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" 'Evil, Quinn,' he responded, with a sad face, which surprised me Evil in Aunt Queen's roo of his collar and the lacquer of his shoe leather, and he caht hand in entle pressure, and then I felt his soft lips against my cheek

" 'I love you, Quinn,' he said

" 'And I love you, Goblin,' I replied

"All this was very unexpected, as was the invitation to visit with Aunt Queen I hoped the night would continue to give s I hoped I wouldn't have to crash suddenly ae that Mona was seriously sick and that she ht not survive her illness, that that was exactly what she and her fa the lively dinner, and Rowan Mayfair's one outbreak of pessimism had been a sharp admission of the truth

"What had Mona said, 'blinking out like a dim bulb ¡¯

"All was light and laughter in Blackwood Manor A group of the guests were at the piano in the double parlor, and in the dining rooroup played cards

"I passed all this with a cheerful s the door ajar and pushing it wide slowly to announce roup inside

"They lory, clothed in one of her priceless feathered white negligees, with a hite ribbon and a glorious cah heels were as always ht opposite her sat Nash, in black tie for the occasion, who stood up as I entered as if I , when I did not

"Cindy, the nurse, was there in her crisp white uniform and she rose too, to deposit kisses on my cheek, which made me very happy

"And then I saw, in full clarity, the guest of honor, the generous bringer of fine cameos, the newcomer to Blackwood Manor, who sat at the very opposite of me and did not rise and had no reason to rise as our eyes met

"At first I simply could not identify what I saw I knew but I did not know I understood but I did not understand All was abundantly clear Nothing was clear at all Then very gradually my mind absorbed the details, and do let me record them here so as to brand them into your mind, so as to make them plain to you as they came to be plain to me

"That this was the er I had no doubt I knew the shape of the head I knew the shape and cut of the shoulders I knew the high square forehead with its beautifully rounded tee black eyes I knew the longblack hair

"But it wasn't tied back now, this hair No, it was a wealth of gorgeous waves and curls, tuer's shoulders And it was perfectly obvious froer's black satin vest that the e full breasts But the rest of the black tie ensemble of dinner jacket and trousers indicated aglowing skin and rouged lips, was about six feet tall and did have a rather firm jaw

"Was this a man? Was this a woman? I had no idea

"And whatever it was, it sat there -- sideways on the chair, with its right ars comfortably in front of it and its left hand in its lap -- challenging me with its silence, with its sly s: