All the way along the winding mountain road she practiced what she would say and how she would say it. She tried being tough, experimented with being quiet and solemn, and even took a shot at being penitent. When that didn’t sit well, she opted for aggressive tactics. She’d just march right up to his door and tell him to cut out the silent routine. She was tired of it.

If he wasn’t there, she’d wait.

He was there, all right, she discovered as she reached the top of his lane. But he certainly wasn’t alone. There were three other cars in the drive, including what appeared to be the longest stretch limo in the known world.

She stepped out of her car and stood beside it, wondering what to do next.

“I told you, didn’t I tell you?” Mel looked around and spotted a pretty woman in a flowing tea-length dress. “A green-eyed blonde,” she said, a definite smack of satisfaction in her Irish voice. “I told you something was bothering him.”

“Yes, dear.” The man beside her was tall and gangly, his graying hair receding into a dramatic widow’s peak. He looked rather dashing in jodhpurs and top boots. A Victorian quizzing glass dangled from a string around his neck. “But it was I who told you it was a female.”

“Nevertheless.” The woman glided across the grounds with both plump hands held out to Mel. “Hello, hello, and welcome.”

“Ah, thanks. I’m, ah, looking for …”

“Of course you are,” the woman said with a breezy laugh. “Anyone could see that, couldn’t they, Douglas?”

“Pretty,” he said in response. “Not a pushover.” He peered at her with eyes that were so much like Sebastian’s that Mel began to put two and two together. “He didn’t tell us about you, which speaks for itself.”

“I suppose,” she said after a moment. His parents, she thought, sinking. A family reunion was no place for a confrontation. “I don’t want to disturb him when he has company. Maybe you could tell him I stopped by.”

“Nonsense. I’m Camilla, by the way. Sebastian’s mother.” She took Mel’s arm and began to lead her toward the house. “I quite understand your being in love with him, my dear child. I’ve loved him myself for years.”

Panicked, Mel looked for a route of escape. “No, I— That is … I really think I should come back later.”

“No time like the present,” Douglas said, and gave her a friendly nudge through the door. “Sebastian, look what we’ve brought you.” He brought the glass to his eye and peered around owlishly. “Where is that boy?”

“Upstairs.” Morgana breezed in from the direction of the kitchen. “He’ll be … Oh, hello.”

“Hi.” The frost on the greeting told Mel it had been a bad idea to come. “I was just … leaving. I didn’t realize your family was visiting.”