Deceptions Read online

  DECEPTIONS

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  DECEPTIONS

  "It's been a really great evening, Nicholas," Elizabeth said.

  "For me, too," Nicholas agreed. He reached across the table to take Elizabeth's hand.

  She smiled at him over her coffee. Then she caught sight of someone coming toward her across the restaurant. He looks just like Todd! Elizabeth thought.

  Elizabeth blinked and looked again. It was Todd!

  But Todd was in Sweet Valley with his parents, celebrating his mother's birthday.

  Wasn't he?

  No, Elizabeth realized. Todd Wilkins was right there, in that very room. And he was fast approaching her table.

  Elizabeth had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her brain reeled. What had gone wrong?

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  One

  "Come on in," Elizabeth Wakefield said to the tall, good-looking boy who was standing in the doorway of the Wakefield home. But Nicholas Morrow didn't move. His dark, soulful eyes were riveted on Elizabeth. She gave him a ravishing smile and nodded in the direction of the living room. "Follow me. I'll tell my sister you're here." She turned and started toward the living room, where the party her twin was giving in her honor had already begun.

  "No. Wait!" There was an urgency in Nicholas's tone that stopped Elizabeth in her tracks.

  She turned slowly to face him and saw that he was staring at her as if mesmerized. It was the last thing on earth she expected from Nicholas Morrow.

  She'd expected him to be handsome. And as Elizabeth glanced at Nicholas, she could see that his finely chiseled features looked as if they belonged on the cover of a magazine. His face would have put a Greek god to shame.

  She'd also expected him to be intelligent. And she could tell that was true just by looking into his eyes.

  She could tell he was compassionate, too. But someone who would be struck dumb at the sight of a girl? That was one thing Elizabeth had not heard about Nicholas Morrow.

  What she had heard came mainly from her twin, Jessica, who practically went into a trance every time she mentioned Nicholas's name. That was not unusual for Jessica when a new and handsome boy appeared on the scene, but this time she'd gone overboard. Elizabeth had hardly been home an hour after her release from the kidnapper who'd held her captive before Jessica brought up the subject.

  "Oh, Liz!" she'd said, with a sigh that only she could manage. "I've met the most gorgeous boy."

  "Who is it this time?"

  "Nicholas Morrow, that's who!"

  "Nicholas Morrow. OK, tell me more."

  "Well, he's rich!"

  "And he drives a Porsche, like Bruce Patman, right?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Wrong! Oh, Liz, he's so fabulously rich he can afford to zip around in a Jeep." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, and Jessica quickly added, "Of course his father drives a Ferrari."

  "Well, that makes everything all right," Elizabeth muttered.

  Jessica assumed an injured look. "For your information, Liz," she said, "even people as rich as the Morrows have their troubles. Like Nicholas's sister, Regina." Jessica shook her head sadly. "She's deaf," she said in a low, sorrowful voice.

  "Deaf? How awful!"

  "Yes, she's been that way all her life. But except for a funny lilt in her speech and the tiniest slur, she's just like everyone else."

  "But if she can't hear . . ." Elizabeth began.

  "She reads lips," Jessica explained. She was quiet for a few seconds, then she suddenly burst out with, "Liz, you should see the Morrow house. It's like a castle. You'd think the Queen of England lived there."

  "Or Prince Charming?" Elizabeth asked, laughing.

  A dreamy, faraway look crept into Jessica's eyes. "Or Prince Charming," she whispered.

  Yes, Prince Charming, Elizabeth thought as she looked at Nicholas now. No wonder Jessica had likened this handsome boy to a fairy-tale prince. And it was no wonder that Nicholas had confused Elizabeth, at first, with Jessica. The twins were identical down to the dimples in their left cheeks.

  Both girls were spectacular, with the all-American good looks that made them the envy of every other girl in Sweet Valley. They were a perfectly proportioned five-foot-six, with silken, sun-streaked hair that fell to their shoulders. Their sparkling blue-green eyes were the color of the Pacific Ocean. The only difference between the two was the tiny mole on Elizabeth's right shoulder.

  But beyond their appearance, Jessica and Elizabeth were as different as night and day. While Jessica prided herself on being clever and devious, Elizabeth was fairness and honesty personified.

  Now, as Elizabeth looked at Nicholas, she noticed the hesitation in his eyes. In an effort to put him at ease, Elizabeth held her hands out to him. "Come on in," she said. "The party's just beginning."

  Elizabeth led Nicholas into the living room, where The Droids, Sweet Valley High's own rock band, were belting out a fast, frantic number.

  Todd Wilkins, Elizabeth's steady boyfriend, stood by the makeshift bandstand, tapping his foot to the music. When he saw Elizabeth his face lit up with a broad smile, and he started toward her.

  At the same time Jessica, who was talking to Cara Walker, her best friend, caught sight of Nicholas Morrow. Breaking off her conversation in midsentence, she started across the room toward him. Just then, the doorbell rang.

  "Jess, can you get it this time?" Elizabeth asked.

  "I was just on my way," Jessica lied. She gave Nicholas a dazzling smile.

  "Hi, Jessica," Nicholas said absentmindedly.

  At that moment The Droids switched from heavy rock to a dreamy, romantic song. Nicholas turned to Elizabeth. "Want to dance?" Nicholas asked.

  Elizabeth had hoped to dance with Todd. But as hostess, she thought she should try to make Nicholas feel welcome. "Sure," she replied, smiling at Todd. She led Nicholas over to where her best friend Enid and Enid's boyfriend George Warren were dancing.

  Nicholas put an arm around her, and they began to glide across the floor gracefully. Nicholas smiled down at Elizabeth. "Hey!" he said suddenly. "This song is about you!"

  Elizabeth listened intently to the words Dana Larson, The Droids' lead singer, caressed in a soft, sexy voice. "Oh, Nicholas!" she said. "You're right. She must have written it to welcome me back." Her eyes misted over. "Aren't the kids at Sweet Valley just the greatest?"

  "You can say that again."

  "Think you'll like it here?" Elizabeth asked.

  "I already do," Nicholas said, gazing into her eyes. But when he said, "You're very pretty, Elizabeth," she decided it was time to direct the conversation away from herself and toward him.

  "My spies tell me," she murmured, "that you're going to college next year."

  "Your spies are right," he said. "What else?"

  "That you're taking this year off to learn your father's business."

  "Right again! And did they tell you what that business is?"

  "Computers," Elizabeth said.

  "Very clever, those spies of yours. Any more information to report?"

  "Not much," Elizabeth said. She cocked her head to one side, as if trying to remember. "On the other hand, my crystal ball . . ."

  "Ah-ha! The crystal ball! What does that say?"

  "First," she said, laughing, "that the music's stopped."

  "Then?" Nicholas prompted.

  "That I haven't said hello to Robin Wilson and Allen Walters, and I should do it now." With that as an excuse, Elizabeth headed for the buffet table set up in the kitchen, where Robin and Allen had just gone.

  Allen had just poured a Diet Coke for Robin and was heaping his own plate with sandwiches when Elizabeth came up and threw her arms around Robin.

  "Liz!" Robin cried out, hugging her. "It's so wonderful that you're home again."

  Elizabeth placed a finger on her friend's lips. "Let's not talk about the kidnapping anymore," she said. Now that the ordeal was behind her she wanted to forget about it.

  Robin changed the subject. "Isn't it great," she said enthusiastically, "that Max Dellon passed English and his family's letting him play with The Droids again. Oh, Liz"—she gave Elizabeth a thumbs up sign—"everything's OK now. Just like before."

  "He's about the best guitar player I've ever heard," Nicholas said, breaking into the conversation.

  "Nicholas!" Elizabeth exclaimed, spinning around in surprise. "I thought . . ."

  "Not that I'd let you out of my sight?" he asked, laughing and shaking his head.

  Elizabeth laughed too, but she felt uncomfortable. Stammering slightly she asked, "Robin, have you met Nicholas Morrow?"

  Robin nodded. "Last week," she said. "At the party the night you—" She was about to say "disappeared," but she stopped just in time. "What I mean is . . ."

  It was an awkward moment, but Nicholas glossed over it by holding out a hand to Elizabeth. "Hey," he said, "let's dance." Before she could say a word, he whirled her off.

  As they danced, Elizabeth noticed her twin watching them from the other side of the room and trying to make eye contact with Nicholas. But he was
so absorbed with Elizabeth that he didn't notice Jessica.

  Elizabeth's own mind was on Todd, and her eyes scanned the room until they lit on him. She gave him a warm smile, an unspoken promise that she'd join him as soon as the dance was over.

  Nicholas, though, had other ideas. When the music ended, he said, "Come on. I want you to meet Regina. I just saw her come in with a group of kids from your school."

  "I'd love to meet her," Elizabeth said truthfully, "but I have to—"

  "I'd like you to meet her, too," Nicholas interrupted. "And I know she'd love to meet you. Besides, I want to see if she's OK. As an older brother I worry about her from time to time. Doesn't your brother worry about you?"

  Elizabeth smiled. Eighteen-year-old Steven, like everyone else in the family, was more likely to worry about Jessica. But these days Steven was so preoccupied with his girlfriend, Tricia Martin, who had leukemia, that he rarely thought about anything else.

  Instinctively Elizabeth looked around the room for him but didn't see him. That figured. As gloomy as Steven had been lately, he was probably in his bedroom now, avoiding human contact.

  But she forgot about Steven as Nicholas led her through the downstairs rooms of the Wakefield house in search of his sister. He spotted her out on the patio, surrounded by Cara Walker, Lila Fowler, and a couple of other girls. Nicholas beamed with pride at the sight of his sister. "Regina's so friendly she attracts all kinds of people," he boasted.

  And so rich, Elizabeth thought, that she attracts snobs like Lila and Cara.

  As Nicholas and Elizabeth approached, Regina turned to greet them as if she'd known instinctively that Nicholas was there. Now Elizabeth saw how pretty Regina was. About the same age as the twins, she was tall and statuesque, as perfectly proportioned in her way as Jessica and Elizabeth were in theirs. She wore a stunning blue dress that highlighted her eyes and set off her light complexion. Her hair, worn long, was as dark and wavy as Nicholas's.

  "Oh, Nicholas!" Elizabeth gasped. "She's so pretty."

  Nicholas grinned. "You know, Elizabeth, I was really worried about how the move to Sweet Valley would affect Regina. But look at her now! She's going to fit right in with all the others."

  "Oh, I'm sure she will," Elizabeth said. But if Regina was anything like her brother, who didn't seem to have the least desire to flaunt his wealth, those "others" weren't likely to include Cara Walker and Lila Fowler.

  Nicholas spoke directly to his sister. She watched his face closely, reading his lips. "Regina, I want you to meet Elizabeth Wakefield," he said.

  Elizabeth held out her hand. "Hi," she said pleasantly. "I'm really glad to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

  "Most of it from my brother, I'll bet," Regina said, giving him a quick glance and a brilliant smile. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm all he thinks about." She turned back to Elizabeth. "I've heard lots about you, too, Liz," Regina said. "And I'm dying to hear more." She was so sincere that Elizabeth didn't hesitate to answer her questions.

  A few were about the school newspaper, The Oracle. "Are you really one of the reporters?" Regina asked.

  "Yes, I am."

  "And do you really write 'Eyes and Ears'?" Regina was referring to the light, humorous gossip column Elizabeth wrote each issue. Although her name never appeared above it, almost everyone knew that Elizabeth was the author.

  "Yes, I write the column," Elizabeth said.

  Regina clapped her hands together. "That's great, Liz. I've read it, and I think it's really good." She gave Elizabeth a warm, bright smile. "You must be about the most talented person in the whole valley," she added.

  Elizabeth blushed, while Cara and Lila giggled. When Nicholas said, "You must be about the most modest, too," the red in Elizabeth's face deepened.

  Still, a happy glow spread through her. She was on top of the world. Even the bored look on Lila Fowler's face and the slightly envious one on Cara Walker's didn't bother her, but she was glad when her sister's friends drifted back to the living room.

  Watching them disappear, Elizabeth decided it was time to get back to the party. "Come on," she said. "Everyone will wonder where we are."

  She linked arms with Regina and Nicholas and led them back into the house.

  Two

  The party was in full swing when the doorbell pealed again. "I'll get it," Elizabeth sang out. She dashed past Todd, who said, "That must be Ken Matthews. He told me he was coming late."

  She gave him a quick, affectionate smile. "Ken Matthews?" she joked. "The name rings a bell." With Nicholas still at her heels, she sped to the door to greet the blond-haired captain of the Sweet Valley High football team.

  Elizabeth went back to the living room, followed by Nicholas and Ken. She smiled at both of them, then looked around for Todd. Her gaze fell on Jessica instead. She was talking to Lila Fowler, but was scanning the room intently.

  The moment Jessica caught sight of Elizabeth with Nicholas at her elbow, her smile faded, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. Without waiting for Lila to finish her sentence, she strode purposefully toward her twin and Nicholas.

  Catching up with them, Jessica ignored Elizabeth completely. But she gave Nicholas a dazzling smile. "Nicholas Morrow!" she said, scolding him gently. "Honestly, I've been looking absolutely everywhere for you. You know," she added, tilting her head coyly, "there must be a hundred and thirty-seven people waiting to meet you."

  "Me?" Nicholas asked. "I thought I'd met everyone in town by now."

  Jessica shook her head vigorously. "You haven't met my mother and father yet," she said, taking his arm. "Or my brother, Steven. Or dozens of people. And they're all dying to meet the famous Nicholas Morrow." With that, Jessica dragged him off, turning back once to shoot a triumphant glance in Elizabeth's direction.

  Her parents were in her father's den, and Jessica quickly made the introductions. Nicholas shook hands with dark-haired, athletic-looking Ned Wakefield, and then with the twins' mother, Alice Wakefield. It was clear that Jessica and Elizabeth got their sun-kissed good looks from her. Like them, she was tanned and slender, with the same spun-silk blond hair. Youthful and very attractive, Alice Wakefield could easily have been mistaken for the twins' sister instead of their mother.

  Nicholas spoke to the Wakefields politely, but his mind was still on Elizabeth. When Jessica led him off in search of Steven, he followed her reluctantly.

  They found Steven at last, sitting on his bed and looking glum. Jessica was glad he was alone. If Tricia Martin had been with him, she would have been obliged to introduce Nicholas to her, too.

  Jessica had nothing against Tricia herself. But her father had a reputation as the town drunkard, and practically everyone knew that her sister, Betsy, was on drugs and frequently in trouble with the law, Jessica was ashamed to think that her brother was in love with a girl from that kind of family.

  That night, though, Jessica had been spared the embarrassment she always felt in Tricia's presence. She introduced Nicholas to Steven, and the three of them made polite conversation for a few minutes before Jessica led Nicholas back down to the living room.

  Jessica was glad she was wearing her sexiest outfit, a slinky black pantsuit with a plunging neckline. Preening a little, she smiled, then lowered her eyes. "It's so wonderful you're here in Sweet Valley, Nicholas," she said. "Honestly, this place was getting to be such a bore!"

  "And that will change now that I'm here?" Nicholas asked.

  Jessica looked at him. His eyes were cool, his gaze steady. But his lips twitched in a faint smile. Jessica heaved a great sigh. She could tell Nicholas was interested in her. "Oh, yes," she said. "Things will definitely change now that you're here!" She gave him a bewitching smile.

  Nicholas averted his gaze and searched the crowd for Elizabeth. At last he saw her chatting with her best friend, brown-haired, emerald-eyed Enid Rollins.

  When Jessica noticed she'd lost his attention, she snapped her fingers in front of Nicholas's face. "Hey, where are you?" she asked.

  Nicholas looked down into Jessica's eyes. "I'm in the clutches of one of the most beautiful girls in the world," he said.

  A rush of excitement swept over Jessica. "How about dancing with her then?" she asked. "The music is terrific, and you must be about the world's greatest dancer. At least from what I've seen." Jessica took one of Nicholas's hands. "So what are we waiting for?"