signpost announced: MARGUERITE DUMANEY .
It was an oft-voiced complaint since his arrival on the island. âA more natural environment,â Annie replied absently. She continued briskly, âOkay. You and Pudge have talked this over.â
âHe said Happyâs upset about tonight, but he canât get her to tell him why. I told him weâd try to talk to Swanson, see if we can find out what heâs up to. Iâll lead him on, then announce at some point that Laurelâs my mother and see how he reacts.â
âHappy.â Annie shook her head. âThatâs even sillier than Pudge.â
Max shot her a glance as he squeezed the Ferrari between a silver Bentley and Pudgeâs blue Ford. âWeâre here.â
âJust another partyâ¦â Annie murmured.
Six
A NNIE HAD ALWAYS enjoyed the flair for originality on Browardâs Rock, unlike Hilton Head, where zoning laws determined everything from house color to yard decorations (one plantation prohibited childrenâs treehouses). As she and Max walked up the wide shallow steps that rose in gradual tiers, she realized zoning laws might have a reasonable basis. This houseâor should she call it a mansion or a castle or perhaps an architectâs nightmare?âcertainly qualified as individual. It rose at different points to four stories and the building materials included chrome, bronze, quartz, cedar, stucco, New England clapboard, tile and copper. Rooms jutted at odd angles and the whole was topped by a thirty-foot aluminum tower. A red banner wrapped around the tower was no doubt intended to look like a candy cane. It looked more like a spaceship in an alternate universe.
âIâd guess six,â Annie whispered.
âHuh?â Max took her elbow and steered her around a fifteen-foot, barnacle-encrusted, upside down anchor leaning against a pile of rocks. Holly garlands dangled from the flukes.
âSix architects at least.â She stopped, pointed to her right. âMax, look at that!â
A glistening glass whale spewed varicolored streams of water in the center of an enormous bricked fountain. Just past the fountain, huge boulders arched, creating a cave. Tongues of fire flickered within the cave mouth.Suddenly the fiery plumes billowed and a dragonâs head emerged. A Christmas wreath bright with holly encircled the dragonâs neck.
âCool!â Max marveled. âDo you suppose Hot Breathâs guarding a treasure chest?â
âWith golden doubloons? Maybe.â She moved swiftly ahead. âI guess you can take the girl out of the movie set, but you canât take the movie set out of the girl. Letâs see what other wonders await us.â
They walked on a cobbled bridge across a moat to a massive wooden door studded with glass bubbles pulsing with changing colors: orange, purple, rose, aqua, gold. Each bubble was encircled by a miniature Christmas wreath. Max pulled a silver chain and a bell pealed.
When the door openedâ
Max smiled. âMr. and Mrs. Darling.â
âAnnie was relieved to be welcomed by a slender older woman with a perfectly ordinary appearance. Dark red hair drawn sleekly back emphasized a bony face and intelligent eyes. A Christmas tree brooch was the only spot of color against a high-necked navy silk dress.
âIâm Alice Schiller. Please come this way.â She led them down a two-story flagstone hall. Along the wall marched a row of miniature spruce trees decorated with shiny green bows.
Annie was a little disappointed at the dusky medieval tapestries. Surely an old set of armor or a moose head or flickering candles would have been more appropriate. Their shoes clicked on the stones and far ahead light spilled through an arch and voices murmured.
Their guide stepped aside for them to enter a long drawing room where Marie Antoinette might have enjoyed cakes and conversation, the plush furniture decorated with carved
Ony Bond
Hope Callaghan
Stephen King
Lyn Brittan
Claire Adams
Jordyn Redwood
LeAnn Ashers
William Kotzwinkle
Iris Deorre
Willard Price