“Nice meeting you, Doctor.” To Anger: “This clearly isn’t a good time to be visiting, Glenn. We’ll come back when she’s feeling more up to it.”

Anger nodded but he looked off-balance. None of his trophies had been for Overt Conflict.

Douse touched his elbow, and the two of them walked past me, heading for the entry. And came face-to-face with Melissa, who stepped out from behind a tall bookcase. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. She had on a black blouse over a knee-length khaki skirt, no stockings, black sandals. Something pink was clenched in her right hand- a balled tissue.

“Melissa,” said Anger, switching on a loan-denial sad-face. “I’m so sorry about your mother, hon. You know Mr. Douse.”

Douse held out his hand.

Melissa opened her palm and showed the tissue. Douse dropped his arm.

“Mr. Douse,” she said. “I know who you are, but we’ve never met, have we?”

“Sorry it has to be under these circumstances,” said the attorney.

“Yes. How kind of you to come. And on a Sunday.”

“Days don’t matter when it comes to something like this,” said Anger. “We came by to see how you were doing, but Dr. Delaware told us you were resting and we were just on our way out.”

“Mr. Douse,” she said, ignoring him and stepping closer to the attorney. “Mr. Douse, Mr. Douse. Please douse any ideas of ripping me off, okay, Mr. Douse? No, don’t even say a word- just leave. Right now- both of you-out. My new attorneys and my new bankers will be contacting you shortly.”

After they were gone, she cried out in rage and collapsed against me, weeping.

Noel came running down the stairs, looking scared and confused and eager to comfort. He saw her pressed to my chest and stopped midway down the flight.

I motioned him forward with a small backward movement of my head.

He stepped very close to her and said, “Melissa?”

She kept crying, pushed her head into my sternum so hard it hurt. I patted her back. It seemed inadequate.

Finally she pulled away, red-eyed, face blazing.

“Oh!” she said. “Oh, the bastards! How could they! How could they have the- She’s not even… oh!”

Choking on her words. She wheeled, ran to a wall, hit it hard with her fists.

Noel looked to me for counsel. I nodded and he went to her. She allowed him to guide her into the front room. The three of us sat down.

Madeleine came in, looking angry but smug, as if her worst assumptions about mankind had been confirmed. Once again. I wondered how much she’d heard.

More footsteps.

The other two maids appeared behind Madeleine. She said something, and they hurried off.

Madeleine walked over and touched Melissa’s head. Melissa looked up and pushed a smile through her tears.

Madeleine said, “I bring you to drink?”

Melissa didn’t answer.

I said, “Please. Tea, for all of us.”

Madeleine lumbered off. Melissa sat hunched under Noel’s protective forearm, jaw clenched, tearing the tissue to shreds and letting them fall to the floor.

Madeleine returned with tea, honey, and milk on a silver tray. She served, handing a cup to Noel, who guided it toward Melissa’s lips.

Melissa drank, choked, sputtered.

All three of us hurried to attend to her. The resulting flurry of arms was Keystonish; it might have been comical under different circumstances.

When the dust cleared, Noel again held the cup to Melissa’s lips. She took a sip, started to gag, put her hand to her chest, and managed to hold it down. When she’d finished a third of the cup, Madeleine nodded in approval and left.

Melissa touched Noel’s hand and said, “Enough. Thanks.”

He put the cup down.

She said, “The bastards. Unbelievable.”

“Who?” said Noel.

“My banker and my lawyer,” she said. “Trying to rip me off.” To me: “Thanks- thanks so much for sticking up for me, Dr. Delaware. I know who my true friends are.”

Noel remained confused. I gave him a brief replay of the interchange with Anger and Douse. Each word seemed to inflate his own anger.

“Assholes,” he said. “Better get yourself some new ones fast.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I made it sound as if I already had someone hired- you should have seen the looks on their faces.”

Brief smile. Noel remained serious.

Melissa said, “Do you know any good lawyers, Dr. Delaware?”

“Most of the ones I know practice family law. But I should be able to get you a referral for an estate lawyer.”

“Please. I’d really appreciate it. And a banker, too.”

“The estate lawyer should be able to refer you to a banker.”

“Good,” she said. “The sooner the better, before those two worms try anything. For all I know they’ve already been filing some kind of papers against me.” Insight widened her eyes. “I’ll have Milo check them out. He’ll be able to find out what they’re up to. They’ve probably ripped me off already, wouldn’t you say?”

“Who knows?”

“Well,” she said, “they haven’t exactly shown themselves to be honorable. For all I know they’ve been ripping off Mother all these years…” Closing her eyes.

Noel hugged her tighter. She allowed it but didn’t relax.

Her eyes opened suddenly. “Maybe Don was in it with them- all of them scheming-”

“No,” said Noel, “Don wouldn’t-”

She cut him off with a slashing diagonal movement of one arm. “You see one side of him, I see another.”

Noel was silent.

Melissa’s eyes got huge. “Oh, God!”

“What is it?” I said.

“Maybe they even had something to do with… with… what happened. Maybe they wanted her money and…”

She shot to her feet, throwing Noel off balance. Dry-eyed, hands fisted. One fist rose to eye level and shook.

“I’ll get them,” she said. “The bastards. Anyone who hurt her will pay!”

Noel stood. She held him at arm’s length. “No. It’s all right. I’ll be all right. I know where I stand now.”

She began walking around the room. Circling, sticking close to the walls, like a novice skater. Taking wide steps and speeding her pace till it was nearly a jog. Scowling and extending her lower jaw and punching her hand with a fist.

Sleeping Beauty roused by the malignant kiss of suspicion.

Anger replacing fear. Incompatible with fear.

I’d treated an entire school that way the previous fall. Had taught her the same lesson years ago.

This child’s anger white-hot. The look on her face almost savage.

I watched and could think of nothing but a hungry animal in a cage.

Psychological progress, I guessed.

29

Milo showed up shortly after, wearing a brown suit and carrying a shiny black briefcase. Melissa latched onto him and told him what had happened.

“Get them,” she said.

“I’ll check it out,” he said. “But it’ll take some time. In the meantime, get yourself a lawyer.”

“Whatever it takes. Please. Who knows what they’ve been up to.”

“At least,” he said, “they’re on notice. If they’ve been up to something larcenous, they’ll probably quit for the moment.”

Noel said, “True.”

Milo said to Melissa: “How are you doing, otherwise?”

“Better… I’m going to get through it. I have to… if there’s something you need me to do, I can do it.”

“What you can do, for the time being, is take care of yourself.”

She started to object.

Milo said, “No, I’m not brushing you off. I mean it. Just in case they decide to keep pushing.”

“What do you mean?” she said.

“These guys are obviously out to run the show. If they can convince a judge you’re screwed up, they’ve got a shot at it. I may get dirt on them or I may not. While I’m digging, they’ll be stockpiling ammunition. The better you look- physically and psychologically- the less ammunition they’re gonna have. So take care of yourself.”