Free Witchcraft by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

Llewellyn," Julia said, making the introductions quickly. "Ariel and my aunt are inseparable."
    "Rubbish," Ariel announced grandly, shaking Kimberly's hand with brisk enthusiasm. " Milly and I amuse each other and spend a good many afternoons together but we certainly aren't inseparable, are we, Milly ?"
    "Vile slander," Milly agreed lightly. "How long will you be staying, dear?"
    "A few days, I think." Kimberly felt decidedly uneasy under the questioning. It was anyone's guess how long she could bring herself to stay in this energetic, well-populated household, even under the best of circumstances. Already she felt a wave of panic at the notion of having so little privacy. She realized she had become accustomed to privacy, living by herself most of her adult life.
    Vaguely she wondered how Cavenaugh stood having so many lively people surrounding him. But then, he had grown up in this environment, she reminded herself. And he was a man who carried out his responsibilities. "Is that everyone in the house?" Kimberly asked Julia hesitantly as Scott's mother swept her on down the hall to the room assigned to her. "For the moment," Julia assured her breezily. "We get a lot of people in and out during the day, of course. Mostly employees who come to see Dare or visit with Mrs. Lawson. Then there are the visits from Scott's friends. And Milly and Ariel are very fond of tea parties so they frequently entertain."
    "It sounds rather, uh, hectic," Kimberly noted cautiously. "You get used to it.' "Oh." Kimberly said nothing more as Julia ushered her into a warm, sunny room that looked out over the vineyards. She headed at once for the window, peering out at the view. "I hope you'll like this room," Julia remarked. "Dare will bring your suitcase up soon. He's busy talking to Starke down in the study at the moment." Kimberly suddenly realized that Cavenaugh had not followed his sister and Kimberly up the stairs. "That's fine. I'm in no rush. I'll need to get my typewriter out of the car, too, and my supplies." "Don't worry. Starke will take care of it." Julia smiled warmly. "You know, we really are glad you decided to come and visit for a while. We'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did two months ago."
    "Please, don't keep mentioning that," Kimberly begged. "It really wasn't that big a deal."
    "You'd feel differently if it were your son who had been taken," Julia assured her in heartfelt tones. "I was a nervous wreck during those three days. When the ransom note arrived I really went to pieces. Up until that point I had been telling myself that the kidnapper was probably Scott's father, and at least, being his father, Tony wouldn't have hurt Scott. After the note arrived we knew it had to be a real kidnapping. It was terrifying." "You thought Scott's father might have taken him?" Kimberly asked in disbelief and then realized the full implications. "Oh, I ..... a custody dispute?" "Not really," Julia said wryly. "The last thing Tony would want is to be burdened with a child. He was furious when I got pregnant. But he was also furious when he left." He divorced you?"
    "Not willingly." Julia's gentle mouth curved bleakly. "He wasn't about to divorce the tie to the Cavenaugh money. Then Dare informed him that there really wasn't any money except what Dare personally controlled."
    Kimberly stirred uneasily as Julia confided the information. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to know too much about the Cavenaughs . "I see," she said again, a bit weakly, but Julia plowed on without any sign of hesitation. "My father filed for bankruptcy three years ago. Then he and mother were killed in a light-plane crash on the way home from Tahoe. A few months later Dare came home and rescued the winery and the family."
    "Came home from where?" Kimberly asked blankly. She had assumed Cavenaugh had always lived here. "He had a business of his own. An import-export company that he operated out of San Diego. He spent a lot of time traveling abroad