Witchcraft

indicates?"
    "Not quite. It implies that although you can trust him implicitly, he will not be without faults."
    "What man isn't?" Julia asked rhetorically. "In fact," Ariel went on as she turned up another club, "he might prove quite infuriating at times." "As Julia said," Mrs. Lawson interrupted, "what man isn't?" Ariel bent over the cards, turning up others in the vicinity of the "lover" square. "There is more than that here," she said slowly. "There is danger again. You will know fear, Kim."
    "Fear? Of what?" Ariel ignored the question and turned up a diamond. "There is much pain from fraud and deceit."
    "Probably refers to some of the royalty statements I've had from various and assorted publishers. Forget that one. Tell me what I'm supposed to be afraid of." Ariel shook her head slowly. "It is difficult to say, Kim. I see darkness. Darkness and silver." Kimberly froze as an image of the dark, cowled figure holding the silver dagger leaped into her head. "A man?"
    Her mouth suddenly felt quite dry. "Perhaps, perhaps not." Ariel frowned and then turned over the next card. She gave a few more vague analyses and then sat back, collecting all the cards into a neat pile.
    "Is that the end of it?" Aunt Milly asked cheerfully. "That's it," Ariel said. "Well, Kim, it sounds as though you'd better be wary of a dark, dangerous lover with silver in his hair," Julia commented, laughing. "But who can be trusted," Aunt Milly put in firmly. "Sounds to me like someone we all know very well," Mrs. Lawson declared happily.
    "Yes, well, it's been fun, Ariel," Kimberly said, getting decisively to her feet. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I really must get back to work. That dark, danerous man sounds like the villain in my latest novel. I'd better go see how he's getting along." The card reading party broke up as Julia and Mrs. Lawson went back to their own projects.
    Kimberly was halfway out the door of the sitting room they had all been using when Ariel stopped her with a small, fluttery hand on her arm.
    Kimberly was astonished by the intent look in the older woman's eyes.
    "The cards should not be dismissed lightly, Kim. They are not always simply a parlor trick." Kimberly smiled gently. "I'll remember that, Ariel. Thanks. Oh, by the way, how is the party planning going?"
    "Wonderfully," Aunt Milly enthused. "The invitations go out today. The party is scheduled for this coming Saturday night."
    "Rather short notice for everyone, isn't it?"

"Oh, we phoned everyone this morning to tell them about it. The invitations are just a formality," Ariel explained complacently, removing her hand from Kimberly's arm. "As it turns out, Saturday is an especially propitious time for the affair. Run along dear. Milly and I are going to work on the menu today." Aunt Milly nodded in agreement. "We want everything just right for this particular event."
    "What's so special about this party?" Kimberly asked unwisely.
    Aunt Milly looked at her in amused astonishment. "Why, because you'll be there, of course. Now do as Ariel says and run along, dear." Kimberly didn't need any urging. She was far enough behind in Vendetta as it was. * * Shortly after ten o'clock on Saturday evening Cavenaugh glanced across the crowded living room and managed to catch a glimpse of Kimberly. He considered himself lucky. It had been difficult keeping track of her tonight. From the moment the guests had begun arriving she had been the focal point of one after the other. The fact that some of the people in the crowd had read her books certainly accounted for some of the attention she was receiving, but Cavenaugh was aware there was a lot more involved. The details of the kidnapping had been in the local papers, and Julia had seen to it that everyone knew Kimberly was the woman who had rescued Scott. In addition, everyone in the Cavenaugh household was treating Kim virtually as a member of the family. That last undeniable fact was being interpreted by the vast majority of the guests to mean that Kim was due shortly to become a member of the family. In the past half hour Cavenaugh had overheard at least three clusters of people discussing when the marriage would be announced. He had done nothing to s quelch the speculation. Just as he had done nothing to stem the gossip that had arisen among his employees after he'd taken Kim on a tour of the wine-making facilities earlier this week. By now Cavenaugh was fairly certain that Kimberly herself had realized just how everyone was