Deceptions by Judith Michael Read Free Book Online Page B

asked all the questions. Did she always ask, and was Stephanie always silent? Or was Stephanie not interested?
    As they drank their wine, Ganh answered Dena's questions, telling them he was a molecular biologist, a professor at Columbia University, a researcher. 'In what?' Dena asked, but he said it was too complicated for intermission talk. That

    was true, but he never talked about his work to strangers, fearing they would turn away, bored and uncomprehending. He didn't want to talk about himself, anyway; he wanted to ask his own questions about Stephanie Hartwell.
    In the crowded lobby, reverberating with high-pitched laughter and rapid tongues, she was a quiet island, her body very still, her movements small and controlled. As Garth talked, he memorized her deep blue eyes, the delicate lines of her cheekbones and her wonderftil mouth, wide and generous, surprisingly vulnerable, asking for protection.
    Dena watched him, but not with jealousy. She was pleased he was interested in Stephanie because it was clear that Stephanie was interested in him. Lucky Stephanie, Garth thought, to have such a friend. And at the final curtain he asked if he could take them home. 'We have a limousine,' said Dena. She looked up suddenly, as if remembering. 'Stephanie, I promised I'd call Mother before we left for home. I'll be right back.'
    When they were alone. Garth met Stephanie's smile with his own. 'A nice thing to do.'
    'Dena is always doing nice things.*
    'I want to see you. Tomorrow?' She shook her head. 'Then the next day.'
    'No. I'm sorry.' Her eyts were clear and honest. 'I'd like to. But I'm staying with Dena's family for the holidays and they've made plans for us. They're so wonderful to me that I can't just disappear and leave them with tickets and schedules. I'm sorry.'
    'And after the holidays?'
    'I go back to Biyn Mawr.*
    'To graduate?'
    She laughed. 'Hardly. I'm in my second year.'
    He frowned. 'You look... how old are you?'
    'Nineteen.'
    • You look older. •
    'Isn't nineteen old enough?'
    *I wouldn't have thought so,' he mused. 'But it will have to be.'
    Dena came back and they gathered their coats from the back of the box, friendly in their goodbyes. Garth stood in the

    shadows, feeling like a bumpkin at the side of the road as the royal carriage passed by. They had wealth, sophistication, style and all the world waiting for them. He looked at the opera stage where three hours of passion had just been sung and saw a vulnerable mouth and clear, honest eyes. He pulled on his coat and smiled to himself. This bumpkin was going to follow the carnage all the way to the castle.
    Bryn Mawr College is tucked amid the hills and leafy splendor of Pennsylvania, an hour's train ride from New York. Stephanie had barely arrived and begun unpacking when Garth called.
    'I'm going to be in your neighborhood this weekend,' he said casually. 'I thought I might drop by, if you'll be home.'
    She laughed. 'What will you be doing in my neighborhood?'
    'Spending the day with you.'
    They met at Pembroke Arch, the campus rendezvous, and shook hands formally. 'Where are you taking me?' he asked, as they began to walk.
    'I have to stop at the library for a few minutes and then I thought we'd have breakfast at Wyndham House. If that's all right? It's so early, I thought—'
    'Too early for you?'
    'No, I'm glad you're here.' Snow had fallen during the night and they walked on shoveled paths, the dark lines bisecting sparkling white expanses dotted with gray, Gothic stone buildings.
    Garth followed Stephanie through the library and down a staircase to the basement loading dock. 'No one else could be here today,' she said, 'and they're delivering some furniture for the antique auction upstairs. As soon as I sign for it, we can leave.'
    A truck was backed up to the wide doorway and Garth watched as Stephanie talked to the driver. In a minute she came to him with a gesture of uncertainty. 'He says his forklift won't work so he can't unload the crates. Do