The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,204

was relatively composed by the time the bell rang to announce that Stella Jackson was at my front door.

I went to open it and there she stood, wearing the same smart tweed jacket I’d seen her in on TV earlier. She must have come straight from the studio.

‘Hi, Electra, how are you?’

‘Good, thanks, Stella. How are you?’ I asked, smiling at her through gritted teeth.

‘I’m well, thank you, dear. I’ve had a very busy, but productive weekend.’

‘That’s, um, good then,’ I nodded as I watched her walk to her favourite chair and sit down. ‘Can I get you some water?’

‘Thank you, honey, that would be great. Oh my, those pants you’ve got on sure are tight,’ she commented, as I poured some water into a glass and handed it to her. ‘I like your hair, by the way; no one would doubt now that the two of us are related.’

‘No,’ I agreed, as I sat gingerly on the couch, wishing to God I’d changed out of these pants before she’d arrived.

‘How has your weekend been, Electra?’

‘It’s been . . . interesting,’ I nodded. ‘Yup, interesting.’

‘May I ask in what way?’

‘Oh, I discovered where I’d been found by my father.’

‘Did you now?’

‘Yup, I did.’

‘And where would that be?’

I stared at her hard then, wondering if she was simply being disingenuous or playing some kind of weird game that I didn’t know the rules of.

‘Surely you must know?’

‘Why yes, I do, I was just checking you’d got your facts right.’

‘Oh, I’ve got my facts right okay,’ I nodded, my teeth biting on my bottom lip to stop the anger exploding from behind them. ‘It was Hale House in Harlem, the place where they cared for babies of addicts and AIDS sufferers.’

I kept my gaze right on her face and was pleased when she pulled her eyes away from mine first.

‘So you knew that was where I was found?’ I said.

‘Not at the time you were actually taken there, but after the fact, yes. Your father told me.’

‘Okay. So you’re saying you didn’t know that I – your granddaughter – was actually in a home for young addicts and HIV sufferers?’

‘Yes, I am saying that.’

‘I mean, you, who I saw earlier on TV talking about the AIDS crisis in Africa, you, the great champion for civil rights in this country, you didn’t know that your own granddaughter was left at a place like that?!’ I stood up then, partly because I could no longer sit in the pants, but also because it made me feel strong to tower over my grandmother, who I saw had slumped from her normal elegant posture right down into the chair. I noticed she suddenly looked old and there was something in her eyes as she gazed past me into the distance. I realised it was fear.

‘Yeah, I’m sure that the media would just lap this story up, wouldn’t they?’ I continued. ‘Especially given my profile. I bet you wouldn’t like that, Granny dearest?!’ I almost spat.

‘You’re right, I wouldn’t, because yes, it would destroy my reputation. But I guess if I was you, it would be what you thought I deserve. And maybe I do deserve it.’

I began to pace the living room. ‘The burning question is, where the hell was my mother in all this? Who was she? And why, if she was in such big trouble, weren’t you there for her? And for me?! How you can sit there spouting your shit on TV, with everyone thinking you’re some kind of a goddess of goodness . . . Jeez, Stella! How do you live with yourself?!’

‘I . . .’ Stella gave a long sigh. ‘As I said, at the time I didn’t know.’

‘You didn’t know that your daughter was a drug addict or an AIDS victim or had a baby girl?’

‘No, I did not.’

‘Then where the hell were you?!’

‘I was in Africa at the time, but it’s a long story, and you can’t begin to understand it until I’ve told you what happened before your mother was even born.’

‘Does it really matter what led up to it? It’s not going to change the fact that you weren’t there for me, or my mom, when we needed you, is it?’

‘No, and you have every right to get angry, Electra, but please, I beg you, just hear me out. Because if you don’t, you’re never going to understand.’

‘To be blunt, Stella, I don’t think I’ll ever understand, but okay,’ I sighed. ‘I’ll try. As long as you