dad unless there’s someone to impress.

I didn’t want to play the piano out of obligation. I wanted to play it out of joy. Even if that joy was only bringing a bit of pleasure to my owner. But what pleasure was he getting from this? I was only a replacement.

As I played, I kept my eyes wide open, staring out at the trees that grew outside the window. It would have to be enough to bring the music into the room, without becoming a part of it. I wouldn’t close my eyes. I wouldn’t let my body dance.

When the song was over I folded my hands back in my lap and turned around to face the men again.

They clapped loudly, congratulating the congressman on his wonderful taste and I let my eyes glaze over a little bit. Maybe Miss Gellner was wrong. Maybe they didn’t care if I was engaged in their conversation. They certainly didn’t seem to care if the music came from my heart. It was enough just to have my fingers move. I could be a mechanical girl as easily as I could be a living one. All that mattered was how things looked on the outside.

Eleven

A
s the summer days grew longer and hotter, the novelty of my arrival wore off. A few weeks and my presence no longer shocked them. When they entered a room I happened to be in, they stopped looking surprised, as if they’d stumbled upon some unusual creature, a bird that had flapped through an open window and nested on their couch.

By the time the congressman’s annual fundraising party rolled around, I’d figured out how to make the best of the time I was alone in the house, finding a few minutes of stolen time here and there to pound out enough songs to keep my soul fed.

On Saturday morning I sat on the patio, the way I’d made a habit of doing each morning since I’d arrived, but it was obvious that this morning was different. It was only six thirty, but already there were people buzzing around the backyard, getting a start on the millions of small tasks that needed to be completed before the party in the evening.

On the patio next to the pool house, a group of young men were setting up long tables for the hors d’oeuvres and the drinks. It was hard to imagine they would need so many tables just for food and drinks. Past the long tables, more men were setting up a large white tent out on the lawn.

Men and women in white buttoned shirts had already started unloading boxes out of large trucks they’d parked in front of the carriage house, and as much as I wanted to walk over and peer inside the boxes to see what sort of things they’d needed for one party that would take up so much space, I kept still, posing with a weak smile while I sipped a cup of warm green tea.

“Good morning.”

I turned to see Penn walking across the patio. He was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, but his hair was still damp from the shower.

“I was hoping you’d be out here,” he said, stopping to stand at the foot of my chair. From behind his back he pulled a bouquet of flowers. “I got you something.” He handed over the thick bunch, so full and heavy that they bowed their heavy heads in my lap, dropping fuchsia petals onto my skirt.

“Thank you,” I said, looking up at him. “You picked these?”

“No.” He laughed. “But the florist didn’t look like they’d miss them. Besides, they’re prettier in your hands than in one of those vase things.”

He shuffled back and forth on his feet. “Do you mind if I sit?”

I nodded and scooted my legs to the side to make room for him on the cushion by my feet.

He glanced at me. The sun wasn’t high in the sky, but even this early in the morning the light caught his eyes as he talked, turning them the loveliest shade of warm amber.

Across the yard, the door to the kitchen opened and his father stepped out. He was already dressed in khakis and a pressed shirt instead of his normal blue robe. In one hand he held a steaming mug and in the other a stack of papers. He glanced up and his mouth tightened into a thin line when he saw us. He set the cup and papers down on the patio table, then joined us.

Penn got to his feet.

The congressman glanced between the two of us and then down to the flowers in my lap. “Good morning, Penn. Good morning, Ella.”

He took another step closer to me and Penn scooted back onto the grass. “Out helping with the floral arrangements, are we?” the congressman asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

Penn didn’t answer his father. Instead, he turned to me. “I gotta go. See you, Ella.” He turned toward the house, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began to walk away.

“I hope you’ve been working on that essay for the internship instead of wasting your time with flowers,” his father called after him and gave my arm another squeeze. “I’m just dying to show you off tonight, love,” he said. “You’ll be the belle of the ball.” He stroked the hair back from my forehead.

“It looks like the party will be exquisite,” I said.

“Yes.” He nodded, glancing around the yard with a satisfied smile. “Make sure you get a nap in this afternoon. I don’t want you getting distracted with all this party planning nonsense.”

He took the flowers that were already beginning to droop in my lap. “I need you to be rested and perfect for this evening,” he said, then walked away.

The congressman’s wife, who had been flitting throughout the yard making sure everything was ending up in the correct place, watched her husband gather up his papers and walk back inside the house.

She broke free from the group of men she was speaking to and came over. Over the past few weeks she hadn’t gone out of her way to speak to me, although on the occasions we were together she was always polite, even if she was brief.

“Good morning, Ella. Quite a show they’re putting on, isn’t it?” She didn’t wait for a response from me before she went on. “If you think this is something, wait until tonight. Things are really going to look spectacular with the band and the lights. It will be truly magical.”

She stopped talking and stared at me for a long moment, making sure I was paying attention.

“This is a very important event,” she said. “I’ve been planning it for months and if I’m lucky we’ll raise enough money for the Ghana Orphan’s Fund to build the community center we’ve been saving up for. And, of course, we have the added bonus of getting plenty of John’s constituents out at the same time. It’s never too early to start campaigning for a reelection.”

“That sounds wonderful,” I told her, trying to keep my response as brief as possible. I doubted she cared what I thought about her event.

She pulled a chair over and sat next to me. “A lot of John’s colleagues already know we got a pet from Greenwich, and although I’m sure he’s planning on showing you off tonight, there are a number of women from the charity who aren’t crazy about the whole…arrangement.”

She brushed at the front of her blouse even though there wasn’t a crease on it. “What I’m trying to say is, I’d rather not draw attention to you if I can help it. Not that I want to hide you during the party or anything, but I just thought if we can maybe have you keep to the perimeters of it, tone down your gown, so you don’t draw quite so much attention…you know.”

Her forehead crinkled and I realized just how uncomfortable it made her to not be completely in control.

“Of course,” I told her. “I’m happy to do whatever pleases you.”

“Oh wonderful.” She sighed, obviously relieved. I wasn’t sure how she was imagining our conversation could have gone any differently. “Actually, I already picked you out a dress. It’s a black, tea-length Valentino. Really beautiful. You’ll look gorgeous in it, believe me, but it is a bit more subdued than your normal attire.”

She motioned to the gown I was wearing now, a floor-length, rose-colored dress made out of crushed silk and organza, embellished with so many tiny crystals over the bodice that it shone in the sunlight. Certainly not the subdued look she was going for.

“I’ll have Rosa bring it to your room before the party,” she said. “And if you could do me just one more little favor and not tell John about our arrangement, I’d really appreciate it.”

I sighed with relief, knowing that I’d have an excuse to not be in the spotlight at the party. I gave her a nod and a conspiratorial smile.

T
he congressman’s wife was correct. I did look stunning in my gown. Standing in front of the full-length mirror mounted beside my closet, I admired the way it changed my appearance. Even though the other gowns I wore were beautiful, they made me feel like the pet I’d been raised to be. I was fair and innocent, one of the beautiful princesses in Ruby’s fairy tales.

But the black Valentino dress made me look different. I turned in a slow circle, trying to figure out why I felt so strange.

The dress was short, cut right below the knee where the silk chiffon fanned out ever so delicately. Around the waist, a broad black bow accentuated my figure. But my favorite part was the top. The silk was patterned in a soft, sweetheart neckline, and above that was a sheer voile top with long sleeves and a delicate collar that circled my collarbone, giving the dress a sophisticated air unlike anything I’d worn before. I stopped turning and let my hands fall to my sides. In this dress I hardly looked like a pet at all.

The party had already begun by the time I slipped out my double doors and onto the patio. Rosa had brought my dinner to my room instead of feeding me in the dining room because the congressman’s wife had been worried it would seem peculiar to the guests if I were seen eating one of my meals. But even though I’d just eaten, the smells that drifted over from the long tables by the pool house made my mouth water. What would I give to be able to try just a nibble of all those fancy foods? I’d seen them all pass through the house on their way to the tables: dishes of dainty finger foods arranged like tiny pieces of art on the overflowing trays.

The patio was sparkling with the white lights strung from the pool house and along the top of the new tent. In the pool, glowing orbs floated on top of the water. The night was warm, but not hot, and the music drifting out of the tent at the bottom of the hill floated over to me on a light breeze. I stopped to soak it all in. It was hard to imagine there had ever been a more beautiful evening in the history of the world, and here I was, able to enjoy it all.

Across the patio I took in the groups of people buzzing around the tables and talking in clumps by the edge of the pool. They all seemed so grand, so important, smiling to one another over fluted glasses full of sparkling drinks.

The congressman and his wife stood amidst the clump of guests. They looked striking. His wife was remarkable in her everyday wear, but tonight she seemed like an entirely different person. The soft light illuminated her honey-colored gown, reflecting in the tiny gold beads scattered across the bodice, which slowly disappeared as they neared the ground. It was sleek and elegant, accentuating her broad shoulders and long, slender body. Next to her, the congressman stood with his hand around her waist, staring at her unwaveringly while she spoke. It was so different from the way he looked at me.

I hovered at the edge of the party near the pool house and watched as the guests orbited one another.

“They really went all out, didn’t they?” Penn walked up next to me wearing a crisp black tuxedo.

I stared. He looked handsome in this change of clothes, polished and refined. His father would be happy to see his son blending in so well with his colleagues. But this new version of him made me nervous. It wasn’t until I looked up at his tousled hair and warm eyes that I relaxed, grateful that his new clothes couldn’t hide the real him.

In each of his hands he carried a long fluted glass. “I guess they don’t really get the concept of excess,” he said, handing one of the glasses to me.

I cradled the glass in my hand and took a tiny sip. The drink was utterly foreign. A million bubbles fizzed in my mouth. “It’s magical,” I said, looking out at the sparkling lights.

Penn smiled and stared at me before he turned to look out at the crowds of elegant people. Finally he looked back down into his own drink, where the bubbles climbed up the side of the glass like tiny strands of lights. “Sorry for being so cynical. Sometimes my parents bring out the worst in me.”

We stood silent for a minute, listening to the sounds of the other guests. Their voices were a soft hum, punctuated every now and again by the sound of laughter and clinking glasses.

After a minute Penn turned back to me. “You look different tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you at first…when I came over. You’re really…beautiful. I guess I’m so used to seeing your hair down, but it’s really nice up like that.”

“Thank you,” I said, reaching up to touch the thick braid that wrapped around the top of my head. It was the same way I’d worn my hair for years in the training center, but it did feel different tonight.

“Do you want to go see the dance floor?”

“I promised your mother that I would stay toward the edge of things. She asked me not to draw too much attention to myself.”

Penn shook his head, as if he should have expected this from his mother. “It’s impossible for you not to draw attention.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the grass. In front of us, the tent was alive with light and noise. A wide wooden dance floor had been laid over the grass at the other end of the tent, and past it, the band stood on top of a small stage pouring music out into the night.

“I really wanted to dance with you,” Penn said, frowning as he looked out over the crowded floor where his father stood talking with a large group of men.

The ceiling inside was covered with large lanterns, which reflected off of the glossy wood, and as much as I wanted to stand beneath them, I didn’t want to disobey the congressman’s wife.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Penn. I can’t.”

Watching the sweet way his face fell in disappointment made me laugh.

“Oh, you think hurting my feelings is funny?” he asked.

“No.” I smiled, covering my face with my hands.

Penn turned his head away from me, but his smile was impossible to disguise. “Good thing I don’t give up easily,” he said. He pulled me around the corner of the tent and down the dark hill into the shadows. “We’ll just have to dance out here.”

With a quick flick of the wrist, he grabbed me again by the hand and drew me into his chest. My breath caught in my throat. After all the Dance lessons we’d been given at the training center, this was my first time dancing with a man.

A wild tingling spread through my chest, as if all those tiny bubbles in my drink had begun exploding inside me the moment he began to move me across the grass in a slow waltz. He wasn’t a great dancer, but his arms were firm, his hand warm and strong against my back. I leaned my head on his chest, letting myself breathe in the clean smell of his starched shirt and the lingering fragrance of the bubbly drink on his breath.

“Ella?”

“Yes?”

“I…I’m sorry if I’ve been an ass. It’s just… I can’t figure out what to think of you. I didn’t want to like you,” he said, pulling me ever so slightly closer to him. “When my dad said he was getting another pet from Greenwich… God, I was so pissed. Not just because of what happened before, but because I don’t want us to be one of those showpiece families my dad wants us to be. And I guess I thought you’d be another plastic girl, one more plaything for my midlife-crisis dad, or something, and it made me sick. But then I met you…” He paused, looking down at me. “You aren’t anything like that other one. I mean, when I heard you playing the piano the other day… You can’t teach a pet to play that way, you know? With so much heart. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a person play like that.”