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By this time Gemma was looking perturbed behind Byron. Celeste decided not to make a scene, brushing past Byron to walk into the spider's parlor. But she would remain the spider, she decided fiercely. And he would stay the fly.
'Can I take your coat?' he asked with false gallantry.
'I'll keep it on, thanks’ she countered. 'It's chilly in here. Must be all the marble. Is Ava home? I'd like to see this miraculous transformation you told me about.'
'What transformation?' Gemma asked, frowning.
'Ava's lost a lot of weight lately; Byron explained. 'Smartened herself up no end. Sorry, Celeste, but she's not home. She's out with her fiancé.'
'Fiancé!' Gemma gasped. 'Ava's engaged?'
'She is indeed. To a charming Italian man by the name of Vince Morelli.'
'Good heavens, when did all this happen?'
'Just this past weekend.'
Gemma's smile faded suddenly. 'A lot of things happened this past weekend ... '
'Apparently’ Byron muttered. 'Which is why I asked Celeste to bring you here. We're about to sort one of them out. Lenore's waiting for us in the family-room. Shall we?'
He waved the two women on ahead. When Gemma looked reluctant to move, Celeste took her elbow and guided her down the corridor past the grandfather clock.
Lenore was sitting on one of the huge leather sofas that dominated the large casually furnished room, looking so intimidating chic in black silk culottes and a crisp white blouse, her glorious red hair twisted into an elegant French roll, that Celeste had a sudden insight into Gemma's unexpected attack of insecurity outside the front door.
Nathan's first wife made her feel inadequate and inferior. It was the old Rebecca syndrome, understandable given the gap in their ages, not to mention the enormous gap in their relative life experiences. What a pity Gemma didn't understand that it was these very differences that had probably attracted Nathan to her in the first place.
'Hello, Lenore,' Gemma said stiffly.
Celeste watched Lenore like a hawk. There was no doubting she was giving a marvelous performance as the halting and embarrassed 'other woman' as she stood up, went to come forward, then stayed where she was.
'This is even worse than I thought it would be,' she said with just the right amount of dismay. 'I mean ... I do see that I might have been insensitive to your feelings, Gemma, taking far too much of Nathan's time. But you have to believe me when I say there has been nothing of a sexual nature between us since our divorce.'
'That's a lie,' Gemma said in a low, shaking voice. 'Even if I somehow made a mistake on Sunday though I don't see how-I saw you and Nathan kissing one night in this very house!'
Was that sincere astonishment on the woman's face? Celeste wondered. Or more brilliant acting!
'It was in the billiard-room,' Gemma added bitingly. 'The very first night I came to stay.'
Lenore seemed to recall something but her glance Gemma's way was full of pity. 'Dear girl, that was nothing.'
'Don't patronize me,' Gemma lashed out. 'The kiss I saw was not nothing!'
Lenore had the good grace to blush. 'Maybe not nothing,' she admitted unhappily, 'but it was nothing for you to worry about.'
'I hate to interrupt,' Byron said carefully. 'But a kiss all those months ago is not what Lenore has graciously come here to explain. Please, Gemma, let's try to keep some perspective in all this. At that time, you hardly knew Nathan. Or am I wrong about that?' he queried softly.
Celeste blinked when Gemma sliced an icy look Byron's way. This girl could really take care of herself! For some unaccountable reason, she felt a fierce pride. It must be sisterhood empathy, she reasoned after a momentary confusion. But truly, this girl kept evoking feelings in her that she'd never felt before.
'There was nothing between Nathan and myself when I came to live here,' she returned firmly.
'And there was nothing between Nathan and myself last weekend,' Lenore insisted.
'How can you possibly say that?' Gemma attacked, her face flushing with anger and outrage. 'I heard you myself and I could not misinterpret what I heard.'
'What exactly did you hear?' Lenore asked, looking not at all like a guilty party, merely a concerned one.
Celeste was totally perplexed.
Gemma was staring at Lenore as well. 'You want me to repeat it in front of others?'
'Word for word.'
'Word for word!'
'Yes.'
'Oh ... I. . .I'm not sure I can remember it all word for word.'
