pillows weren?t shaped like hourglasses. His head jerked up and he
looked around, alert for a fight.
?Oh, yeah,? he said to Helen as he remembered. His eyes relaxed
back into a sleepy daze. He smiled up at his family and stretched
until he winced, then rubbed at his sore chest, no longer in a good
mood. ?Little privacy?? he asked.
His mother, sister, and cousin all either crossed their arms or put
their hands on their hips. Humiliated, Helen tried to untangle herself
from the sheets and roll out of bed without attracting too much
attention. Cassandra spun on her heel and stomped out of the
room.
?Ari, help Helen,? Noel said gently as she saw Helen?s difficulty.
Then she turned and bellowed angrily down the hall. ?Hector! Get
in here and help your cousin!?
?I?m okay,? Helen protested as she stood up on tender legs, only
using Ariadne?s helping hand to maintain her balance. She realized
she was wearing that ridiculous scrap of silk Ariadne had the nerve
to call a nightgown, although that detail had escaped her notice the
night before when she decided to take her little stroll.
110/395
?Whoa! That?s . . . interesting,? said Hector as he arrived and saw
Helen.
?What?s interesting?? Jason asked as he passed in the hallway.
He poked his head in the door and saw what his brother was looking
at. ?Aw, damn!?
They both stared at Helen, half naked and totally busted as she
got out of Lucas?s bed. Then they looked at each other, threw back
their heads in unison and laughed.
?Okay, okay. Enough,? Lucas said defensively. ?She was worried
and came to check on me, but by the time she made it here she was