Free A Prince for Jenny by Peggy Webb Page B

of her."
    "Diplomatically put." Wayne Dodge removed his glasses once more and began to polish them. "I'm speaking now strictly as a friend of the family. After Jake married Sarah, he gave Jenny every advantage that money could buy, the best schools, the best doctors. He took her everywhere ... the ballet, the symphony, the theater, New York, Paris. She's always had this amazing artistic talent. Jake saw that she studied with the best artists in the world. All strictly chaperoned, of course."
    "Gwendolyn?"
    "Yes. She'd been Jake's executive assistant for years. When Jenny turned sixteen, Gwendolyn's sole duty was to chaperone and protect Jenny."
    "Sort of an old-fashioned duenna."
    "Again, aptly put." Dr. Dodge laughed. "You have to understand Jake's background to know why he was so protective with Jenny, particularly why he never let her drive a car. You see, his first wife and daughter were killed in a car wreck. He blamed himself because he was driving."
    "You've been more than helpful, Dr. Dodge; you've made me a very happy man."
    "If you're made of the kind of stuff I think you are, you'll make Jenny a very happy young woman. But I'm warning you, don't expect life with a special woman to be easy."
    "Nothing worth having is ever easy."
     o0o
    Daniel went straight to a telephone booth on the corner. He'd wasted too much time already. He was so excited that he dropped the telephone book twice before he found Jenny's number. Then he put his money in and dialed.
    The phone rang ... and rang... and rang ...
    "Blast it all," Gwendolyn muttered. The phone was ringing again. Probably somebody wanting a portrait done. If she answered it, they would never get to Jake and Sarah's house.
    "Jenny ... honey.. ." She stuck her head into Jenny's room. Jenny was staring out the window, and her suitcase was on the bed only half packed. "I can help you pack if you'd like."
    "No, thank you."
    Downstairs the phone was still ringing. Well, let it ring.
    It stopped as Gwendolyn lumbered down the stairs, then it started up again. Whoever it was didn't give up easily.
    She started to pass it by and go on with her tea making. A cup of tea. That's what she needed. Some crazy impulse made her pick it up.
    "Hello?"
    "Gwendolyn, this is Daniel Sullivan."
    This was bad news. Gwendolyn sank into the Queen Anne chair beside the telephone table.
    "Thank God you haven't left," he said.
    Or maybe it was good news. Gwendolyn put her hand over her heart. She was going to tell Jake she couldn't do this job anymore; then she was going to go down to Florida and find that little retirement cottage she'd been dreaming about.
    "Is Jenny there?"
    "What do you want with her?"
    "If she's there, I want to come over and see her."
    "We're on our way out of the house. I'll give her a message."
    "What I have to say is too important to say over the phone."
    Gwendolyn didn't know what to do. If she told him no, she might be destroying Jenny's only chance for the kind of future other young women took for granted. If she told him yes and things didn't work out right, Jenny would be completely destroyed. It was a no-win situation.
    "Don't let her leave," Daniel said. The decision was out of her hands. "Are you there, Gwendolyn?"
    "I'm here."
    "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Please keep her there that long."
    "I want to believe this can work."
    "I'll make it work."
    "Jake should know."
    "I'll make it right with Jake later, Gwendolyn. Right now the most important person is Jenny. Please, give her this chance. Give me this chance."
    Upstairs, Jenny would still be staring out the window, waiting and hoping and dreaming.
    "Daniel, how can I say no?"
    "Anything you want is yours, Gwendolyn. Name it."
    "There is one thing." Gwendolyn had a vision of Jenny as a small child climbing into her lap with a book so dog-eared and jelly-smeared, the words were barely discernible. But it wasn't the words that thrilled Jenny; it was the pictures. She'd punch her favorite picture with an