Sorry for the hiatus everyone. I was jobhunting!
Link to Lucy's dress described later in the chapter: . /Sites-BNY-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=502602180&cgid=womens-shortdresses&index=14
The fallout from the dinner party caused the biggest argument Blair and Lucy had ever had.
Howard Archibald was thunderstruck and if Lucy were not so horrified, she would have been amused.
His head moved from his wife, to Eleanor, to Lucy, and then back again. His face went red, white, then yellow.
Then he attempted to speak.
"My dear, I..." he stuttered to Anne.
Anne turned regally towards him.
"You have a daughter?"
She turned to Lucy and looked at her steadily.
"Lucy is your daughter?"
Howard went white again.
"It was before you and I were married, Anne."
Anne pursed her lips.
"How old are you, Lucy?"
Lucy answered, trembling.
Anne turned to Howard.
"Italy? When we first started dating?"
Howard looked like he was going to cry.
Eleanor looked from Anne to Howard.
"You were with her? I thought you didn't meet her till afterwards!"
"My dear, please can we talk about this at home?" Howard pleaded.
"What about me, dad?" Nate asked, face cold. "I've been going out with my half sister's sister since I was like 11, and you never thought to tell me that we share a sibling?"
Blair looked like she regretted her outburst now, but Lucy still glared at her.
"Come with me," she snapped, gripping Blair by the arm and dragging her from the room. She exchanged a panicky glance with Nate as she left.
She let Blair go as soon as they got into her room.
"How can you be so selfish?" she cried. "To just announce that to Nate and Anne like that. You put Mother in a very difficult position and possibly ruined any attempt I could have had to get to know my father. How could you hurt Nate like that? Why would you do this? I was going to come back, Blair. I read your letters, and while the emotional blackmail was incredibly manipulative, it did work. I thought we'd reached a point where we could treat each other with maturity. Clearly not."
Blair looked furious.
"Oh, so you never do anything wrong? You just walked out and then acted all high and mighty. Treating me like a naughty child."
"You're acting like a naughty child!" Lucy yelled.
"You walked out because of Mother, not me! So why, when you made up with her so easily, can you not make up with me?"
"Because of what you just did!"
"It was time people knew the truth. Howard's ignored you for too long and I was avoiding Nate."
Lucy sighed.
"Couldn't you have done it with sensitivity?"
"No, Lucy. You can't break news like that with 'sensitivity'."
"You just like causing a scene," accused Lucy.
Blair rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I do."
They were staring at each other when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Lucy said.
Nate came in slowly.
"Everyone's crying down there," he announced. "Blair, why did you do this?"
"I didn't make your dad go away to Italy with my mom and have a baby with her, then make her keep that baby a secret from your dad, then make your dad keep it a secret from your mom and you. I didn't do this, Nate."
Nate rolled his eyes.
"You know what I mean, Blair. Stop being facetious."
"Ooh, that's a big word for you, Nate Archibald."
"Blair, shut up," Lucy said. Blair did.
Nate turned to Lucy.
"So, you're my sister," he said, looking awkward. "How long have you known?"
"Two days. I didn't know how to tell you, as it would break you and Blair up."
Nate looked tortured.
"Lucy, would you give me and Blair a minute? I'll come and speak to you afterwards."
Lucy glanced at Blair, who looked stricken.
"Sure."
"Blair, I don't know how we'll get past this," Nate said, sitting down on her bed. Blair sat next to him.
"Sharing a sibling is a bit hillbilly."
"And it's not like we're doing too great anyway."
Blair looked away, pressing her lips together.
"Serena has always been there, between us," she whispered, "without her, it's like there's someone missing."
Nate debated for one agonising moment whether to tell her. When he started to speak, he was doomed.
"Blair, I have something to tell you."
Blair looked up at him, fear in her tear-filled eyes.
"At the Shepherd wedding, Serena and I...something happened."
Blair looked confused.
"You guys kissed?"
Nate nodded.
"You kissed."
Blair's lip trembled.
"I knew you always wanted her, but I never thought you'd actually dishonour me like that."
"There's more, Blair," Nate said, cursing himself as he poured out his guts to her. It was the end anyway.
Blair went white with fury and jealousy.
"What?" she cried.
Nate took a deep breath.
"We slept together. Blair, I'm so sorry, it just happened. We were drunk and..."
Blair held her hand up.
"Stop. I don't want to know the details. I'm aware of how much you two wanted each other, but I thought that was just because she's Serena van der Woodsen and everyone wants her."
Nate felt wretched.
"We really are over," Blair said, getting up and pacing to the window. "We're over. Leave."
Nate didn't move.
"GO! GET OUT!" She screamed, picking up a hairbrush and throwing it at him. It hit him on the knee. He turned and left.
Blair collapsed on her bed and dissolved into tears.
Lucy heard the commotion and turned to Nate, puzzled, as he came into her room.
"Oh god," he said, putting his head in his hands and sitting down at her desk.
"What happened? Did you break up?"
"Yes," Nate said.
Lucy sighed.
"I'm so sorry. You two have been together forever and I've come along and spoiled everything."
Nate shot her a look from between his hands.
"It wasn't this, Lucy. It's Serena."
Lucy felt a stab of pity for Blair. She had noticed how insecure Blair was when it came to Serena, even getting upset when Lucy wanted to meet up with her. Even with Nate, Blair was second best.
"So you did sleep with her. I knew it," Lucy said.
Nate nodded.
"Wait, how did you know?"
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Anyone with a modicum of perception could have seen it. Also, I walked in on you with your shirt undone, you and Serena hadn't been seen for half an hour and then Serena leaves."
"I bet Chuck knows then. He sees everything."
Nate suddenly realised what Chuck had been trying to get him to confess that day in the park. God, he was slow.
"She'll never forgive me," Nate said.
"She will," Lucy said confidently. "It will take time, but she will forgive you."
Lucy thought about Blair and Chuck and the budding tendrils of friendship that were growing between them.
"So," Nate chuckled, sitting back in his chair, "you're my older sister."
Lucy smiled shyly.
"Yes, I guess I am. You seem to be dealing with it a lot better than your mother."
Nate's face darkened.
"I'm not angry with you, you didn't ask to be born, but I'm angry with Dad for not telling me."
"Understandably."
"Do you want to...watch a film or something?"
Lucy looked at him in consternation, then he clicked.
"Of course, go to Blair. I'll see you tomorrow at school, sis."
He smiled at the last word, then hugged her. Lucy relaxed against him and hugged him back. She had a little brother.
Blair was catatonic when Lucy entered.
"Come on, B, it's all forgotten. I'm moving back in and we'll get over this. And when Serena van der Woodsen comes back, we'll make her regret the day she was born."
Blair smiled reluctantly as she shifted over on the bed to make space for Lucy.
"Why is life so complicated?" Lucy asked, smiling.
The following day at school, Lucy smiled at Nate as they passed each other in the corridor.
Blair ignored him as he stood there with Chuck.
Chuck, noticing, followed her and planting himself in her path.
"What's up with you and Archibald?" Chuck asked, eyes dancing.
Blair tried to sidestep him, but he merely smirked.
"None of your business, Bass," Blair said waspishly.
"It is my business if Nate comes to my suite late last night, drunk, confessing all his sins."
Blair sighed.
"He told you? Well, great, now you know. Now everyone in my life prefers Serena."
Chuck frowned.
"I don't, Blair."
Blair detected the truth in his words.
"You don't count," she said cuttingly, pushing past him.
Chuck caught her arm.
"Stop being a bitch. I thought we'd reached a truce?"
Blair eyed him from head to toe.
"Bass, your desperation is pathetic."
"Please, Waldorf, I don't do sloppy seconds," Chuck sneered.
Blair pressed her lips together, refusing to admit defeat. A thousand petty retorts were on the tip of her tongue, but she was better than this.
She turned and left, leaving Chuck feeling hollow with disappointment. Why wasn't Waldorf playing along?
Lucy debated whether to go ahead with her night out with Tinsley tonight. Should she invite Blair? Would Blair be okay alone? She cornered Blair at lunchtime.
She was in supreme bitch mode.
"I'm going out tonight, Blair, would you like to come?"
Blair tilted her head, pretending to be confused.
"Would I like to go out with my big sister and her self-righteous friend?" she sneered.
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"You're completely transparent, you know. And all it does is cut your nose off to spite your face."
"How?" Blair asked snappily, standing up from her spot at the Met steps and leading Lucy away.
"Because I will go out. Have fun at home, by yourself."
"What makes you think I'll stay at home?" Blair said. "I do have other friends."
"Oh, Iz, the one who tried to break us apart? Your minions? Serena?"
Blair shot a look over her shoulder at her minions, then turned back to Lucy, expression venomous.
"Shut up."
Lucy crossed her arms.
"You're pathetic, Blair," she said, then turned and walked down the steps.
Lucy and Dorota moved her stuff back into the townhouse after school. Dorota clucked with disappointment as she saw the creases in some of her dresses.
"These will need dry cleaning, Miss Lucy! Please take more care!"
Lucy shrugged.
"I'm sorry, Dorota, but do they really matter that much?"
Dorota stopped her folding for the moment.
"Miss Lucy, will you be alright? This is a hard time for all of you. Miss Eleanor, she is sad about Mr Harold and has another daughter to worry about, Miss Blair is angry with Mr Nate and you have just found a new father and a new family. It is a lot for all of you."
Lucy held up her hands in despair.
"I just want everything to go back to normal!" she cried. "I'm going out tonight, with my new friend, and I'm going to have an amazing time!"
Dorota smiled warily.
"You are very different to when you first arrive, Miss Lucy! So sweet and quiet and now you are more and more like Miss Blair every day!"
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"The day I'm like Blair, shoot me."
Dorota finished her tidying and left, a worried expression on her face.
Lucy's phone rang. Carter. She let it go to voicemail, then listened to the message.
Waldorf, I've gone to Monaco for a few days. Try not to find out any other secrets while I'm away. And keep Wednesday night free, we have unfinished business.
Lucy laughed, then felt a bit scared. How much did Carter Baizen want from her?
She texted Tinsley, then got dressed.
She wore a dark blue JOIE floral lace sleeveless dress from Barney's, and left her hair down. She slipped into some Jimmy Choos and then went into the bathroom to do her make up.
The door to Blair's bedroom was firmly closed, which meant Do Not Disturb.
"Miss Lucy! Your friend is here!" Dorota called.
Lucy went downstairs to find Tinsley, dressed to the nines, with a bottle of champagne in her hand.
"Lucy! Come on, join me for a toast before we go!"
Dorota disappeared, thankfully, and Lucy led Tinsley to the kitchen to get some champagne flutes. She uncorked it and poured it, Tinsley looking quite unsteady.
"Did you have another of these before you came?" Lucy asked, laughing. She looked at Tinsley, slightly concerned.
The tall girl had her red hair in a high ponytail and she was wearing a gold, form-fitting dress and heels.
"No, I had a vodka," Tinsley said. "My mother turned up this morning."
Lucy nodded, realization dawning.
"That's why you weren't at school."
"I'm so glad to get out of there."
She reached for her glass and drained it, setting the flute down firmly on the kitchen island. Lucy flinched, but the glass was tougher than it looked.
"Come on, Tins, let's get out of here," Lucy said.
"I haven't seen your room yet, Lucy, or your clothes. You have such lovely clothes."
Lucy laughed.
"Come on then, let's go raid my closet."
Their night out turned into an epic game of dress up. The two girls, steadily sipping their champagne, tried on all of Lucy's clothes and used her bed as a catwalk.
Tinsley backcombed Lucy's hair into a couture model style and was just applying dark, smoky eyeshadow when Blair walked in.
"What are you guys doing? I thought you were going out?"
She stood there, arms crossed, but Lucy could see she wanted to join in.
Lucy threw her a bone.
"B, do we have any fabrics that we could do a fashion show with?"
"You mean, so you don't ruin your clothes?" Blair said, but she was smiling. "I'll go raid Mother's workroom."
She returned with her arms full of beautiful fabrics.
"Come here, I'll do your hair too," Tinsley said, sitting Blair down and starting to backcomb.
Lucy stripped down to her underwear and draped a silver, shimmery piece of fabric around her, like a Grecian toga.
"Oh, that's very Alberta Ferretti," Blair said.
"Have some champagne, B," Lucy said. "I don't want Alberta Ferretti, let's do B and L Waldorf!"
"And Tinsley Avery?" Tinsley asked, handing Blair a glass of champagne.
"You can be hair and beauty assistant," Blair said, heading over to the fabrics and holding them up.
"Okay, Tinsley you're the model, get over here. You're the only one tall enough."
Tinsley walked over to Blair. Blair started draping fabrics around her.
"Pins?" Lucy said, handing them over, then standing back to watch.
Blair had some idea what she was doing, but the end result was...stiff. Tinsley looked awkward, preppy.
"Look, B, I don't think we want people to look like they have a stick up their arse."
Blair turned to Lucy, shocked.
"It's classic. Echoes of Chanel."
"But we aren't Chanel. Let me have a go."
Lucy loosened the fabric around the collar and waist, letting it fold more naturally. The silk relaxed and so did Tinsley. She twirled and the dress swished.
"I like it," Blair said, smiling at Lucy.
"Let's get the sewing machine," Tinsley said.
"No, no, couture is hand-sewed!" Blair said.
Lucy laughed as they surveyed the dress on Tinsley's tall frame.
Her night out had turned into something very different.
Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes the next morning, a headache building above her eyes. She frowned as she spotted something unfamiliar, then opened her eyes fully.
A pale pink silk dress was hanging from the bathroom door. Their dress.
Lucy turned her head and saw Tinsley still fast asleep beside her.
Her clothes were strewn across the bed, chairs and the floor.
Dorota was going to kill her.
A sewing machine sat on her desk, and pins and a tape measure beside it. Scraps of fabric littered the floor.
Lucy's phone beeped.
Breakfast in ten? We can tackle the bombsite later.
Blair.
Lucy tried to wake Tinsley, but the girl was in a deep stupor. She slid out of bed and saw that she was still wearing her dress from last night. Lucy pulled on a robe and slippers and padded downstairs to the dining room.
Blair was sitting wearily at the table, trying to eat a grape.
"Have a bagel, B," Lucy said, "you'll feel better."
They still hadn't really discussed Blair's bulimia since Lucy had told her she knew about it.
"I'm not hungry, L."
"Well, you won't be hungry if you don't eat, you'll just get sick and then your body will start eating your organs to feed itself and you'll die. So, eat the bagel."
Blair reached for a bagel mutinously and sliced it open. She took a bite, glaring at Lucy.
"Atta girl," Lucy said, reaching for her own.
Dorota came through with another tray of food.
"Miss Lucy, I have just seen your room. What have you been doing?"
Blair and Lucy exchanged looks and started giggling.
"We were playing designers," Lucy said.
Dorota sighed dramatically and huffed out of the room.
Blair finished her bagel and then finally ate the grape she had been staring at.
"When's your doctor's appointment?" Lucy asked.
Blair looked up at her.
"I haven't made one yet."
Lucy sighed.
"Make one now, Blair. You can't start getting better until you talk to someone properly about it. I'm out of my depth here."
Blair reached for her phone and dialled.
She made the appointment and hung up.
"Monday at 9," she told Lucy.
"Wow, that's quick. I always had to wait at least a week for an appointment."
"That's because you had that free thing."
"The NHS? Yeah we got free healthcare."
"Yes, well, over here we pay. And us Waldorfs get the best. But even private, exclusive doctors have weekends."
"But their secretaries don't," Lucy said.
Blair rolled her eyes.
"Of course not."
Lucy made Blair drink a glass of orange juice and an apple.
"I suppose we'd better tidy up now," Lucy said.
"Dorota will have done it," Blair said.
Blair was right. Dorota had tidied up everything. Her dresses were back in her closet, neatly back in order and the sewing machine had disappeared.
Tinsley was also gone.
Their dress still hung from the bathroom door.
Lucy examined it.
The skirt was full and silky, as full as a ballerina skirt, and the bodice was fitted. A dark pink rose had been embroidered on the skirt.
"It's gorgeous," Blair said thoughtfully. "We could have something here."
"Do you really want to follow in Mother's footsteps?" Lucy asked.
Blair sighed.
"I'd much rather go to Yale and follow in my father's footsteps. Yale has always been my dream."
"I've always preferred Harvard," Lucy mused. "I'd better get looking at colleges, it is senior year."
"I'll go with you one weekend if you like."
"That'd be great."
Blair suddenly smiled.
"I had a great time last night. And I suppose your friend Tinsley isn't so bad."
Lucy frowned.
"Where did she go? She didn't say bye or anything."
"She was pretty drunk. Why was she so drunk, L? She didn't seem happy."
Lucy sighed.
"Her mum's back in town and they don't get on."
"That's definitely a good explanation," Blair laughed.
"I think I'm going to go back to bed," Lucy said. "I don't know how much sleep we got, but it wasn't enough."
Blair left her to sleep and Lucy closed her curtains and crawled into bed. The sheets were clean. How did Dorota work so fast?
She texted Tinsley before she drifted to sleep.
Are you okay?
When she woke, around 6pm, she had a horrible taste in her mouth.
And she was still in her dress from last night.
Lucy sighed and went into the bathroom to run a bath. She got in, her body welcoming the heat and sweet smelling soaps, but was soon feeling sleepy again. Why had she chosen a hot bath?
She was just towelling herself dry when there was a knock at the door. She put her robe on and tied it.
"Come in."
Blair came in.
"I was going to order in. What do you want?"
Lucy thought for a moment.
"Thai," Lucy said. "Thai red chicken curry and jasmine rice and chicken in satay sauce."
Blair wrinkled her nose.
"Is that healthy?" she asked.
Lucy laughed.
"Yes. It's fresh and healthy. Have you never had Thai before?"
"No, of course not. I'll go order. I'll get two of what you said."
Lucy dressed simply in some leggings and a blue silk shirt that reached just above her knees, then put on some slippers. It was starting to get a bit chilly.
She checked her phone. No text. Where had Tinsley gone? The girl had seemed so quiet and stable when she first met her, but she was slowly starting to reveal as fractured a nature as everyone else on the Upper East Side.
Maybe she just needed some time alone, or maybe she was asleep. No need to worry.
Blair was setting a film up in the living room when Lucy came down.
"You're going to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's with me, L. You haven't seen any Audrey, have you?"
Lucy shook her head.
"That pleasure was denied me," she said.
"Are you being sarcastic? You had better not be snarky about this, Lucy, you need to witness Audrey's star quality."
Lucy laughed.
Two hours later, full of excellent Thai food and with tears in her eyes, Lucy evaluated her opinion of Audrey Hepburn.
"She's just so..." Lucy tried to find the word.
"Beautiful, magical, perfection? There isn't one word that has been discovered yet to describe her," Blair said, eyes shining.
"She's literally a star. So shiny and so far away you think she isn't real," Lucy said.
"Want to watch another one?"
When Eleanor came home that night, she found her two daughters, looking like peas in a pod, on the sofa, watching a film. They looked so happy she couldn't breathe for a moment.
As she watched, Blair said something to Lucy, who laughed. Blair looked peaceful and Lucy looked contented. Eleanor smiled.
She may be an absent mother, but her girls were definitely measuring up without her. They would be tough.
Eleanor made her way upstairs to her room. An unfamiliar dress lay on her bed, with a note beside it.
Miss Eleanor,
Miss Blair and Miss Lucy made this last night. They designed and created it together.
You are an inspiration to them, but sometimes you can be intimidating.
Please return this to Miss Lucy's room. She does not know that you have seen it.
Eleanor held the dress up to the light, admiring the style and grace of the piece. Perhaps it was time to offer internships, if this is what her daughters could do with no training.
She walked to Lucy's room and hung it up in the wardrobe. The room was still really bare. Schoolwork was littered all over the desk and her laptop was on.
Eleanor started reading the essay on the screen.
When she had finished, she decided to talk to Lucy about college visits. She would need all the help she could get, with the competition she faced.
Sorry it's been so long, but next chapter will be up soon, I promise. This was a very difficult chapter to write.
