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The centerpiece was the oversized bed with an enormous arched engraved headboard. She said the furniture was in the Spanish style Mizner favored, There was a very pretty area rug over the parquet floor and a center chandelier that seemed to fit

the motif so well it might have been created before electric lights were invented and used to hold candles first.

The room did have a wonderful view of the beach and, more important to me, a view of the beach house. I stood out on the balcony and looked down at it Bunny Eaton saw the direction of my gaze.

"This was once Grace Montgomery's bedroom, you know." she said.

I turned. "Oh?"

"The poor young woman was supposedly seduced in this very room," Bunny added

dramatically, and walked to the bed, looking at it as if she could see the actual seduction being replayed on its sheets and pillows. "Here she lay, young and vulnerable and trusting. Kirby Scott was a very handsome man, and charming-- the sort who could have his hand down your dress before you even realized he was nearby. How could she resist? She must have felt terribly guilty, felt as though she had stolen her mother's lover from her. That was why she kept it a secret so long. I'm sure.

"I haven't changed a thing, really, not a sheet, not a pillow, not a pillowcase," she said.

From the excitement in her voice and in her eyes. I think she believed that would add an attractive romantic element, like being where your favorite soap opera was shot or something.

On the contrary, it gave me the dreads. My mother's mental problems might have had their origin in this very room.

"Are you sure all that happened here?" I asked, embracing myself and stepping back into the room.

"Oh, yes. The real estate agent who was representing the Montgomerys at the time was absolutely positive. Things like that are part of what they call disclosure. At least, they are here in Palm Beach where everyone wants to know that sort of thing and isn't put off by it."

She studied me a moment and must have seen the revulsion in my face. It was almost as if I could see myself being violated.

That doesn't bother you, does it? I mean, we could put you in another room just as easily. It's just that I thought this was the nicest and had a wonderful view. It has the best bathroom. too. The most up-todate: a bidet, a multihead shower, magnifying mirrors, and just look at the work in here," she declared as if she were trying to sell the house to me.

I gazed in at the beige and white tiled wall behind the toilet, the rich sink cabinet, and the large oval mirror above it The floor looked like chipped turquoise inlay. The shower stall had a marble seat in it.

"Well? Compares with what you have at The Breakers, doesn't it?"

"That isn't a worry of mine, Bunny. As I told you, I'm here to work on my--"

"Oh, please," she said, throwing up her hands and fanning the air between us as if she were waving away smoke. "don't start talking like a Ms. instead of a Miss and drown me in boredom with all that work you want to do."

I started to laugh,

"Come along." she said. "I'll show you our bedroom. We just had it redone by this new interior decorator who is the rage of Palm Beach. Thatcher's roam is down there," she said, flipping her hand to my right as we left the bedroom. "He has his own entrance to the house. Sometimes, we don't see him for a week. I swear. I wonder if he is deliberately avoiding us sometimes."

She smiled at me.

"Maybe that will soon change. As long as you're here, at least."

I shook my head and followed after her as she rattled on and on about each and every curtain, artifact, and piece of furniture along the way. not failing to attach the cost of each as well. Just after the tour was completed and we returned to the rear loggia, Thatcher appeared.

"Well," Bunny pounced, was it worth it for you to rush off to that dreary courthouse and interrupt your parents' wonderful brunch?"

"Yes, Mother," he said. "I settled the case in less than half an hour."

"I'm sure you could have done it over the phone," she insisted, refusing to relent.

He shook his head and laughed.

"What have you been doing since I left?" he asked me with some trepidation in his eyes.

"Gossiping," Bunny answered for me. "And enjoying it." she added firmly.

"I'll bet."