An Evening Soirée

"Hello, Penelope!" Jeff boomed from the top of the stairs as he trotted down to greet his guest. "It's good to see you again!"

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward pulled off her pink kid gloves and slipped them into her pink alligator handbag and unwrapped the gauzy pink kerchief from her golden hair. Jeff took her hand and kissed it.

"It's good to see you, too, Jeff. The weather is miserable in England and my sheep counter broke down so I thought I'd pay you a social call," the aristocrat said distractedly. "Parker! Be careful with the luggage!"

"I'll send Kyrano down to help," Jeff offered, watching the embattled chauffeur hauling several bags at once up to the house.

"No, that won't be necessary. Parker is more than capable of handling it." Penny looked around as if seeing the Villa for the first time. "Where are the girls? I thought they'd be here to greet me. They usually are."

"Sally just brought Mae back from Thunderbird Five, and Jerrie is recuperating from an attack during a rescue yesterday. I'm not sure what Christa's doing."

"Oh dear, I hope Jerrie will recover soon." Penelope said as they mounted the stairs to the balcony by the lounge. "And I was hoping that Valentina would be here. It seems I have just missed her."

"Yes, I'm afraid you have." Jeff was aware, as were they all, of the friendship between the youngest Tracy and the aristocrat. To Valentina, Penelope was a mentor and someone who she held in high esteem, while Penelope found in Val a mind she could mold to her own liking.

There was a brief silence as Penelope entered the lounge. She frowned at the portrait of herself, placed at an angle to the casual pictures of the Tracy daughters. "I really should ask Christa to paint a different portrait of me. That particular pose does not flatter me at all."

"Oh, I think it's a fine likeness," Jeff replied, bristling a bit at Penelope's implied criticism of Christa's artistic abilities. In fact it was a good likeness, a touch too good as it showed a few of the small imperfections in Penelope's face. Jeff, however, preferred it to a touched-up portrait. It reminded him of the real woman and not an ideal.

"Hmmph. Well, if you like it, Jeff, then I shall not insist on another sitting," Penelope said with a smile for the Tracy patriarch. Kyrano entered the room, bowing.

"Your room is prepared, milady," he said quietly. "I will serve tea promptly at four. If you will accompany me?"

"Oh, thank you, Kyrano. That is very kind of you," Penelope reached up and planted a chaste kiss on Jeff's cheek. "I will return once I have freshened up."

"I look forward to it, Penny," Jeff said with a soft smile. Just then, Ruby made an appearance.

"Lady Penelope, what a pleasant surprise!" the older woman gushed, taking Penelope's hands in her own and kissing her on both cheeks. "I had no idea you were here until Sally told me on her way back from the pool." Ruby held Penelope up to her granddaughters as a standard of how a "lady" should comport herself. She was glad for Penelope's influence over Valentina and wished the Brit held the same sway over her other grandchildren. But she was not happy about Penelope's obvious infatuation with her son-in-law.

"How are you, Ruby?" Penelope asked, returning the greeting. "It is such a pleasure to see you again. I am going to my room to freshen up. We can talk on the way."

"Of course," Ruby agreed as the two women left the room, arm in arm, Kyrano in their wake.

"Is the coast clear?" came a voice from the balcony. Jeff turned to see Sally standing there, a towel around her neck, her hair wet and shining.

"I suppose so, if you're avoiding Penelope today," Jeff said mildly as he sat back down behind his desk. "Though I don't understand why you would want to, Sally. She could be a good friend if you'd let her."

"No, Dad, I don't think so. She and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of matters," Sally responded. "Besides, I'm too independent minded for her taste. She likes people she can influence."

"Like me?" Jeff challenged, looking at his oldest squarely.

"Yes, in a way. But I was thinking more of Val," Sally admitted. Jeff smiled slightly. He knew his oldest to be outspoken and blunt when the occasion called for it. It had made for conflict between the sisters time and time again while they were growing up as Sally, taking her role as surrogate mother very seriously, would point out errors her sisters made without taking into consideration the method she used to point them out. He liked to think that Sally had mellowed as she had gotten older and especially after her stint in the Air Force, where ranking officers tended to use the same methods. But there were times when she showed that tendency towards outspokenness which she had inherited from her grandmothers. Both of them.

"I'm going to shower and dress for dinner, Daddy," she said, coming to him and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Later, gator," Jeff quipped. Sally turned on her way into the study and grinned.

"In a while, crocodile."

Jeff chuckled and got back to chasing down more information on that potentially lucrative new proposal.

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Dinner was a different affair with Penelope in attendance. Whereas usually the air was full of banter and joking and the food was passed from person-to-person, family-style, and the girls came to dinner more or less as they were, when Penelope came to visit, the table was more subdued, each person was served individually by Kyrano or Parker, and the girls dressed up. Penelope would sit at Jeff's right hand, the spot usually reserved for guests and the spot occupied by Sally when there were none. In response, Sally usually would select a spot at the other end of the table, as far away from Lady Penelope as she could get.

Jeff looked down the table at his daughters, all clustered at the opposite end of the table, chatting quietly and virtually ignoring the lovely lady who sat by his side. It saddened him because he had hoped they could find a friend in Penelope should he someday decide to make her his wife. It was a decision he had contemplated before, but he wanted to be sure that the relationship between Penelope and the girls was on solid, friendly ground before he made any move in that direction. So far, that friendly ground had not developed, at least not with the older four girls.

Christa turned to speak to him. "Daddy, we'd like to have a fire down on the beach tonight, if it's okay with you."

"Sure, Christa. I know you'll take the proper precautions," Jeff replied. He glanced over at Penelope, and had an idea. "Do you mind if Penelope and I join you? I promise I won't complain about your music."

The girls all looked at each other, caught off-guard. Finally they all looked to Sally, who nodded fractionally.

"Sure, Daddy. Come down when you feel like it," Christa replied.

Jeff beamed. "We'll be there."

After dinner, the girls met in Sally's suite. Each girl had her own suite of rooms; a living room, bedroom, bath, and a workspace for following whatever outside pursuits held her fancy. Christa's had been turned into an art studio, while Sally used hers to design aircraft. Mae's was taken over by pictures of movie and televid stars as well the fashions she designed and sewed for herself and her sisters. JC's was a photography darkroom to develop the underwater pictures she was fond of taking, while Valentina's was covered with racing memorabilia; she had once thought of becoming a NASCAR driver, but her grandmother (with Jeff's full support) had put a stop to that dream very early.

"So, what do we do now?" Christa asked. "Daddy and the pink poodle will be there to spoil our fun."

"I'm bringing the smores anyway," JC said. "Daddy will eat them even if 'her Ladyship' declines."

The girls turned to Sally, who was quietly musing in one corner, her feet up on the coffee table. Finally she brought them down and smiled, looking at each of her sisters.

"I think this might be a good time for Operation: Blackmail," she turned to Mae. "You got the goods, Mae?"

Mae smiled broadly. "Oh, yes. I've got exactly what we need. That friend of mine uploaded it the middle of last week. It's good!"

"Okay. Don't forget to bring it down to the fire."

Christa turned to Mae. "Are you sure you have copies? She's more than likely to throw away whatever you bring. Right into the fire."

Mae's smile became serene. "I have copies in more places than I can remember. Including some that neither she nor Val can get to."

The girls all chuckled. "Okay, then," Sally said. "Let's go have our beach fire."

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Within an hour, there was a small party in full swing on the beach. The popular group, Cass Carnaby and the Cass Carnaby Five, was blaring from a portable player and a good-sized fire crackled in a sand pit, fed by pieces of driftwood that sat outside the circle of light which the blaze gave off. JC sat on a smooth rock, leaning in with a long, 3-tined fork to roast marshmallows in the flames and build smores with plenty of chocolate bars and graham crackers. Tin-Tin was dancing with Mae, and Brains and Christa made up another dancing couple. Sally sat on the sand next to Jerrie and ate smores while watching the dancers and singing along with the music.

"Hello, Sally, Jerrie," Jeff's voice came from out of the darkness and made Sally jump. He and Penelope appeared from the shadows, the latter dressed in pink capris and a dark pink tank top with an open, light pink blouse tied at the waist.

"Hey, Dad. Hi, Penelope," Sally said amiably. "Pull up a piece of beach and join the party."

Jeff frowned briefly at the dancers, especially at Christa and Brains, then looked down at Sally with a smile, his face clearing. "Don't mind if I do," he said, sitting down. "Come on, Penny. Take a seat."

"Jeff, I thought I'd asked you to bring a blanket," Penelope reminded him. "Would you please go back to the Villa and get one?"

Jeff sighed inaudibly, and got back on his feet. "Of course, Penny. I'll be right back." He trotted off into the dark again. Sally gave JC a look, and the younger woman nodded slightly.

"Hey, Tin-Tin! We forgot the cooler of drinks. Can you go get it for us? I think it's on the patio by the pool," JC called over the music. The dancers stopped, and Tin-Tin indicated he would go. Christa whispered in Brains's ear and the engineer nodded, then caught up with the Malaysian, indicating a desire to help. Once they were out of earshot, Penelope turned off the music.

"Good. Now we can all have a little girl-talk," she said, standing before the fire with her arms crossed. "I'm sure that you've all noticed the attention that your father's been paying to me lately."

"No, I can't say that I have," Sally said coolly. The other girls said nothing. JC continued to make smores and offer them to her sisters, who accepted the treats.

Penelope looked down her nose at the oldest Tracy girl. "Well, he has been. So much so that I have a feeling he's going to ask me to marry him soon." She paused, waiting for a reply, and when there was none, she continued. "And since that is likely to happen, I'd like to make some issues straight between us."

"I don't think it's likely that you and Daddy will be getting married," Mae interrupted, licking her fingers free of chocolate.

"Oh? What makes you say that, Mae?" Penelope asked coldly.

"Well, I doubt he'd want to marry you after seeing what you've been doing with Francy," Mae replied. She handed over a small envelope. Penelope began to look through the contents. "A photographer I know saw you and Francy on one of the topless beaches along the Riviera. He knew that Francy and I had been... more than friends once upon a time, and took those to show me who Francy was hanging around with these days. He had no idea that it was a... family friend."

Penelope's face turned bright pink as she thumbed through the incriminating photos. The other girls stared at Mae. Up until now they'd had no idea what "the goods" consisted of. Gotta get Mae to show us what she has! Sally thought as she turned her attention back to the aristocrat. Penelope finished going through the packet and she looked up at the Tracy girls with narrowed eyes.

"So, you think you can blackmail me, eh? To do what?"

"To step out of our father's life," Sally said solemnly.

"Oh really? Have you forgotten that he needs me? That I am his top agent in International Rescue? Have you forgotten that, Miz Sally Ride Tracy?" Penelope spat.

"You might not be even that if Daddy sees those photos," JC said blandly. The hair on the back of Sally's neck went up; when JC used that tone of voice, it meant that she'd reached the end of her tether and was ready to do battle.

"Well, he's not going to see them, now is he?" Penelope scoffed. She threw the packet into the fire and snapped her fingers. "That for your blackmail attempt!"

"Oh, come on now, 'Penny'," Christa said sarcastically. "You don't think that Mae doesn't have copies of those photos, do you? I mean, Mae can be an airhead sometimes, but not that much of one."

Mae nodded. "She's right. I'm not that much... hey!" She reached out and smacked Christa on the arm. Christa rubbed the spot and smiled.

"I haven't forgotten, Penelope," Sally suddenly said. "We'll let you keep your position as an IR agent. But no more coming on to our Dad. No more trips to Bongo-Bongo. No more invitations to your estate. And no more unannounced visits here, either." She smiled sweetly. "Or not only will Dad see those photos, but Mae will ask her photographer friend to publish them. Right now, she's the one who is keeping him from doing so."

"Oh? Suppose I tell him about your blackmail attempt?" Penelope sneered. "I'm sure he'd love to know that about his perfect little girls."

Sally smiled lazily. "What proof do you have? You just threw the photos into the fire. And if you try, the pictures will be published. And the magazines left around the house for Daddy to see." She shrugged. "You know how Mae is with those gossip rags of hers. Always forgetting where she put them."

"Hey!" Mae protested again.

"And what exactly am I supposed to tell him? He'll ask why I'm not seeing him anymore, you know," Penelope said grimly.

"That you've given things a lot of thought and have decided that he's just too old for you," JC piped up. "That you want to find yourself a younger man, someone more your own age."

"You've thought this all out very well, haven't you?" Penelope remarked. "Well, I shall take your... offer... into consideration."

"You do that," Sally said. "But don't be too long about it. It's a limited time offer, you know."

"Yes, I can see that." Penelope let out a deep breath. "I'm going back to the Villa. Please tell your father that I am tired and went to bed."

"Certainly," Christa said politely. "Goodnight, Lady Penelope."

Penelope turned without another word and disappeared into the darkness.

Sally let out a sigh of relief when she had gone. "That went better than I expected."

"Yes, it did," JC agreed, just before biting into another smore.

"I wonder where Brains and Tin-Tin are?" Christa observed, looking off into the night. "I was afraid they'd walk in on us."

"I'm glad they didn't," Sally said. "And I'm glad that Daddy hasn't come back yet with that blanket."

"Who says I haven't?" came a deep voice from the shadows. All of the girls' eyes got wide and JC dropped her treat as Jeff came into the circle of light, a blanket over his arm.

"Daddy!" Mae squeaked.