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take you to lunch at my favorite restaurant on the

dock. After all," he added with a laugh, "this is the

deluxe tour."

It was a wonderful trip. We laughed a great deal

and the restaurant he'd picked was wonderful. It had a

glass dome so we could sit and watch the steamboats

and barges arrivin

g and going up the Mississippi. While we ate, he asked me questions about my life in the bayou. I told him about the handicrafts and linens Grandmere Catherine and I used to make and sell. He asked me questions about school and then he asked me if I had ever had a boyfriend. I started to tell him about Paul and then stopped, for not only did it sadden me to talk about him, but I was ashamed to describe another terrible thing that had happened to my mother and another terrible thing Grandpere Jack

had done because of it. My father sensed my sadness. "I'm sure you'll have many more boyfriends,"

he said. "Once Gisselle introduces you to everyone at

school."

"School?" I had forgotten about that for the

moment.

"Of course. You've got to be registered in

school first thing this week."

A shivering thought came. Were all the girls at

this school like Gisselle? What would be expected of

me?

"Now, now," my father said, patting my hand.

"Don't get yourself nervous about it. I'm sure it will be

fine. Well," he said, looking at his watch, "the ladies

must all have risen by now. Let's head back. After all,

I still have to explain you to Gisselle," he added. He made it sound so simple, but as Grandmere Catherine would say, "Weaving a single fabric of falsehoods is more difficult than weaving a whole

wardrobe of truth."

Daphne was sitting at an umbrella table on a

cushioned iron chair on a patio in the garden where

she had been served her late breakfast. Although she

was still in her light blue silk robe and slippers, her

face was made up and her hair was neatly brushed. It

looked honey-colored in the shade. She looked like