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seemed now as though he was not destined to appear, and in some ways Edward Driscoll felt guilty. It was no wonder she had never found a man. She was too busy running his home and taking care of her sister. But now at least she was gone ' he felt no regrets at all, as he looked at Audrey's pretty face, the peach silk hat cast aside now, and her thick brandy-colored hair cascading to her shoulders. She was a damn pretty girl ' a fine-looking woman, he added silently to himself. Well, why not? She was looking at him expectantly, and he had forgotten what she'd said, but she seemed to expect an answer.
    Why not what? He looked both confused and annoyed, and Audrey realized that he was tired after the long day, and he'd probably had a little too much champagne, not that it would do him any harm, and he was drinking a cognac now. But he was by no means drunk, as she looked at him hopefully.
    Why not go to New York, Grandpa? We could go in September when we come back from the lake.
    Why would we want to do that? But he knew why. He had been young once ' he had had a wife ' she hadn't been all that fond of tramping about, though. It was Roland who had had that bug, their only son, and God only knew where he'd gotten his hunger for travel and adventure. It was probably in Audrey's blood, Edward Driscoll mourned silently to himself, but it had killed his son and he wasn't about to let Audrey indulge it. New York's a damn unhealthy place, too crowded, and too far away. You'll feel better after you get to the lake, Audrey. You always do. Edward Driscoll glanced at his watch then, and stood up with only a slight wobble in his knees. It had been a big day for him, not that he was likely to admit it. I'm going up to bed, and you'd best do the same, my dear. You've had a long day, getting that child married off. He patted her arm on their way upstairs, which was an unusual gesture for him, and that night he stood at his bedroom window, watching the lights shine in hers, wondering what she was doing, and what she was thinking. He would have been startled had he seen her sitting at her dressing table, staring into space, her pearls in her hand, thinking of the trip she wanted to take, halfway around the world and of the pictures she longed to take when she got there. Her grandfather, this house, her sister, the wedding, all were forgotten as Audrey sat and dreamed, and then at last, she shook herself back to the present, stood up, stretched, and went to her dressing room to get undressed. It was only a few minutes later when she slid between the cool sheets and closed her eyes trying not to think of all she had to do the next day. She had promised to take care of everything for Annabelle while she was away ' overseeing the new house ' the painters ' the furniture due to arrive ' the wedding gifts to put away ' as always, she would do it all ' as always ' faithful Audrey ' she drifted off to sleep dreaming of Annabelle and Harcourt ' and a house on a tropical island as her grandfather shouted to her from the distance ' Come back ' come back ' but she wouldn't.

Chapter 3

    Typically, in spite of the three weeks she spent at Lake Tahoe at the Driscoll summer home, Audrey managed to have everything in order for Annabelle and Harcourt when they returned in late September. There was a small but adequate staff in the pretty little stone house that Harcourt had bought for them. The rooms were painted in the colors Annabelle had wanted, the furniture was in place, their car had even been serviced and Audrey had seen to it herself that it was started regularly so that the battery didn't die in their absence.
    Your sister certainly does know how to run a house, doesn't she? Harcourt commented at breakfast after their first night back, and Annabelle smiled at him. She was happy he was pleased. She had been afraid that he would be angry with her for letting Audrey do it all, but she did it all so well, why not let her? Harcourt appeared to agree.