The Unwelcomed Child by V. C. Andrews Page A

strong to ignore now that I was out there. To my surprise, when I reached the place on the shore from which I had first seen them, I saw that they were both in the rowboat, but both looked asleep, the boat gently rocking. Were they asleep or getting a suntan? I waited and watched.
    Suddenly, Mason opened his eyes and turned his head in my direction, as if I had called out to him. Maybe I had. Maybe I didn’t realize it. He sat up quickly and nudged Claudine. They looked at me. I wasn’t going to hide myself this time. Mason seized the oars and turned the boat in my direction. Claudine sat back, her arms folded over her breasts, looking like a queen being rowed about. At least they were both dressed, I thought.
    “Spying on us again?” Claudine asked as they drew closer.
    “No. I . . . Mason told me to come here. I just came earlier because I brought a picnic lunch.”
    “A picnic lunch?” She laughed. “Now, why didn’t we think of having a picnic, Mason?”
    “Not a bad idea.”
    He maneuvered the boat as close to the shore as he could.
    “Get in,” he said.
    I hesitated.
    “We won’t bite you,” Claudine said. “At least, I know I won’t. Mason might have another idea.”
    “Stop it. You’ll scare her. I told you . . .”
    What did he tell her?
    “Oh, just get in,” she said. “I’m getting hungry, too. I’ll make us some sandwiches, and we’ll row out to the island.”
    “Island? What island?”
    “It’s not really an island,” Mason said. “It’s just a large clump of land with wild grass and some trees. It’s just around the turn in the lake there. C’mon,” he urged.
    I stood and looked back at the woods. They could never understand how hard my grandparents’ house pulled on me. It was like leaving some sort of safe haven and venturing out into a world full of dangers, despite the hard childhood I had been living in it all these years.
    “I’ve got to be home by three,” I said, figuring that if I said that, I would be sure to be home by four.
    “Then get a move on,” Claudine said. “Allons!”
    I started to step onto the rocks.
    “Maybe you should take off your shoes and socks,” Mason suggested.
    I looked up quickly, as if the suggestion was shocking.
    “That’s right. You’ll begin your strip-down slowly,” Claudine teased.
    “Will you stop it?” he told her.
    She laughed. “Okay, okay. He’s right. Take off your shoes. The water is not really that cold.”
    I slipped off my shoes but hesitated to take off my socks.
    Claudine shook her head. “Haven’t you ever gone barefoot?”
    Actually, no, I wanted to say, but I didn’t. I took off my socks and held them and my shoes tightly as I went over the rocks. There was no way to keep completely dry, so it was good that I had done it. They wouldn’t understand, but just the feel of the water on my naked feet excited me. Mason helped me into the rowboat. It rocked so hard I thought it would turn over, and I screamed.
    “Relax. We’re all right. Just sit down,” Mason said, laughing.
    I did. Claudine immediately slipped next to me, crowding me like someone who wanted to cuddle.
    “Don’t you wear toenail polish?”
    “No.”
    “Your toes need it,” she said.
    “They do not,” Mason said. “Don’t listen to her. She wishes she had your feet.”
    She stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed.
    “What do you have for lunch?” she asked.
    “Peanut butter and jelly, milk, and an apple,” I told her.
    “Peanut butter? I haven’t had peanut butter since I was six or seven.”
    “I like peanut butter,” Mason said.
    “So why don’t you ever eat it?”
    “Never think of it. Doesn’t Dad like peanut butter? I bet we have some. It’s healthy.”
    “Oh, good. Let’s be healthy,” she said.
    He dipped the oars in and pulled hard, turning the boat around in one fluid move. Then he rowed rapidly, as if he wanted to be sure to get me away from the shore before I could change my mind.
    I looked back to