Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

aunt, and my cousin, not to mention the army of

people Bunny brought to the house to prepare for the

wedding ceremony and reception, occupied too much

space on the stage of my attention for me to think

about Linden. He withdrew to the sanctity of his

studio, claiming he was down to the actual creation of

a work now and had to give it all of his time and

energy. He kept the studio door locked and some days

didn't even come out to eat. Joan and Mary were

instructed to bring his food to him, knock, and wait

for him to open the door.

I saw how much this troubled Mother. so I tried

to diminish her concern by assuring her that it was a

good thing for him to have something he loved

occupying his time. Meanwhile. I couldn't help

trembling every time I thought about what his

painting would be like. If he dared do a picture of me in the nude. Thatcher would be more upset than I would be, and no matter how good were Linden's intentions, it would in the end cause more problems for us than we presently suffered. A negative reaction on our parts would surely send Linden into a deeper depression as well. Sometimes. when I moved through the house and passed his studio door. I found

I was holding my breath.

And then, it seemed to me, the famous second

shoe dropped.

.

The women of the Club d' Amour had been so

confident when they predicted Thatcher would insist

on setting up a prenuptial agreement between us. I had

nearly forgotten all about that. and when I did think of

it once or twice. I smiled to myself because we were

so close to our wedding date and he had not yet even

broached the subject.

Then, five days before our wedding, he paused

at the door as he left for work and, as if just