“ ‘We will call Mr. Oliver,’ she said. ‘We’ll ask him to come here tomorrow. And we’ll talk to him. How would that be?’

“ ‘I love you so much,’ I whispered. ‘And there’s so much I want to tell you about Mona.’

“ ‘Tomorrow, my darling,’ she said.

“I could hardly drag myself up the stairs. And as soon as I had the comfort of the soft flannel nightshirt I was dreaming of Mona, with my arm around Big Ramona, and thoughts of talking to Nash running randomly through my mind. Every now and then I’d wake with a start, fearing Petronia was on me, strange evil Petronia, bent on hurting me, bent on destroying me, but it was only drunken imagination and finally I went into a deep comforting sleep.”

CHAPTER 33

33

“IT WAS about nine a.m. when I called Stirling, and, unable to contain myself, spilled out all of the story of recent events, as I invited him to dinner to discuss them in greater detail. Perhaps I wanted him to know this was a loaded invitation. I thought it only fair.

“He surprised me. He insisted that we meet for lunch. He asked if it wouldn’t be too inconvenient if we gathered at twelve noon. I went down to see Aunt Queen immediately. And finding her already awake, sitting up in her chaise lounge, watching a movie, saying her Rosary and eating strawberry ice cream, I was happy to have her agreement to lunch right away.

“Would Stirling come to Blackwood Manor? Of course.

“As Blackwood Manor was booked solid, we set up the small table in Aunt Queen’s room, and her bed was dressed in its finest satin along with a broad collection of her red-cheeked boudoir dolls, all got up in the flapper attire that Aunt Queen herself so much adored.

“Stirling arrived promptly at five minutes before twelve, though his flowers, a huge vase of pink roses, arrived before him, and we gathered in Aunt Queen’s room for Jasmine’s finest veal scallopini and pasta and white wine. Nash, who offered several times to absent himself, joined us, and to my amazement Aunt Queen started right in with the ‘strange tale’ of Petronia and how she or he—it varied during the story because at times Aunt Queen had seen Petronia differently—had arrived at Blackwood Manor with the gift of the cameos, which were then produced for Stirling’s inspection.