Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

"But you don't refer to yourself as Mrs. Lapel?" They all laughed.

"You don't give up your name when you get married, unless your husband's name has more cachet and importance than your own, that is." Marjorie said. "I can understand your wanting to be known as Willow Eaton."

"Really? You obviously don't know then that my father was Dr. De Beers, the renowned

psychiatrist." I said with a smile that could work for the devil. "De Beers is far better known than Eaton.'

"I was thinking more of the Montgomery connection," she said in defense.

I turned to her, my eyes firm.

"I am not ashamed of my mother or my brother. They happen to be wonderful people, sincere and caring people."

"That's wonderful." Marion said quickly. "I'm sure Marjorie would agree, wouldn't you. Marjorie?" she asked with the force of a sledgehammer.

"Yes," Marjorie said. "Of course."

"So you've invited me here because you're all very curious about me and how I came to win the heart of Thatcher Eaton." I said. "Is that it?"

"That's certainly a big part of the reason, yes," Sharon said eagerly. Marjorie raised her eyebrows.

"Why beat around the bush?" I asked.

She glanced at the others. They were all smiling now. I sat back.

"It was like walking into a fairy tale." I began. The air itself was electric between us. We could see nothing else but each other. I've always been skeptical of romantic love, but there it was, vibrant, pulsating, full of passion and not to be denied."

Their attention was glued to me, no one stirring.

"We courted. I left, but we couldn't keep apart. I think I said yes because I was afraid he would die on the spot if I didn't. That, as well as the fact that I was head over heels in love with him as well. We've done many romantic things together, and we look forward to doing them again and again for the rest of our lives," I concluded, looking from one to the other. They all looked incapable of speech.

"Wow," Sharon finally said. "I don't think I felt that way with either of my marriages. It's so unusual."

"Unusual?"

"She means here." Manon said. "Here, we see marriage as a result of good planning more than hot romance. First, we don't trust men

very much, do we. girls?"

"Very- much? We don't trust them at all." Marjorie corrected.

"For men, lying, betrayal. deceit, selfgratification are more natural than they are for women," Liana added.

"So we've formed something of an alliance, and we have invited you here today not, as you think, purely out of curiosity, but more to see if you are a good candidate for our club, which we call the Club d'Amour. the Love Club."

"What is it you do in this club?" I asked.

"First, we vow to always be honest with each other, and second, we vow to look after each other's, shall we say, romantic interests?"

The others nodded.

"Think of us as a sort of insurance policy, a Palm Beach insurance policy," Liana said, and they laughed.

"I still don't understand," I said.

"Each of us has a different piece of the pie here." Mallon continued. leaning over the table. "We all attend similar functions, socialize with many of the same people, but each of us also has a different specialty. an area of expertise, if you will. and that helps us to bring together a more complete picture of things. events. especially events that could and often do impact on one or another of us."

"Precisely," Marjorie said.