Susan Pfeffer - Shade of the Moon

“I do want to talk about it,” Jon said.

“Fine,” Lisa said. “We’ll talk. What are you waiting for, Ruby? Didn’t I give you a job to do?”

“Yes ma’am,” Ruby said. “I’ll do it right away.”

“And we’ll go upstairs and talk about the servant problem,” Lisa said. “Come on, Jon. Let’s get this over with.”

They walked to Lisa’s bedroom, but she shook her head. “We’ll talk in yours,” she said softly. “Mine’s over the living room.”

Jon nodded and followed Lisa to his bedroom, then closed the door.

“Did you have to do that to Ruby?” he asked.

“She didn’t clean the living room,” Lisa said. “Did you look at it, Jon? It was filthy. I know you think she’s a sweet girl, and I assume you’re sleeping with her, but she has to learn her job.”

“I’m not sleeping with her,” Jon said.

“Fine,” Lisa said. “I apologize. I had a long day, Jon. What’s so important that we have to talk about it privately?”

“It’s Miranda,” Jon said.

Lisa nodded. “I checked,” she said. “All the corpses were removed on Sunday.”

For a moment Jon didn’t know what she was talking about. Then he remembered Mom. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad. But that’s not it.”

“What is it, then?” she asked.

“Luke told us something at lunch today,” Jon replied. “A grubber girl had a baby at the hospital on Saturday. A perfectly healthy baby girl. Only the grub said her husband would kill her if she brought home a girl. She got hysterical so they sedated her and sent her home. A claver family took the baby. They’re going to adopt her.”

“Tell me you’re kidding, Jon,” Lisa said. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“Miranda was the only grub in the hospital this week,” Jon said. “Lisa, they stole Miranda’s baby.”

“Did you tell Miranda?” Lisa asked. “Did Sarah?”

Jon shook his head. “You and Sarah and I are the only ones who know,” he said. “Lisa, we have to get the baby back.”

Lisa sat absolutely still.

“Lisa,” Jon said. “Remember when you thought you might lose Gabe? It’s the same thing.”

“No, it’s not,” Lisa said. “It’s worse. At least with Gabe I would’ve had a choice. I can’t believe they did that. No, actually I can. Women here are so desperate for babies, they’ll even take a grubber one. We don’t know what the hospital told them. Maybe they said Miranda died in childbirth.”

“Or maybe they didn’t care just as long as they got a baby,” Jon said. “Lisa, that’s why they kept Miranda in the hospital so long. So they could be sure her baby would be healthy before they gave it to clavers.”

“Your righteous indignation isn’t helping any,” Lisa said. “And don’t talk so loudly. We have enough problems without Ruby hearing.”

“Sorry,” Jon said. “But I can’t keep from thinking about what Miranda’s been through. Mom, and now this.”

“We can’t get Laura back,” Lisa said. “But maybe we can find the baby. I should be able to figure out who got her. We know it’s a claver family. They’d need a wet nurse and a nanny.”

“Do you remember anyone asking?” Jon asked.

Lisa shook her head. “Things have been so crazy the past few weeks. My guess is it was a green-file request. My assistant handles those since they’re automatically granted. I’ll look through the paperwork tomorrow. It’s got to be there somewhere.”

“Maybe they’ll give us the baby when we tell them the truth,” Jon said.

“Maybe they’ll throw us out of Sexton,” Lisa said. “I’m not kidding, Jon. We’ll get Miranda’s baby. I promise you that. But no one can know. No one’s going to care that the baby was stolen. They’ll say we’re kidnappers. Don’t say a word about this, not even to Sarah. I’ll see what I can find out, and we’ll go from there.”

“Miranda and Alex have to get their baby back,” Jon said. “Lisa, they have to.”

Lisa nodded. “We’ll figure something out,” she said. “For everybody’s sake.”

“Ruby, this kitchen is disgusting,” Lisa said.

“But I scrubbed it this afternoon,” Ruby said. “Honest I did.”

“You don’t have an honest bone in your body,” Lisa said. “You think you can get away with this?” She ran her finger over the counter, and even Jon saw the grime.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to clean the counters,” Ruby said, sounding close to tears. “No one ever taught me that.”

“I’m teaching you,” Lisa said. “Ruby, Gabe adores you, and I appreciate all the time you give him. But you’re the only domestic in this house, and it’s your job to keep it clean. Jon, when Carrie was here, didn’t she clean as well as look after Gabe?”

“It’s a lot of work, Lisa,” Jon said.

“I work, too, Jon,” Lisa replied. “We all do. Scrub the countertops, Ruby. Then the floor. I don’t care if you cleaned it already. You want to eat tomorrow, you clean tonight. Jon, don’t give me that look. I’ll talk to you upstairs.”

“I know we have to have privacy,” Jon whispered to Lisa when they got to her room. “But do you have to take it out on Ruby?”

“I’m not beating her, Jon,” Lisa said. “And I can forbid her to eat to my heart’s content and she’ll still eat whatever she wants. She eats more than Val and Carrie put together.”

“She’s entitled,” Jon said. “She’s doing both their work.”

“Do you want to fight about Ruby?” Lisa asked. “Or do you want to hear what I found out?”

“Ruby can wait,” Jon said. “Do you know who has the baby?”

Lisa nodded. “Only one family requested a wet nurse and a nanny in the past month. Both of whom started working on Saturday.”

“That’s great,” Jon said. “Who are they?”

“It’s better if you don’t know until we have a plan,” Lisa replied. “You probably won’t know them by name anyway. But they’re very powerful.”

“We knew they would be,” Jon said.

“I didn’t realize how powerful,” Lisa said. “Powerful enough to have a private guard service twenty-four hours a day. We can’t put a ladder to the nursery window and steal the baby.”

“They’re the ones who stole the baby,” Jon said.

“That’s not the point and you know it,” Lisa said.

“All right,” Jon said. “You have the name and we need a plan. Anything else?”

Lisa scowled. “My assistant saw me going through the green files,” she said. “When we get the baby, they’ll trace it back to me.”

“Miranda and Alex are going to have to leave anyway,” Jon said. “We’ll go with them.”

“How?” Lisa asked. “It’s one thing to say we have to leave. It’s a whole other thing to do it.”

Jon grinned. “Sarah and I figured that part out,” he said. “Alex is driving Sarah to Virginia on Monday. If anyone stops them, Miranda’s there as her grub. Then Alex drops Miranda and the baby off at Matt’s and takes Sarah to Virginia. They can figure out where to go after he gets back.”

Lisa fell silent, thinking things over. Jon waited for her to speak.

“They can take Gabe with them,” she said.

“Sure,” Jon said. “You and Gabe and me. We’re clavers. Sarah’s travel pass will cover us.”

“What time is she leaving?” Lisa asked.

“Early Monday,” Jon replied. “That’s all I know.”

“The earlier the better,” she said. “There’s a two a.m. grubber bus to Sexton. Alex and Miranda will need special curfew passes. I’ll tell Dr. Goldman to arrange it for them. We get in the car, grab the baby, and get out of Dodge.”

“Where’s Dodge?” Jon asked.