In the Still of the Night

scattered in pleasant conversational clusters. Robert was sprawled in one of the sofas reading the newspaper. He leaped up and offered Cecil Hoornart a drink.
    “A gin and tonic, please,“ Cecil said, feeling more at ease now that he was clean and decently dressed and being received with the respect he felt was owed him.
    Lily turned as Addie entered the room, looking quite normal. Lily performed the introductions.
    “We’ve met, Professor Hoornart,“ Addie said, extending her hand to shake his manfully. “You graciously agreed to speak to our girls at school quite a few years ago. That’s how Lily, who was a student then, and I knew you.“
    “So she told me, Miss Jonson.”
    Cecil had long since given up speaking to secondary schools, reserving his limited time for the best colleges and exclusive dinner meetings at the most elite clubs, but pretended effectively to have remembered Addie. “One of my fonder memories,“ he said. “And are you still with the school?”
    When conversation lagged a bit and Robert was pouring Professor Hoornart a second drink, Lily pulled Addie aside. “I’m going to tell Mrs. Ethridge that she must leave.“
    “You’ll do no such thing. You need her money,“ Addie said quite firmly in her school-mistress voice, nodding to Robert with a smile as he called across the room, “Sherry?“
    “No, Addie,“ Lily persisted, “not that much, we don’t. I don’t want her to ruin this visit for you.”
    “I simply forbid it,“ Addie said calmly, tipping her head in thanks as she took the tiny crystal glass from Robert. “I’m over my weeps. I simply need one good cry every five years or so. I can cope perfectly well. I refuse to hide from the woman or have her run off as though I were too delicate to manage. I mean it, Lily.”
    Without another word, Addie strode back to the fireplace and took a seat next to Cecil on one of the sofas. “I enjoyed your review last week of Edna Ferber’s latest book, but I wondered if you weren’t a little harsher in your criticism of the setting than you might have been.”
    Cecil loved defending his often cranky views, and he and Addie fell into an animated and high-minded discussion that made them forget their host and hostess entirely.
    Lily was relieved that she didn’t have to throw out a guest and breathed a contented sigh as the doorbell rang again. It was all going to be all right. Addie would be sincerely gracious and so would Mrs. Ethridge and very soon the rest of the party would assemble and there would be good food, good talk and an all-around good time for all.
    She hoped.

Chapter 7

    The next two pairs of guests arrived almost simultaneously, which disconcerted Lily for a number of reasons. Rachel and Raymond Cameron were slightly in the lead and Lily hardly recognized them. Raymond, who had been a skinny, drippy-looking boy in high school, had matured into an extraordinarily handsome man. The rest of his features had caught up with his nose at last, and his formerly short-cropped mouse brown hair had darkened into a sweep of fine, dark, slightly wavy beauty. It was hair that anybody would both admire and envy. The gogglish reading glasses weren’t in evidence and for the first time Lily realized Raymond had wonderful brown eyes.
    “Raymond! Rachel! How you’ve changed,“ Lily exclaimed. “I’d have hardly known either of you on the street. I’m delighted you’re here.“ But she was eyeing the town taxi that had just pulled up. This was the guest of honor and couldn’t be ignored.
    Fortunately, Robert came to the rescue, and took the Cameron brother and sister off her hands. “We must catch up,“ Lily said to them before approaching the cab.
    Robert did a good job of being a jolly distraction from Lily’s preoccupation with Julian West. “Do come in,“ he said. “The maid will get your bags and show you to your rooms in a few minutes. Come into the parlor and meet the others. And a good drink wouldn’t come amiss, would it?”
    As he spoke, he kept his gaze on Rachel Cameron, a gorgeous girl to be sure. Amazing how these scrawny little girls sometimes turned into stunning women.
    Rachel gazed back with doe-like dark eyes and glanced at his left hand briefly, wondering if he was married. She hadn’t heard of a marriage, but then she’d heard very little about the Brewsters lately. Someone had told her they’d gone dirt poor, but if this really was their house, that rumor was obviously wrong. And with