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I curled up in my bed and snuggled against my comforter and pillow, scented and soft. Had I been dreaming before I had gone to bed? Was Ethan Hunter really sleeping in the room just across and down the hall from mine? I almost felt it necessary to get up and peek into his room to see if he was truly there. I laughed at myself and then thought only of his eyes, his smile, and his lips on mine. As I had hoped, sleep quickly embraced me and took me prisoner for the night.
I thought I was still dreaming when I heard my name being whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes and saw Ethan kneeling beside my bed. He had one of our Heaven-stone emblem guest robes on. My eyelids flickered, and I sat up.
“I heard your father and Lucille go down to breakfast,” he said. “I can’t believe you slept longer than me.”
“I had more dreams to finish,” I told him, and he laughed. He sat on the floor and continued to look up at me. “Didn’t you sleep well?”
“Oh, sure. That bed’s a cloud. I just thought it would be sort of impolite not to join them for breakfast. I don’t want your father thinking I’m a goof-off.”
“I thought you said you weren’t concerned. You were here to see me.”
“I know, but I don’t like coming off like some playboy or something.”
“I won’t let him think that. Don’t worry.”
“We could get dressed and down there before they leave, just to show our faces.”
“I’d rather you crawled in here,” I said, lifting the blanket.
He smiled, looked at the door, and shook his head. “I’d be too nervous.”
“Lucille promised never to walk in without my permission again.”
“Later,” he insisted, and rose. “Let’s do it. Let’s get down there before they leave.”
I supposed I should be more understanding. To me, Daddy was just Daddy, but to someone outside our family, he was surely a superstar. That was especially true for Ethan now that he had seen firsthand what the Heaven-stone family estate was. Reluctantly, I agreed, and he rushed off to dress. I moaned, rose, and scrubbed my face, brushed my hair, and threw on a robe. He returned fully dressed in a pair of slacks and a nice, sparrow-blue shirt.
“You could have gone down in a robe, too,” I told him. “Now I’ll look like the spoiled one.”
“It’s all right for you to look like that, but not me. You’re the Heaven-stone princess.”
I know I should have been flattered, but when he said that, it made me wince. All my life, I had been trying not to be a princess in the eyes of my schoolmates and especially at Collier, but it did seem impossible. Like some member of royalty, I merely had to ask Daddy for something and it would be at my feet pretty quickly.
“Don’t get stuffy on me,” I warned. He laughed but looked a little anxious. It was as if he were afraid to do anything that would upset me even in the smallest way. “I’m just kidding, Ethan. Let’s go before you have a nervous breakdown and need my therapist.”
That brought smiles back to his face, and we giggled our way down the stairs and to the dining room. They were just finishing up, but I have to say Daddy did look pleased that we had come down before they left.
“I assume you both slept well,” Lucille said.
“This house could cure insomnia,” Ethan told her.
Daddy laughed, and Ethan began asking him just the sorts of questions about some of our artifacts, portraits, and framed documents that he loved. In fact, it was Lucille who reminded him how late it was getting.
“We’ll finish the conversation at dinner tonight,” he declared. “Lucille has asked our store manager, Richard Erickson, to personally greet and escort you about the store. I understand you’re going to lunch with Perry, Semantha?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Great. I hope you enjoy the day,” he said, and then he did something he hadn’t done for quite a while. He paused at my chair and waited for me to rise to kiss him good-bye. I looked at Lucille, but I couldn’t tell from the expression on her face whether that pleased or annoyed her. It was just that sort of emotionless expression that Cassie had used to call a mask of ice.
And like a mask of ice, it left me with a chill.
And left me with a question. Does it eventually melt away, or does it come and go whenever the truth would be too dangerous to know?
Like a Dream
OUR DAY AT one of the Heaven-stone Stores turned out to be as educational for me as it was for Ethan. Because I was with him and he knew so many important questions to ask, I learned so much more about Heaven-stone Department Stores’ operations. Neither Daddy nor Lucille was there in the morning. They were attending some chamber of commerce meeting, but it was clear that Richard Erickson had been given strict orders to devote most of his energies and attention to our tour.
Richard Erickson had been with the store for nearly ten years, but I couldn’t recall saying five words to him or him saying five words to me before this. It was clear that he was nervous, however. He was tall and thin, with delicate facial features for a man, including eyelashes girls like Ellie would kill to have. He continually cleared his throat before replying and shifted his light brown eyes from me as if he were afraid of being discovered incompetent. Later, Uncle Perry would reveal that most of the managers in the stores were concerned about Lucille’s scrutiny of their work and were just as nervous as Mr. Erickson, who probably suspected that I might report back to her. Uncle Perry didn’t seem critical of Lucille for this, but he didn’t seem to approve, either.
