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" 'You know what I think?' I asked.

" 'What is it?' she said, sitting up. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her hands looked beautiful in her big laced ruffles. Her hair fell down around her shoulders in a way I'll never forget.

" 'I think I need you much more than you need me,' I said.

" 'Quinn, that's not true,' she said. 'I love you. You're the first person I've ever fallen in love with. It came on me all last night after they brought me home. It hurts and it's splendid and it's real. I need you because you're fresh and vital and you're not part of us. ¡¯

"She sounded so earnest.

" 'But I am,' I protested. 'I told you what Julien told me. He took the place of my great-great-grandfather William, I told you. ¡¯

" 'But you weren't brought up a Mayfair,' she said. 'And you come with a strong name and tradition of your own. You live in a manor house w

ith its own legends and grandeur! Besides, what does it matter? I need you and I love you, that's the point. ¡¯

" 'Mona, was it true what Dr. Rowan told me, that every time. . . ?¡¯

" 'Yes, it's true. They don't know why. But I'm constantly ovulating, constantly fertile; I conceive constantly and I lose the offspring, and every time it happens I'm weakened. More calcium is pulled out of my bones. Now, it is extremely possible -- totally possible actually -- that if they performed a hysterectomy on me, the problem would be solved, but then I'd never have children, and they're hoping that somehow they can solve the problem without that step. ¡¯

"I was frightened by all this, frightened for her. That I had unknowingly hurt her terrified me.

" 'If it means your life, Mona, you have to let them do the hysterectomy,' I said. 'You can't keep risking your very life. ¡¯

" 'I know, Quinn, I think about it constantly,' she said. 'And so does everyone else. There will come a moment when they say that it's time to do it, and that time may be very soon. Think about that, Quinn. Does the Lord of Blackwood Manor want a bride that can never have a child?¡¯

" 'I love you, Mona. I don't need children. In fact, I know of a child we can have. ¡¯

" 'Just have?' she said, laughing. 'You mean just like that?¡¯

"I told her about Pops, about Terry Sue and Tommy. Brilliant little Tommy sitting on the log with the book of paintings in his hand, and the black-and-blue mark on his face.

" 'Wow, think of it!' she said. 'It would be like Cinderella! You could just change his entire life!¡¯

" 'Yep. I intend to do that, no matter what happens. So don't think about me anymore when you think about this hysterectomy. I'm pretty sure that Terry Sue is open to bargaining where Tommy's ownership is concerned. I'm going to help Terry Sue with the whole passel of them, that's a done deal. But there's one thing I have to ask you. ¡¯

" 'You already sound like the man of the house,' she said matter-of-factly. 'I'll do my best. ¡¯

" 'No, I'm serious, Mona. ¡¯

"I sat on the bed next to her and I kissed her.

" 'Do Rowan and Michael know where your child is?' I asked.

" 'No,' she said, 'I don't think that they do. Sometimes I think that they might -- Mayfair Medical is a world unto itself -- but no, they couldn't --. I can't stand that idea. I can't stand that they wouldn't tell me. But let's not talk about it, Quinn. Rowan is a cold calculating scientist in many respects, but Rowan has a conscience made out of pure gold. Let's just talk about us. ¡¯

"I put my arms around her. Pure gold. The image struck me. Pure gold. I thought of the mausoleum and the mysterious stranger telling me that the mausoleum was made of gold.

" 'There's no way in the world you could run off to Europe with me,' I said. 'You need the treatment that Dr. Rowan is giving you at the medical center, don't you?¡¯

"She sighed. She nodded. 'It was a dream, running away. They're giving me hormone treatments and all kinds of nutrients, I don't know. I'm in and out all during the week. I'm wired up for two and three hours at a stretch. I don't think there's much progress. I wanted to fly away. It was wrong of me to involve you in my dream, to let you believe it with me for a little while. ¡¯

" 'I don't mind,' I said. 'I don't have to go. In fact, I won't go. Not as long as we can see each other, and I think they trust us now. I think they know that I won't hurt you, and you know it too. ¡¯

"There came a rap at the door.

"Time for supper, and I was cordially invited to join them downstairs. In fact, they wouldn't hear of my not joining them, and after a quick call to Jasmine to report my whereabouts I appeared in the dining room to find Mona -- attired in another gorgeous white shirt with billowing sleeves, this time over a tropical print miniskirt-shorts combination that was, if anything, more sexy than her bare panties had been earlier -- and Michael and Rowan, somewhat formally attired.

"Michael looked quite the gentleman in his seersucker three-piece suit, and Rowan wore a lovely simple navy blue dress with a bold triple strand of pearls.