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" 'Well, lass of white wine for Jasmine to refill, 'I'm not sure I understand it myself, but the Mayfair family has always been vieith suspicion Dr Rowan Mayfair, the genius behind Mayfair Medical, is perhaps the most universally admired of the clan, and she has immersed herself in public life and public service

" 'But even Dr Rowan is a ure At one point she was so severely injured that all hope was given up, and then she made a miraculous recovery ¡¯

" 'Well, you can't blame her for that, surely,' I interjected

" 'Can't I?' said Aunt Queen 'I can tell you it wasn't through the intercession of a saint that she came back from the dead That much is true ¡¯

" 'But what are you saying?¡¯

" 'As you saw, she's very restrained and sure of herself by nature,' Aunt Queen said 'And perhaps she is a good person, perhaps she is a very good person But the rest of the family is another matter ¡¯

" 'But what do you mean? The laas like a loaf of white bread ' (Of course I was stealing Mona's words, but so what?)

" 'He's quite well respected,' Aunt Queen adh his practice is s And surely you haven't forgotten that he enital madness in the female line Well, and in the ed, locked in padded cells, even let their house on First Street fall into ruin at one tih now that

Mr Michael Curry has come it's wonderfully restored, or so they tell me Then there's thepool ¡¯

" 'But what could that mean?¡¯

" 'I don't know, darling, I' to convey that they're shrouded in mystery It's a family with its o firm and its own priest Rather like the Medici, don't you think, and you kno the people of Florence used to rise against them and throw all their artworks out of the palazzo s!¡¯

" 'As if the people of New Orleans would riot against the Mayfairs!' I scoffed 'You're not telling¡¯

" 'I don't know everything,' she replied 'They're a haunted family and some say they're cursed ¡¯

" 'You met Mona,' I said 'You know she's lovable and brilliant Besides, we're a haunted family, too ¡¯

" 'So,' said Aunt Queen She hesitated