Follow a Stranger

verandah and looked from one to the other of them, her face

still very flushed. Kate wondered if she imagined the hurt

look in the other girl’s dark eyes.

They flew back to England, as scheduled, but Pallas did not

go with them. She was to proceed to Paris with Jean-Paul, it

seemed. She did not seem to find the news unpleasant,

when her mother told her about the plan, although she did

give Kate an uncertain look. Kate deliberately avoided any

discussion of the subject. Pallas clearly wished to mention it

to her but Kate had decided that the less said the better.

If Pallas ever did marry Jean-Paul, she thought, it would

be much later than her family had at first intended. That

the girl had great fondness for him she no longer doubted.

She had watched her carefully and come to the conclusion

that Pallas was attracted to him, and valued his friendship.

She would probably learn to love him maturely as she grew

older. But there was plenty of time for that.

Arranged marriages might have worked well once upon a

time, but Pallas had a more modern life in front of her. She

would be working like a Trojan for the next five years, at

least, and would have no time for romance. It would be

much better to let her discover for herself whether she

wanted to marry Jean-Paul or not.

When they said goodbye, Pallas unexpectedly flung her

arms around Kate. “Goodbye, Kate. Thank you.”

Kate hugged her back. “I e

xpect I’ll see you again some

day, Pallas. It’s been a wonderful holiday. I’m very grateful

to you and your family.”

After what you did for me?” Pallas made a face at her.