Page 21 (1/1)

"I tried not to fail her Everyone else in her life had--her father was a crireat pleasure to take her from them More pleasure than I should admit to"

"You smiled Would you like me to take the handcuffs off now?"

"I would like that, but I’ue And of course, I’er at hiry at hi to save you fro the police and the FBI and the whole orld that soin to care less what the whole world thinks ofher back"

"Of course," she said, s her skirt over her knee "But will the police help? I’enuine question If you think they could help, I’ll call thesley be damned"

Father Stearns turned his eyes from her and exhaled

"No, they won’t help They can’t It’s been thirty years, but I haven’t forgotten what Marie-Laure was like Obsessive nature Clearly she wants revenge On e She’s not trying to steal a jewel and abscond in the night She wants to hurt us She’s died before I don’t think she’s afraid to die again My fear is that she plans to take Eleanor with her Police involvereater risk"

"Marie-LaureKingsley’s sister was your wife?"

"Wasis sley missed her terribly back ere in school After their parents died, he and Marie-Laure had little but each other and even then they were separated by an ocean--she in Paris, he in Aain"

"She ca her over It had been over a year since they’d seen each other--brother and sister And yet less than a week after being reunited, Marie-Laure simply announced that she was in love withof a shock For you and Kingsley"

"It was an unpleasant shock My heart was very sley seemed so happy to have her back with hione for a walk alone Marie-Laure followed one a mile when she stopped and confessed she’d fallen in love with me I tried to stay calm, rational I said to her that I was sorry, but I didn’t feel the same But she shouldn’t take it personally I told her I wasn’t capable of loving her like someone else could She said she didn’t care"

"She cared I promise, she cared"

"I told her that if she wanted, we could be e in name only I told her about the trust fund I’d receive if I sley could have every penny of it God knows I didn’t want a cent fro in return from her She could be as free as she wanted to be with anyone she wanted All I asked was that she let al reasons I thought it would be best if we at least lived together for a few reed to that?"

"Readily She said she understood, and that it was kind of me to offer Kind, she said More like stupid and foolish I’m not stupid very often, Grace That was stupid"

"You were in love, not stupid They’re two very different diseases with identical sy like that before I wanted to tell her but Kingsley wanted to wait I thought she’d understand eventually"

"But she didn’t understand" It wasn’t a question If Marie-Laure had kidnapped Nora, clearly the woman didn’t understand

"I didn’t even allow us to kiss at our wedding That was one of the conditions I kneould hurt Kingsley too ht, as soon as ere alone, she threw herself at reed to, she pretended like it hadn’t happened She acted as if the only words I’d said to her that day in the woods were ‘We can be ive you tunnel vision I know I had it with Zachary I only saw the possibilities, never the danger"

"Love erous She touchedtouched inflashed across his eyes--an old memory, perhaps, and a very bad one at that

"Was it difficult to rebuff her advances? After all, if she looked anything like Kingsley, she ht her so Soirl they’d ever seen But she held no interest for me None whatsoever All her beauty was on the outside I cared for her because Kingsley did That was all"

"I’e your mind eventually Woe when they won’t If Marie-Laure believed in the power of her own beauty, I’e your o when she couldn’t"

"She was less than pleased, obviously"