Stepmother's House — Charlotte Bramwell

Dear Laura,

It was a great surprise to us that you did not see fit to attend your father's funeral…
Mother

The last Laura Kester had heard of her playboy father was that he was still alive -- and unmarried! Who was this enigmatic woman who'd signed herself “mother” -- and who'd waited until Mark Kester's death to inform his neglected daughter of her existence?

Sally Wakefield Kester was an elegant, handsome, poised woman -- born to have servants wait upon her. Her son Randall was like the Greek god Apollo; her daughter Melissa was beautiful, long-limbed, and sensuous. And Wakefield Manor was a palatial mansion nestled between towering mountains.

Why, then, did the second Mrs. Kester invite a poor, unsophisticated girl like Laura to her home? It certainly wasn't because of motherly love…