The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality Read Online Free PDF Page B

was true. When Albert and I had parted ways in anger so many years ago, I had pushed the whole household out of my mind, out of my heart. I didn't know any better.
    Now Hélène heaped up a plate for me, and I fell upon her delicious cooking just like I had in the old days. Hélène sat and watched me eat, but Émile was antsy and excused himself. With so much activity going on in the house, he was not comfortable unless he was keeping an eye on things.
    "What's going on?" I asked Hélène. She replied with a series of emphatic French gestures, but said nothing. So I looked questioningly at beautiful Jenna Yumans, whom I had been pretending to forget about while I was eating.
    "We're having a huge auction, Jack, as I'm sure you can see. But I think Albert would like to be the one to tell you what it means."
    "Where is Albert?"
    "I don't know. The auction upset him. I'd be surprised to see him before tomorrow afternoon when this will all be over. In the meantime," she said, running her fingers back through her hair and shaking it out, "he asked me to make his apologies, and to see to your comfort. Do you like to ride?"
    I tried not to swallow, but I couldn't help it. "I love to ride, Jenna."
    "Then that's what I think we ought to do after we finish eating."
    "You're not auctioning off the horses?"
    "Not all of them." The smile was enigmatic, teasing.
Oh, Albert, hurry up before I do something I'm going to regret!
    An hour later, dressed in borrowed jeans and boots, I swung myself into the saddle of a big brown stallion named Pollux. He was spirited and required quite a tight rein at first. That was all right with me. I would give him his head when the time was right. Jenna had changed into a light blouse, some kind of a cross between shorts and a skirt, and tennis sneakers. She was riding a roan mare named Cassie. We took a trail straight into the woods from behind the stables. Soon the droning of the auctioneer faded away, and we were alone among the whispering trees.
    "Are you a good rider?" I asked her.
    "Are you?"
    "I think the main thing is not to break your neck."
    "I heard you used to ride to hounds."
    "Albert and I used to do that sometimes on a break from school."
    "It's hard to imagine you at one of those schools."
    "It was kind of an accident that landed me there."
    "I didn't think you looked very comfortable in those clothes you arrived in. You look more relaxed now."
    "They weren't my clothes."
    "I know. They were in the drawer in the car."
    She was still talking to me in that teasing manner that made everything she said seem like a little puzzle to be solved. I was very intrigued by her. I was also making the pessimistic assumption that she was Albert's girlfriend, and that I was a damn fool to be falling for her. "Whose clothes are they?"
    She looked at me, and her lower lip made a little pout. She didn't want to talk about clothes. She wanted to flirt. "They're your clothes," she said. "They were bought for you."
    "They fit me very nicely."
    "Of course. Why would we buy you ill-fitting clothes?"
    "But how did you know my size?"
    She shrugged. The pout became more pronounced. She seemed a little offended. What had I done? We rode in silence to the edge of a broad meadow.
    "Actually I think all clothes are stupid," she said. "Do you mind if I take mine off?" And she did, without bothering to get off the horse. First the blouse went flying. Then, with the sound of ripping Velcro, the skirt went flying after it. And there she was quite irresistibly buck naked in her tennis sneakers.
    "Are you a good rider?" she asked.
    It took me a moment to find my voice. "I have had a compliment or two in my time."
    "Then let's see if you can catch me." Snatching up the reins like some crazed and exquisite Amazon, she whacked her heels into Cassie's flanks, and shot off across the meadow like a vision in a dream.
    With a whoop, I gave chase. If anything I had underestimated Pollux's spirit, for he was mad for a gallop. In a few