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"Not that I can recall, but I wasn’t really looking I was a little distracted by trying to reh"

"You have been attacked a few times since you joined the company"

"I think I’d have to take off my socks to count the tiht now"

"Are you still cold? I could waret you another blanket"

I had to fightat his tone, which was so concerned it was almost frantic "I’o hoet packed for tomorrow Relax"

We ordered a pizza for dinner and ate in front of the fire, Owen tossing Loony the occasional bite ofholiday "I know I , but James and Gloria really aren’t that bad They’ll be nice to you I don’t think you have anything to worry about I did tell you they dress for dinner, though, didn’t I?" I nodded "And they don’t believe in hanging around the house in your pajamas They’re fully dressed before they leave their bedroo the fact that Rod had already briefed me on that detail "Y’all don’t have any weird traditions I need to know about, do you?"

"Nothing I can think of, but then I don’t knohat you ht think of as weird" I knew if our positions were reversed, my brothers would be likely to invent traditions to put hih and make him think were a normal part of our holidays, but so like that

When I couldn’t delay getting ho me to my door, in case the sidewalks decided to sI doubted I’d get much sleep, anyith my nervousness about the next day and the likelihood I’d end up reliving the day’s adventures

Sure enough, as soon as I tried to shutthe blissfula scene fro the sudden terror of plunging through the ice The memory was vividly painful, and as it flashed before my eyes, I could swear I recalled a hint of silvery sparkles in the air just before I fell

I sat bolt upright in bed, shouting, "Ethelinda!" Fortunately, my roommates were out of town so I didn’t have to explain that I wanted to bangtaken so long to dawn on iven what I’d seen froive her credit, it had worked, in a way Me falling through the ice had given Owen the chance to play both rescuer and co time in the aftererous for both of us, and as the deal with setting up a situation where I became a victim and he had to rescue ?

I was teive her a piece of hts, and it would be just like her to answer my summons while I was at Owen’s foster parents’ home No, it was best to leave her out of this until after the holiday In the ns of silvery sparkles

Late the next rew more and more jittery, we stepped off the train onto a platform in a bare-bones station that consisted of little more than cement platfors down a flight of steps, then paused to look around In a parking lot across the street, so by a car waved Owen nodded and headed over

The car was a Volvo wagon, several years old but inBeside it stood a tall, slendera dark hat and coat He looked like the Hollywood stereotype of the perfect, proper English butler, the kind who runs the household and keeps his clueless employer out of trouble Owen hadn’t mentioned servants, but I shouldn’t have been surprised, as rich as these people supposedly were

But then Owen reached him and the man shook his hand fondly It looked like that was as close to a hug as this ot Up close, I could see that he was quite old, with pale, watery blue eyes and skin that looked ale

"Katie, I’d like you to meet Jaue, Katie Chandler"