The Mermaid's Curse (California Mermaids Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter Thirty-One: Oceania

“Let’s play ‘our’ song,” Xavier says under his breath, smiling at me. I know instantly that he means the
Sonata of the Mermaid
.

So, as Amelie and Xavier’s parents look on, we sail into the music as smoothly as a yacht pushing off from the docks.

During the first few strains, I look around the room, gauging the reaction of our small audience. Amelie treats me to an encouraging grin, while Arabella sinks into the fainting couch, closing her eyes and moving her hands to the rhythm. Robert, however, reacts completely differently than I’d expected. When he’d been interrogating me earlier, he’d seemed fierce, like a shark going for blood. But now, his dark eyes have gone soft, and the corners of his mouth have vanished into his mustache as he smiles ever-so-slightly. He must feel something like the magic that surges between Xavier and me—all the time, but especially when we play music together.

I close my eyes, losing myself in the fusion of Xavier’s piano and my harp, our voices floating above the instruments in joyous harmony. When we’ve finished performing the sonata, Arabella and Amelie erupt into a round of applause.

Robert remains frozen in place for a few seconds after the music has died away, and then he sits up very straight, his eyes wide, as though he’s just come out of a long trance. He claps with the others, adding, “Bully!”

I have no idea what “bully” means, but from the enthusiastic way he says it, I’m thinking it means something good.

“You are quite the performer, Miss Oceania,” Robert says, his eyes lit from within and a silly grin on his face. I had no idea he was even capable of looking like this, and I immediately know that he’s probably succumbed to the power of my special talent. “I’ve never heard such beautiful music from anyone, except the women in my family, of course.”

“Thank you.” I smile graciously, but my feelings of happiness melt away the second that my eyes land on Xavier. He’s grimacing and chewing his bottom lip, and I know why; although his voice and piano were hauntingly lovely, his father didn’t so much as acknowledge his performance. “I couldn’t have done it without Xavier. Isn’t he a fine musician?”

The grin falls off Robert’s face, and he waves the suggestion off the way I would shoo away a bothersome sea crab. “Certainly. Music is a nice hobby for him, but don’t be expecting him to keep practicing with you forever—he has a fortune to make in the banking business, after all.”

“Everything isn’t about money,” Xavier mumbles under his breath, but his voice is lost as Arabella cries, “Miss Oceania, my dear. What an honor it was to hear you perform.” She shivers a bit. “It was almost…otherworldly. Please tell me that you’re considering a vocation in the opera. You have so much potential that it would be fairly criminal not to.”

“Thanks,” I say, feeling my face heat up. I’m not used to such effusive praise. So far, the only person who hasn’t gushed all over me has been Amelie. “But as far as singing in the opera, I—uh, hadn’t really thought much about it.”

“Well, you must think of it,” she persists, clasping her hands. “Why don’t you come to our party this Saturday evening, dear? You can perform before all of our friends, to build your confidence. Some of our guests are patrons of the arts, and you’ll make just the right connections.” She glances at her husband. “Don’t you think that’s a wonderful idea, Robert?”

Robert frowns for a moment, beckoning Arabella to his side. She floats across the room, and the two carry on a brief discussion in hushed tones. However, a mermaid’s sense of hearing is quite well-developed—it has to be, to discern all the nuances of underwater life. So, naturally, I hear everything.

“We can’t invite this girl to the party,” Robert says. “What about Victoria?”

“What about her?” Arabella says. “We’ll have many guests, dear. Why not one more, especially one this talented? The arts need her.”

“But how will Xavier pay attention to both women? And we still don’t know who this Oceania really is. Why, we don’t even know where she’s from!”

“With a voice like that, it doesn’t matter. And besides, Xavier is twenty-one. Don’t you think it’s about time that he makes his own decisions about women?”

“But all that money—”

“I came into our marriage with barely a penny to my name. But that didn’t stop you from falling in love with me, did it?”

Chapter Thirty-Two: Xavier

My parents confer in the corner, and I hope desperately that my mother will work her persuasive magic once again. She’s the only person in the world who can sway my father, although I must admit that he’d seemed spellbound by Oceania’s voice and harp. I’ve never seen him grin like that for so long.

Oceania is sitting on the edge of the seat by the harp, watching my parents intently. I wonder whether she can hear what they’re saying; I certainly can’t.

Amelie slumps back on the couch, rolling her eyes at my parents’ rudeness. I’ve never known them to talk about a guest, right when she’s present. But finally, they turn back to us and Father says, “Of course, Miss Oceania, you are welcome to join us this Saturday, if your schedule allows. And you must bring your family with you. We’d like to meet your parents.”

Of course he’d like to meet her parents, most likely to judge them and tell me how inferior they are to Mr. and Mrs. Simonsen.

Oceania swallows hard. “I’m afraid that will be impossible, sir. My parents aren’t here. I’m traveling alone.”

“A young girl like you, traveling without a chaperone?” Father blusters. “That’s unheard of.”

“Where I come from, it’s quite normal, actually,” Oceania says.

Amelie sucks in her breath, and both Father and Mother stare at Oceania, probably wondering where she might possibly be from. Luckily, Father doesn’t ask again—even he probably realizes how impolite it is to ask the same question twice.

Instead, he reclines in his massive leather chair, folding his hands across his belly. “Well, it’s settled. You’ll come to the party alone, then. I look forward to hearing your voice again.”

“And please stay for dinner tonight,” Mother adds. “We were quite taken with your gift of song, and we’d love to extend our hospitality to you.”

Oceania grins. “Thank you.”

For the rest of the afternoon, I show Oceania the beauty of Monterey during daylight. We walk to town for ice cream, and she digs into her chocolate sundae voraciously, instead of picking at it like a finicky bird, as Victoria would do.

Then, we walk along the beach, talking about our pasts and our futures. Although I don’t know what my future holds, I know that I can’t imagine it without her.

Finally, we stroll to the rocks of Point Joe, watching as the sun dips low over the ocean. For a moment, it sinks behind the clouds, but then it re-emerges, a molten ball that colors the sky in a wash of pink and golden-orange. The clouds have also been stroked by nature’s paintbrush, and now they glow in pastel shades that remind me of cotton candy.

Behind us, in the opposite direction, the white moon rises between two palm trees silhouetted against the pale blue sky. For a brief moment, beauty is all around us as the sun and the moon compete for our attention—the sun sparkling like brilliant fire on one side, and the moon cool and serene against its backdrop of light blues and purples on the other.

I point out the moon to Oceania, who has been staring at the sun, transfixed. She sighs. “Everything is so beautiful that I almost don’t know where to look. It’s like two completely different worlds are here, right in front of us. How do I choose?”

I rub my hands over her arms just as the flaming sun disappears behind the water on the horizon. I know that the sunset and moonrise are not the only things on her mind, not with the difficult choice she’ll have to make in eleven more full moons.

So, I lower my lips gently to hers and say, “You just have to appreciate both, and let your heart lead you. But there’s something you need to know first.”

Clasping both of her hands in mine, I gaze down at Oceania’s face and say, “I love you.”

Chapter Thirty-Three: Oceania

Xavier loves me! My spirit sings, and for a fleeting moment, there is nothing and no one else in the world except him and me. I look into his eyes, and find everything I need—now, always, and forever.

“I love you, too.”

Xavier’s entire face lights up as he kisses me, taking off my hat and releasing my hair from its pins. I giggle and shake it loose around my shoulders and back, feeling a free, unbridled happiness that I haven’t experienced since I was little.

Giggling, we scramble across the rocks and onto the sand. We kick off our shoes, and Xavier hoists me into the air, swinging me back and forth in big, loopy circles, narrowly missing a group of people who are also admiring the sunset.

A throat clears behind us, and Xavier freezes, placing me back on the ground and staring at something—or someone.

I turn around and look, too. Three girls about my age stand before me, immaculately dressed in splendid, elaborate frocks and large, sumptuous hats. They’re wearing their high-heeled shoes even on the sand, and they seem to tower over me. I raise a hand to smooth my wind-blown hair, suddenly feeling messy and inadequate.

The girl in the middle is quite pretty, with auburn hair that peeks out from under a deep green hat embellished with birds and flowers. She steps toward us aggressively, her hands clenched into fists. The other two girls wisely turn away and walk a bit further down the sand, making a show of occupying themselves with sea and sky.

“Mr. Rose,” the girl spits out, glaring at Xavier. She points at me, adding, “Is
this
the reason you ran off so suddenly last night?”

Xavier squeezes my hand, and we stand as a unit, facing the hostile girl.

“Well hello there,” he says in a falsely pleasant tone of voice. “I’d like you to meet Oceania.” He turns to me. “Oceania, this is Miss Victoria Simonsen.”

The girl that Xavier was being forced into courting? I look at her with pity, feeling a pang of guilt. Her anger is probably covering up hurt—perhaps she has romantic feelings for Xavier, even though he said that he has none for her.

“Pleasure to meet you,” I say gently, holding out my hand. Victoria curls her upper lip, looking down at my hand as though it’s a dead fish washed ashore, but she shakes it anyway.

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Victoria says, with an edge to her voice. With one last dismissive glance at me, she turns to Xavier, her hands on her hips, and adds, “Now are you going to explain why you ran off like that last night?”

Xavier shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably, but when he answers, his voice is confident and strong. “I had to go, to meet Oceania. I’m sorry I ran off, but there just wasn’t time to explain.”

Victoria gasps in a ragged breath, her eyes and mouth forming wide “O’s,” like a blowfish.

“What a cad you are,” she says in a wobbly voice. “I can’t believe that after all my family did for you and all the time we spent together, you would run off with this—this—this sea urchin
.
”

“Watch your mouth, please,” Xavier says, his voice dripping with an authority I’ve never heard there before. “You’re talking about the woman I love.”

Victoria’s eyes fill with tears, and she clutches her stomach. “You
love
her? How long have you been seeing both of us, anyway? At least answer me that.”

I look down at the sand, tracing little patterns with my toes, but not before I notice the stricken look on Xavier’s face. I can tell that he wants nothing to do with this confrontation, but his honor and love for me won’t allow him to stand by while Victoria hurls insults at me, either. I feel bad for her, but I don’t appreciate her calling me a sea urchin.

“We met recently,” Xavier says quietly. “Last night’s dinner was the first time I’d seen you since meeting Oceania.”

“So you’ve known her for what? Two or three days?” Victoria’s voice is rising now, and other beachgoers are beginning to stare. I hear one elderly woman say, “Unladylike,” to her husband as she walks past with a very straight spine, pursing her lips.

Xavier nods. “Yes. But it’s been enough time to know that I love her.”

“Ugh!” Victoria cries out, spinning on her heel and bolting away. She catches up with her friends, grabbing their arms and pulling them further down the beach. I can hear one of them say, “Ninny,” as she glowers back at Xavier.

I have no idea what a ninny is, but it doesn’t sound good. I look at Xavier, who is staring down at the sand in a state of shock. Something tells me that Victoria won’t be the only person yelling at him tonight. His father will be none too pleased, either.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Xavier

After Victoria and her friends stomp away, Oceania and I just stand there, staring at each other. I don’t know what to say to her except, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Oceania says, as darkness falls over the beach. “None of this is your fault. What counts is that you were honest with me about Victoria, and with her about me. I feel bad for her, but there’s nothing either of us could do. You couldn’t help it that she was right there and saw everything.”

I cup Oceania’s face in my hand, and say, “Thanks for understanding. I still feel like an idiot, though. I know Victoria was really hurt, and I put you in a bad position, too. She’s going to be at the party this Saturday, and I don’t want her saying anything mean to you.”

“It’s all right. Nothing she can say will hurt me. Knowing that you love me will carry me through.”

I hug her, and then we head back toward the house for dinner. I’m glad that Oceania understands, and didn’t run off in a huff like Victoria. Although, I must admit, if I were Victoria, I’d probably be angry, too. I’m sure all this came as a shock to her.

That night at dinner, Father continues to grill Oceania about her history, her family, and her origins, but every time he asks a question that Oceania can’t answer, either Amelie, Mother, or I abruptly change the subject, much like I’d done that afternoon.  I wink at Amelie, who grins back at me. We’ve always played a similar game with my parents, especially my father. He may control vast fortunes when he’s at work, but at home, we understand him all too well. And Mother seems to know, instinctively, that there is some reason Oceania can’t be forthcoming about her background.

Oceania leaves that night to return to her family, and there on the rocks of Point Joe, we proclaim our love to each other again.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave,” Oceania says. “But then again, I miss my family, too.” She pouts. “Sometimes, I hate that old witch Morwenna. I don’t understand why I should have to choose between the land and the ocean when I never did anything to anybody.”

“Life’s not fair.”

For a moment, we gaze out over the constantly changing ocean tides. Today, they’re gentle and calm, lapping over the rocks—quite the contrast to the dramatic day we’ve had.

“You’re right about that,” Oceania says finally. “But I suppose I must be going.”

I hold both of her hands in mine, and kiss her one last time. Then, I carefully avert my gaze as she strips off Amelie’s corset and dress, handing them to me before she plunges into the ocean.

As I walk home, clutching the armful of Amelie’s clothing, I feel a curious sense of loneliness that I’ve never felt before. In the past, I liked to be solitary—it gave me time to dream of new musical compositions and puzzle out my latest feelings about my family. But now, I realize that, when I’m with Oceania, I have that calm feeling that I’d always had when I was alone. With her, I’m refreshed and recharged. And when I’m alone, I’m just lonely.

I creep into the front doors quietly, not wanting to explain to my parents what I’m doing with the bundle of women’s clothing. I run upstairs to stow it in Amelie’s room before I return to the parlor, where my parents are waiting for me.

The instant I walk into the room, the first thing Father says is, “Your Oceania seems like a nice girl, but why can’t we seem to find out a blasted thing about her? Is she a fugitive or something?”

“Of course not,” I say, snorting. “Does she look like one?”

“Don’t sass me,” Father says. “I’m just trying to figure out why she’s so secretive. Can you enlighten me?”

The room is silent except for the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. Here, without Amelie or the distractions of food and drink, it’s much more difficult to dodge his questions. Mother shoots me a pitying glance.

I chew on my bottom lip, wondering what I can possibly tell him. Finally, I settle on, “She’s different. She comes from someplace far away, with unusual customs and culture. That’s all I can tell you for now.”

Father narrows his eyes. “Fine. She’s different. But she speaks perfect English, so she can’t be from anywhere
that
far away. If you ask me, she’s some low-born girl, maybe even an orphan, and she just wants to play around with a millionaire’s son.”

Even though it stings to hear my father talk that way about the girl I love, I don’t refute him. If he wants to think he has everything figured out, I’ll let him; it will be much more believable than the truth about Oceania, after all. I simply stand there, looking at my feet, waiting for him to dismiss me.

“Fine,” Father says after an awkward minute of silence. “It’s obvious that you aren’t going to tell me anything. But I will tell
you
something. I’m allowing Oceania to come to our party on Saturday because your mother invited her.” With a quick glare at Mother, he continues, “But I am certainly not endorsing you building a relationship with such a girl. I’ve told you that Victoria is a much better match, and I expect you to continue courting her.” He stares at me for a moment, his eyes hard. “If you don’t, there will be consequences. Monetary ones. Just because you’re my only son doesn’t mean I can’t disinherit you.”

I want to scoff at Father for even holding such a thing above my head. Money doesn’t matter to me, but it certainly matters to him. Disinheriting me is the absolute worst punishment he can think of—sad, really.

I reply, “Yes, Father. I’ve taken it under advisement.” With that, I turn on my heel and stalk out of the parlor, and am surprised when my mother follows me.

She places a hand on my arm, looking up at me with soulful eyes. “Xavier, your father doesn’t understand anything but money, although he does truly appreciate music. But I can’t help but tell you, I have this feeling when I’m around your Oceania.” She shivers for a second and says, “Like I said about her name, before I even met her—it’s otherworldly, and so is she. So I just have to ask, completely in your confidence. Is she…some sort of witch, or perhaps a supernatural creature?”

I laugh, a bit too loudly. “Of course not, Mother. How could you even entertain such a notion?”

Mother’s cheeks flush a bit and she says slowly, “I suppose it’s silly of me. You’re right, of course. It was just a fleeting thought. I think Oceania is a lovely girl, and you were right when you were telling your father about her—she is different. Perhaps it was just her difference that I was picking up on.”