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Shouldn't it be embarrassing when you're married and another man compliments you so lavishly, I wondered.

It was so much easier just being a little girl, I almost wished I could return to being just that; but I knew Time and Fate weren't about to let me go back.

three A VERY PRIVATE PLACE

. L unch was as wonderful as Ryse Williams had predicted and Tony made it into such a formal affair. Suddenly we were surrounded by servants, new faces that seemed to come out of the woodwork--two waiters and a maid. I felt as if I were in a fancy restaurant.

The table was set with very expensive looking china that Tony explained had been passed down from his grandparents. We all sat at one end of the tremendous table, Troy and I on Tony's left, Momma on his right. Each setting had a wine goblet, even Troy's. Tony winked at me when he poured a few drops into his brother's glass. Troy acted very grown up about it, showing no surprise at all. I saw from the way he studied Tony's every move that he was trying to act just like him. He took his napkin off the table, unfolded it and placed it neatly in his little lap. Then he sat back with the same perfect posture.

Beside the fruit cup, with each piece of fruit cut into a fancy shape, we had a delicious salad that included ingredients I had never tasted nor seen. Some of it looked like flower petals, but it all tasted wonderful. The main dish was a cajun shrimp platter on a bed of wild rice. It was spicy but scrumptious. For dessert, Ryse Williams brought out a peach melba himself. I was so full, I looked forward to the walk on the beach.

"Leigh," Tony said, "why don't you take Troy out and I will join the two of you in a moment. Your mother and I just have one more thing or two to discuss concerning the murals."

"Come on, Leigh," Troy cried jumping off his seat. I looked at Momma. She had her elbows on the table, her hands clasped, the fingers pressed up against her lips, but there was a smile of contentment around her eyes. Here amidst this enchantment she looked more than ever like a princess in a fairy tale, I thought.

"I'm going to go change into my smock," she said softly.

I followed Troy out of the front door. "Where are you going, Troy?" I asked. He had started off to the right and then had gone in behind a shrub. He answered by showing me the little pail and shovel he had fetched.

"I left it here yesterday when I was working with Boris. We need it on the beach."

"Oh. Yes, we do."

"Come on," he said, "Tony will catch up." "I think we had better wait."

"I'm always waiting, waiting, waiting," he said and stamped his foot. Then he plopped himself down on the grass and folded his arms across his chest in a sulk.

"He won't be long, I'm sure," I said and smiled reassuringly.

"If your mommy's going to paint, he won't come out." What an odd thing for him to say, I thought. Surely Tony didn't look over Momma's shoulder the whole time she worked. He had his own business to tend, and Momma had never liked an audience when she drew and painted.

Troy turned his eyes to me suspiciously.

"Where's your daddy?" he asked. "Did he die and go to Heaven to be with angels, too?"

"No, he's working. I wanted him to come with us today, but he couldn't," I added. He continued to stare at me with curiosity. Then he looked toward the front door of the mansion, his eyes growing smaller.

"HELLO!" Tony called from the top of the steps. Troy jumped to his feet. "Okay, let's go," Tony said coming down quickly, and Troy shot forward. "Do you get to the ocean much, Leigh?" he asked as we started after Troy.

"I go down to the harbor to my father's office frequently and we've gone on a number of ocean voyages," I said.

I couldn't believe how nervous I was without Momma to accompany us. I was so afraid I would say or do the wrong thing and embarrass her, as well as myself. Tony seemed so self-assured. With the kind of wealth he possessed, and the big business he ran, he had to be a very cosmopolitan and sophisticated young man, I thought. Because of Daddy's business, I had traveled a great deal more than most of my friends and met many more people from different countries, but still, I didn't feel confident.

"Oh, of course," Tony said. "Silly of me to ask. What I really meant is, do you get to the beach in the summer?"

"Not that much, no. Momma's not fond of the beach. She hates getting sand all over her. But a friend of mine, Michele Almstead, has a swimming pool."

"Ah." We walked on. Troy ambled ahead, wobbling on his little legs, his pail swinging back and forth with his determined arm movements.

"He's so cute," I said.

"Yes," Tony replied in a sad voice. "It's been hard for the little tyke. He was very sickly at birth. There was a time there when we didn't think he would make It."

"Oh. What happened to . . ."

"To our parents?"

I nodded.