THE ADULTS AT ROSEWOOD were up befo

THE ADULTS AT ROSEWOOD were up before dawn on Saturday, Jordan coming downstairs to fix Margot and Travis a thermos of coffee for the road and pack sandwiches, energy bars, and fruit for lunch. She made enough for Travis and Margot, as well as Felix and Tito, who were going as grooms for the four horses they were bringing to the Lexington show. Jade would hit the concession stand to gorge on fries, hot dogs, and cheeseburgers—her only opportunity to eat “normal” food as she liked to put it.
Jade came down last, wearing a pair of sweatpants over her breeches and a hoodie to protect her white ratcatcher. She made a beeline for the stool at the kitchen’s island and plunked down on it. Freshly showered, her hot pink mop was several shades darker than usual.
“Morning,” Jordan said, taking the orange juice out of the fridge and pouring a glass for her.
“Morning,” Jade mumbled. “What’s the weather forecast?” she asked before taking a sip.
“It’s supposed to stay clear.”
“Hot?”
“No, around seventy degrees.”
“That’s good. My sleeveless ratcatcher’s got a wicked stain on the front.”
Ketchup or hamburger grease, Jordan would guess, but she wisely kept her mouth shut about the probable cause. Five-thirty in the morning was not the time to enter into a discussion of Jade’s eating habits. “I think they’re still having a spring sale at Steadman’s. You could pick up a new one next week.” Jordan got Jade’s favorite cereal—Lucky Charms—out of the pantry and placed it in front of her.
“Not a great idea.” She grabbed the box of cereal and poured a small mountain of it into a bowl, splashed milk over it, and dug in.
“Why not?” she asked.
She munched in silence, then said, “ ’Cause if I go Adam Steadman will just send Brian over to help—as if I’m so clueless I can’t figure out my freakin’ size. Picking up my chaps was embarrassing enough.”
“What happened? Did he ask you out?”
Jade shrugged.
Which meant yes. “Brian seems like a really nice young man, Jade.”
Another shrug.
“Maybe you should consider it. It’s not like you wouldn’t have loads to talk about. Or you could go out as a group, with a bunch of frie—” Before the word was even out, Jade’s face went all tight and closed.
“Friends?” Jade finished for her sarcastically. “Newsflash, Jordan. Brian is, like, ultra popular because he’s a good rider, cute, and a senior. So here’s a pop quiz for you. Guess who’s in his set of friends and who would not hesitate to start talking about me and Mom in a real unfriendly way if she thought I was going after the guy she’s hot for?”
“I don’t think he’s the type to believe what Blair says. He’d see that they were lying about you, and just being cruelly vicious about Nicole.”
“Cruelly vicious but not necessarily lying about Mom?”
Never, ever again would she engage in a serious discussion at five thirty-nine A.M. with her razor-sharp, seventeen-year-old half-sister, she promised herself.
“Yes, lying,” she said, looking straight into the green eyes Jade had inherited from her mother, and wishing she’d never read a single damned page of Nicole’s diary. “You know how much your mom cared about Dad. Her life revolved around you and him. The airplane crash allowed the good citizens of Warburg to engage in their favorite activity: gossipmongering. Easy as pie to do when the deceased can’t defend themselves.” Realizing how bitter she sounded, she drew a deep breath. “Jade, the last thing Margot and I want is for you to spend your life worrying about what people like Blair Hood are callous enough to say. Be true to yourself.”
Jade’s expression was as inscrutable as a sphinx’s. “Yeah, whatever. Are any of those muffins left?”
Seizing on the change of topic like a lifeline, Jordan nodded energetically. “Yes, do you want me to heat it up while you get your things?”
“No, that’s okay. I’m going to eat it on the go.”
“You’re all packed and ready? Gloves? Boots? Riding jacket?”
“Check, check, check.”
“And you remembered hairnets—those new black ones Margot bought for you?” In an effort to camouflage Jade’s wild hair color, Margot had been forced to purchase a heavier-than-standard-weight black hairnet, as the lighter blond ones weren’t up to the task of hiding the dye job. Hunter judges were sticklers for a rider and horse’s turnout. Shocking pink hair, like unpolished field boots, a mount’s dirty white sock, or a sloppily braided mane, could very well detract from her and Aspen’s score.
“Ugh,” Jade said, rolling her eyes in disgust. “Yeah, they’re in my bag. Sunblock, too,” she said, preempting Jordan’s next question.
At the sound of the kitchen door opening, both sisters turned their heads. A second later, Ellie Banner stepped in from the mudroom, the slippers she liked to wear when cleaning the house in one hand, the Marc Jacobs satchel Margot had given her for Christmas in the other. “Good morning, girls.”
“Hi, Ellie,” Jordan said. “Thanks for coming in early.”
“Happy to.” She placed her handbag on the granite island and slipped her feet into a pair of sheepskin-lined moccasins. “Good luck today, Jade.”
“Thanks, Ellie. Did you happen to see the van in the courtyard as you drove up?”
“Yes, and the ramp’s down.”
“Gotta grab my stuff then,” Jade said. Shoving a last spoonful of cereal into her mouth, she hopped off the stool and ran up the back stairs.
“Bring down the stained ratcatcher while you’re at it,” Jordan called after her.
“Gotcha,” Jade bellowed from the top of the stairs.
The two women listened to the sound of her sprinting down the length of the hall. “I’d have to eat twenty bowls of Jade’s cereal to have that kind of energy,” Jordan said as she tore off a paper towel and wrapped the blueberry muffin in it for Jade to eat on the road.
“Mrs. Radcliffe had that same energy. She just didn’t know how to direct it in a positive way.”
“That’s an interesting way of looking at it, Ellie. I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of Nicole’s, uh, energy like that.” When her stepmother was alive, Jordan’s main objective was to deflect her barbs and accusations, and if that wasn’t possible, then at least to emerge relatively unscathed. To analyze their cause would have consumed too many precious hours, hours she had no desire to give to a woman who had never shown her or Margot a drop of affection. It was enough to understand that for some reason their stepmother regarded them as adversaries, rivals for her husband’s affection. More painful still was the knowledge that nothing they did would ever change Nicole’s attitude.
“It’d be easier for someone in my position to see Mrs. Radcliffe differently, now wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, I guess it would.” Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to avail herself of Ellie’s more objective view of Nicole by asking who might be the “TM” Nicole had written about in her diary with such excessive praise. Discussing Nicole’s private journal was too awkward, and felt too much like a betrayal. “How about a cup of coffee, Ellie?” she asked instead.
“That’d be lovely. Then I’ll start on the laundry.”
“Oh, by the way, that ratcatcher I asked Jade to bring down? She was telling me it has a stain on it. Would you mind soaking the shirt in a mild bleach solution?”
“If it’s Jade’s, the stain’s most likely chocolate or ketchup.”
Jordan smiled as she set a cup of coffee in front of their housekeeper and passed her the milk and sugar. “That’d be my guess, too.”
Ellie added milk and two teaspoons of sugar to her coffee and stirred. “I’ll give it a soaking but I can’t promise that anything will get out a stain that’s already set.” She took a sip of her coffee. “So are you off to the barn now?”
“Yes. After the van leaves I’m going to help Ned and Andy muck out and give a few horses a workout.”
Ellie nodded comfortably. “I’ll just put in this load of wash, then go up and dust the third floor so I can hear the little one when she wakes up.”
Jordan checked her watch. “You’ve got some time yet. Olivia is usually up by six-thirty, Kate and Max a little later. If you want, I can nip back up to the house once we’ve turned the horses out.”
“No need for that. Patrick’s going to be working in the garden. Once they’ve eaten and gotten dressed, they can help him pick flowers for the house and do some watering. They love that. By then Miriam should be here.”
Fully aware of how much more she could get done helping Ned and Andy if she didn’t have to run back up to the house, she said, “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“It’s no cakewalk raising three small children on your own. On top of that you’re starting a new business and pitching in with the horses. I’d say you deserve all the help you can get.”
Feeling self-conscious, Jordan lifted her shoulder in a light shrug. “I’m only able to do these things because I have all of you. It’s the women who tackle the demands of single parenthood and work all on their own who deserve our admiration.”
“True, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re also doing a really hard thing. Just because you’re a remarkably capable woman shouldn’t mean you have to do it all on your own.”
Jordan swallowed the painful lump in her throat as she recalled one of Richard’s complaints. He’d accused her of being so self-sufficient that he felt unneeded, and that in turn had justified his affair with Cynthia—Cynthia had needed him. She wondered why Richard hadn’t cared enough to perceive what Ellie seemed to understand so easily. The pounding of feet on the stairs saved her from replying.
Jade dropped from the last step with a thud, her boot and gear bag slung over her shoulder, the stained white ratcatcher balled in her hand.
Jordan straightened. “You set?”
“Yes, indeedy. Here you go, Ellie.” She put the shirt on the counter.
Ellie flattened it and frowned at the large brown splotch.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Orang dewasa di ROSEWOOD adalah sebelum fajar pada hari Sabtu, Jordan datang bawah untuk memperbaiki Margot dan Travis termos kopi untuk jalan dan paket sandwich, Energi Bar, dan buah untuk makan siang. Dia membuat cukup untuk Travis dan Margot, serta Felix dan Tito, yang akan sebagai calon pengantin pria untuk empat kuda mereka membawa ke Lexington menunjukkan. Jade akan memukul konsesi berdiri ke ngarai kentang goreng, hot dog, dan burger keju-nya-satunya kesempatan untuk makan "normal" seperti yang dia suka untuk meletakkannya.Jade turun terakhir, mengenakan sepasang celana olahraga celana nya dan hoodie untuk melindungi nya ratcatcher putih. Dia membuat berkemas bangku di dapur pulau dan mengempaskan bawah di atasnya. Baru mandi, pel pink nya panas adalah beberapa warna lebih gelap dari biasanya."Pagi," Jordan berkata, mengambil jus jeruk dari kulkas dan menuangkan segelas untuknya."Pagi," gumam Jade. "Apa itu ramalan cuaca?" Dia bertanya sebelum mengambil seteguk."Itu seharusnya tetap jelas.""Hot?""Tidak, sekitar tujuh puluh derajat.""Itu baik. Ratcatcher tanpa lengan saya punya noda jahat di depan."Saus tomat atau hamburger grease, Jordan akan menebak, tetapi ia bijaksana terus mulutnya menutup tentang kemungkinan penyebab. Lima puluh di pagi hari bukanlah waktu untuk masuk ke dalam diskusi tentang Jade kebiasaan makan. "Saya pikir mereka masih mengalami penjualan musim semi di Steadman's. Anda bisa mengambil minggu depan baru." Jordan mendapat Jade favorit sereal-jimat-keluar dari dapur dan meletakkannya di hadapan."Bukan ide bagus." Dia menyambar kotak sereal dan menuangkan sebuah gunung kecil itu ke dalam mangkuk, memercikkan susu lebih dari itu, dan digali."Kenapa tidak?" Dia bertanya.Dia Berlin dalam keheningan, kemudian berkata, "karena jika aku pergi Adam Steadman hanya akan mengirim Brian atas untuk membantu — seolah-olah aku tidak begitu mengerti I cant mengetahui ukuran freakin ' saya. Mengambil bab saya adalah memalukan cukup.""Apa yang terjadi? Apakah dia meminta Anda keluar?"Jade mengangkat bahu.Yang berarti ya. "Brian tampaknya seperti seorang pria muda yang benar-benar baik, Jade."Lain mengangkat bahu."Mungkin Anda harus mempertimbangkan itu. Hal ini tidak seperti Anda tidak akan punya banyak berbicara tentang. Atau Anda bisa pergi sebagai sebuah kelompok, dengan sekelompok frie-"sebelum kata itu bahkan keluar, Jade wajah pergi semua ketat dan tertutup."Teman?" Jade selesai untuknya sinis. "Newsflash, Jordan. Brian adalah, seperti, ultra populer karena ia adalah seorang pengendara yang baik, lucu, dan senior. Jadi di sini adalah kuis untuk Anda. Tebak siapa yang mengatur teman-teman dan yang tidak akan ragu-ragu untuk mulai berbicara tentang saya dan ibu dalam cara yang nyata tidak ramah jika dia pikir aku akan setelah orang dia panas untuk?""Saya tidak berpikir ia adalah jenis untuk percaya apa yang dikatakan Blair. Dia akan melihat bahwa mereka berbohong tentang Anda, dan hanya menjadi kejam kejam tentang Nicole.""Kejam kejam tetapi tidak berbohong tentang ibu?"Pernah, pernah lagi akan ia terlibat dalam diskusi serius di tiga puluh lima - sembilan pagi dengan nya tajam, tujuh belas tahun saudari tiri, ia berjanji dirinya."Ya, berbohong," katanya, langsung menatap mata Hijau giok telah diwarisi dari ibunya, dan berharap dia akan pernah membaca satu halaman terkutuk Nicole Diary. "Kau tahu berapa banyak ibu Anda peduli tentang ayah. Hidupnya berkisar Anda dan dia. Kecelakaan pesawat memungkinkan warga baik Warburg untuk terlibat dalam aktivitas favorit mereka: gossipmongering. Mudah sekali untuk melakukan ketika almarhum tidak membela diri." Menyadari bagaimana pahit dia kelihatan, ia menarik napas dalam-dalam. "Jade, hal terakhir Margot dan saya inginkan adalah bagi Anda untuk menghabiskan hidup Anda khawatir tentang apa orang seperti Blair Hood tak berperasaan cukup untuk mengatakan. Menjadi jujur pada diri sendiri."Jade ekspresi itu sebagai gaib sebagai sphinx. "Ya, apa pun. Apakah salah satu muffin orang kiri?"Merebut pada perubahan topik seperti tali penyelamat, Jordan mengangguk penuh semangat. "Ya, Anda ingin saya untuk panas itu sementara Anda mendapatkan hal-hal?""Tidak, tidak apa-apa. Aku akan memakannya pada pergi.""Kau berkemas? Sarung tangan? Sepatu bot? Berkuda jaket?""Cek, cek, cek.""Dan Anda ingat hairnets — mereka baru hitam yang Margot membeli untuk Anda?" Dalam upaya untuk kamuflase warna rambut liar Jade, Margot telah dipaksa untuk membeli hairnet hitam-daripada-standar-berat, sebagai pirang ringan yang tidak untuk tugas menyembunyikan pekerjaan pewarna. Hunter hakim itu sticklers untuk rider dan kuda pemilih. Mengejutkan rambut merah muda, seperti kasar bidang Sepatu, kaus kaki putih kotor gunung atau sebuah surai sembarangan dikepang, bisa sangat baik mengurangi dari padanya dan Aspen's Skor."Ugh," Jade mengatakan, memutar matanya dengan jijik. "Ya, mereka ada di tas saya. Sunblock, juga,"katanya, preempting Jordan's pertanyaan berikutnya.Pada suara pembukaan pintu dapur, saudara kedua berubah kepala mereka. Sedetik kemudian, Ellie Banner melangkah masuk dari Amman, sandal dia suka untuk mengenakan ketika membersihkan rumah di satu tangan, tas Marc Jacobs Margot telah diberikan padanya untuk Natal yang lain. "Selamat pagi, perempuan.""Hai, Ellie," kata Jordan. "Terima kasih untuk datang lebih awal.""Senang." Dia ditempatkan tas nya di pulau granit dan menyelinap kakinya ke sepasang sepatu berlapis kulit domba. "Semoga hari ini, Jade.""Terima kasih, Ellie. Apakah Anda kebetulan melihat van di halaman sebagai Anda melaju up?""Ya, dan jalan ke bawah.""Harus ambil barang-barang saya kemudian," kata Jade. Mendorong sesendok terakhir sereal ke dalam mulutnya, dia melompat turun bangku dan berlari menaiki tangga kembali."Membawa turun ratcatcher bernoda sementara kau di itu," Jordan memanggil-manggil istrinya."Gotcha," Jade berteriak dari puncak tangga.Dua wanita mendengarkan suara dia berlari di sepanjang lorong. "Aku harus makan dua puluh mangkuk sereal Jade memiliki semacam energi," Jordan mengatakan dia mengoyakkan dari handuk kertas dan dibungkus blueberry muffin untuk Jade makan di jalan."Ibu Radcliffe memiliki energi yang sama. Dia hanya tidak tahu bagaimana untuk menunjukkannya dengan cara yang positif.""Itu adalah suatu cara yang menarik memandanginya, Ellie. Saya tidak yakin saya pernah berpikir Nicole, eh, energi seperti itu. " Ketika ibu tiri masih hidup, Jordan yang tujuan utama adalah untuk membelokkan dia barbs dan tuduhan, dan jika itu tidak mungkin, maka setidaknya untuk muncul relatif tidak terpengaruh. Untuk menganalisa penyebab mereka akan telah dikonsumsi terlalu banyak berharga jam, jam dia tidak punya keinginan untuk memberikan kepada seorang wanita yang tidak pernah menunjukkan dia atau Margot setetes kasih sayang. Itu sudah cukup untuk memahami bahwa untuk beberapa alasan tiri mereka menganggap mereka sebagai musuh, rival kasih sayang suami. Masih lebih menyakitkan adalah pengetahuan bahwa apa-apa yang mereka lakukan akan pernah berubah sikap Nicole."Itu akan lebih mudah bagi seseorang dalam posisi saya untuk melihat ibu Radcliffe berbeda, sekarang bukan?""Ya, saya kira itu akan." Sayangnya, dia tidak akan memanfaatkan dirinya dari Ellie's lebih objektif pemandangan Nicole dengan meminta yang mungkin Nicole "TM" telah menulis tentang dalam buku harian dengan pujian berlebihan seperti itu. Membahas jurnal pribadi Nicole terlalu kaku, dan merasa terlalu banyak seperti pengkhianatan. "Bagaimana secangkir kopi, Ellie?" Dia bertanya sebagai gantinya."Itu akan menjadi indah. Kemudian saya akan mulai pada cucian.""Oh, by the way, ratcatcher bahwa saya bertanya Jade untuk membawa turun? Ia mengatakan ia memiliki noda di atasnya. Maukah Anda merendam kemeja dalam larutan pemutih ringan?"“If it’s Jade’s, the stain’s most likely chocolate or ketchup.”Jordan smiled as she set a cup of coffee in front of their housekeeper and passed her the milk and sugar. “That’d be my guess, too.”Ellie added milk and two teaspoons of sugar to her coffee and stirred. “I’ll give it a soaking but I can’t promise that anything will get out a stain that’s already set.” She took a sip of her coffee. “So are you off to the barn now?”“Yes. After the van leaves I’m going to help Ned and Andy muck out and give a few horses a workout.”Ellie nodded comfortably. “I’ll just put in this load of wash, then go up and dust the third floor so I can hear the little one when she wakes up.”Jordan checked her watch. “You’ve got some time yet. Olivia is usually up by six-thirty, Kate and Max a little later. If you want, I can nip back up to the house once we’ve turned the horses out.”“No need for that. Patrick’s going to be working in the garden. Once they’ve eaten and gotten dressed, they can help him pick flowers for the house and do some watering. They love that. By then Miriam should be here.”Fully aware of how much more she could get done helping Ned and Andy if she didn’t have to run back up to the house, she said, “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”“It’s no cakewalk raising three small children on your own. On top of that you’re starting a new business and pitching in with the horses. I’d say you deserve all the help you can get.”Feeling self-conscious, Jordan lifted her shoulder in a light shrug. “I’m only able to do these things because I have all of you. It’s the women who tackle the demands of single parenthood and work all on their own who deserve our admiration.”“True, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re also doing a really hard thing. Just because you’re a remarkably capable woman shouldn’t mean you have to do it all on your own.”Jordan swallowed the painful lump in her throat as she recalled one of Richard’s complaints. He’d accused her of being so self-sufficient that he felt unneeded, and that in turn had justified his affair with Cynthia—Cynthia had needed him. She wondered why Richard hadn’t cared enough to perceive what Ellie seemed to understand so easily. The pounding of feet on the stairs saved her from replying.Jade dropped from the last step with a thud, her boot and gear bag slung over her shoulder, the stained white ratcatcher balled in her hand.Jordan straightened. “You set?”“Yes, indeedy. Here you go, Ellie.” She put the shirt on the counter.Ellie flattened it and frowned at the large brown splotch.