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I heard theht ball at the bottolee traveled toCarson's face shatter like soood Men should feel the brunt of their own stupidity They should feel the heel of truth come down on their naked feet
I had no sens
e of guilt If Carson couldn't accept Belinda for what she was, that was his problem, notso honest, for being the only one who dared to open his eyes Belinda would have to be honest with hie should have truth as part of its foundation, shouldn't it? It rong for Daddy to keep it all buried Hoould he like to buy a boat that had weak joints in its hull? Hoould he like to discover the truth when he was already out to sea? Well, that's what it would be like for Carson McGil, wouldn't it? One day, e, the truth about Belinda would reveal itself and Carson would feel like athe dangers, the weaknesses in his little boat of love
For a while that afternoon, I felt like soreat act of charity Who would criticize e was based upon trust? Yes, I felt very good I felt as if I had struck a blow for every decent, sensible woman in America, and if men like Nelson Childs and Carson McGil didn't appreciate that, well, too bad Someday, they would
After I finished Daddy's bookkeeping, I had lunch and went out to read in the gazebo It was a gloriously sunny day with only pockets ofhere and there over the azure sky The sea was calm; the sailboats looked dabbed by an artist's brush on the canvas of the Atlantic Ocean There was a fresh, even delicious scent to the salt air I really did appreciate and love our home I could be no other place This here I would make my life, find my own husband and raise my own family I felt more confident about it, more sure of myself, despite the recent events Nature deht the lesson: the strong eventually win It's only a matter of time
I hadn't been sitting there long when, like a sh the back door of the house, tears strea down her cheeks, her hands raised as if she had puppet strings tied to her wrists
"There you are! There you are! You traitor You jealous, horrible sister"
She charged over the lawn, her high heels catching in the grass and nearly tripping her She pulled off her shoes and flung the toward me
"What is it, Belinda? Why are you back so soon?" I asked cal my book to my lap
She fu
"You told Carson about ht forefinger pointed at ht through my eye
I shrugged
"He already knew you had left finishing school abruptly," I said, still in a controlled, soft voice
"Yes, yes, but he thought it was because I had wanted to leave, because I had been accused of stealing someone's stupid costume jewelry!"
"What? I didn't know that, Belinda How am I supposed to keep track of all the lies you tell people? If you had a story you made up, you should have inforht you had told him the truth, so I just"