senses; I had to.
"Tony, I'm not Leigh. I'm Annie! Annie!" For a long moment he didn't move or say
anything and I thought I had gotten through to him,
but then he untied his bathrobe and let it drop to the
floor. In the dim light spilling in from the sitting
room, I could see that he was completely naked. Oh no! I thought. He's in a dream, moving
through a fantasy, and there's no one here to help me,
not even that horrible nurse. I was going to shout for
Rye, but then I wondered if I would cause Tony to
become violent or even more crazed, and Rye slept in
the servants' quarters, so far away, anyway, there was probably no chance he would hear me. My only hope
was to talk Tony back to sanity.
"Tony, it's not Leigh; it's not Heaven. It's
Annie, Annie. You're making a mistake, a terrible
mistake."
"I think I loved you from the moment I set eyes
on you," he replied. "Jillian's beautiful. She will
always be beautiful, but beautiful like a butterfly. If
you touch her, she won't be able to fly and she will
fade and die. That kind of beauty belongs locked up in
a glass case, to be seen, appreciated, but never loved
and experienced like your beauty, Leigh. Jillian's a
picture to hang on the wall; you're a woman, a real
woman," he added, his voice full of sensuous
meaning.
He sat on the bed and reached out for me. I
cringed.
"TONY! You're my great-grandmother's
husband. I'm Annie, Heaven's daughter, Annie. You
don't realize what you're doing. Please, get off my bed