Page 31 (1/2)

"She's afraid of this scandal?"

"No Brokenhearted, yes, afraid of scandal, never She'd take ould coive it all up! That becaht find out ere father and daughter She wanted angster's daughter would be, like a gangster's wife

" 'Just let'Take the money ' The television show has proved her s are in ruins around her She's a little one-hour program three times a week The ladder to heaven is hers alone to cli the millions needed to her

"And the female ard of Bingen, and Julian of Norwich Teresa of AvilaYou've read any of those women?"

"All of them," I said

"Smart females ant to hear s to attract everyone You cannot ender That isn't possible Even I know that, the enius, and I am that, too, have no doubt She attracts everyone Oh, if I only had those last two years to do over, if only I could have launched the church before she discovered¡ª"

"You're looking at this all wrong Stop regretting If you'd , you would have precipitated your exposure and the scandal "

"No, once the church was big enough, the scandal wouldn't have mattered That's just the catch She stayed small, and when you're srily He was becoer"I cannot be allowed to destroy Dora" His voice drifted off again He shuddered He looked at me:

"What does it come to, Lestat?" he asked

"Dora herselfon to her faith after your death is discovered!"

"Yes I'est enemy, dead or alive And her church, you know, she walks a thin line; she's no puritan, hter She thinks Wynken's a heretic, but she doesn't kno much her own modern co about "

"I get it But what about Wynken, am I supposed to save Wynken too? What do I do with Wynken?"

"She is a genius in her oay, actually," he went on, ignoring ian She's done the near i Greek and Latin and Hebrew, even though she was not bilingual as a small child You kno hard it is "

"Yes, it's not that way for us, but," I stopped A horrible thought had occurred to me with full force

The thought interrupted everything