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it for a long moment.

"She does seem like a fairy goddess. My

memory of those days is like the memory of a dream,

pictures and words that float through my brain on the

surface of soap bubbles ready to burst if I try too hard

to remember the actual details.

"You and Gisselle look a lot like her, you

know. I don't deserve the good fortune of having two

of you to remind me of Gabrielle, but I thank

whatever Fate has brought you here," he said. "Grandmere Catherine," I said. "That's who you

should thank." He nodded.

"I'll spend as much time with you as I can. I'll

show you New Orleans myself and tell you about our

family."

"What do you do?" I asked, realizing I didn't

even know that much about him. The way I asked, the

way my eyes widened at the sight of all these

expensive furnishings in this mansion made him

laugh.

"Right now I make my money in real estate

investments. We own a number of apartment

buildings and office buildings and we're involved in a

number of developments. I have offices downtown. "We are a very old and established family, who

can actually trace their lineage back to the original

Mississippi Trading Company, a French colonial

company. My father did a genealogy which I will

have to show you some day," he added, smiling. "And

he proved that we can trace our lineage back to one of

the hundred Fines a la Casette or casket girls." "What were they?" I asked.

"Women back in France who were carefully