Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

an affair with a patient!

"On the other hand. I suppose I should be

grateful," she said with as plastic a smile as I had seen

her wear. "After all, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't

have Willow, now would we?"

Mother took no offense at anything Aunt Agnes

said. Afterward, she whispered to me and revealed

that my father had "described your aunt to a T." When Bunny arrived, she and my aunt took to

each other immediately, siding with each other at

every opportunity. That, too, brought smiles to

Mother's and my faces. Amou couldn't be idle and

went into the kitchen to prepare one of her Portuguese

chicken dishes with piri-piri sauce, a hot sauce so

delicious that everyone raved about it.

Margaret followed me about all day. She

explained at least a half dozen times why her husband

was unable to attend my wedding. Pressing business

concerns kept him from leaving Savannah. From the

way she spoke of him and their marriage, it seemed

that he devoted 90 percent of his time to his work and

10 percent to her, but she didn't seem to mind. She

went on and on about her social activities, her charity

functions, her full life, which to me sounded like a life

full of activities designed to avoid facing reality. Margaret was intrigued with Linden, who didn't

give her a moment of attention. however.

"Is he dangerous?" she asked in a whisper. "Only if you pester him," I said. She believed

me and kept her distance.

To keep her occupied and get her out of my

shadow, I introduced her to the Butterworth twins and

later to most of the Club d'Amour. She got along well