“Something has to be done, Mrs. T.” Hands gripped tight at her waist, Ann stood in Susan’s quiet sitting room in the tower suite. “It has to be.”

“All right, Annie, sit down.” It had been a long evening, and though she’d been pleased to see old friends, Susan had hoped for a few moments of solitude before bed. The look on Ann’s face warned her she wouldn’t get it. “Now what’s the trouble?”

“You know what the trouble is, Mrs. T.” Too fretful to sit, Ann wandered the room, fussing with curtains, realigning candlesticks, fluffing pillows. “You saw how pale and tired Miss Laura was today. You had to see for yourself.”

“Yes, I did see. And I’ve been pale and tired myself the day after I’ve overindulged in champagne.”

“Oh, as if that was all of it. And that’s something she’s never done before him, either.”

Perhaps she should have, Susan thought. She sighed. “Annie, stop tidying the room and sit down.”

“She spent the night with him. The whole of it. Over there with him above the horses.”

Because her lips wanted to twitch, Susan glanced down at her own hands as Ann sat across from her. “Yes, Annie. I’m aware of that.”

“Well, it can’t go on.” And that, Ann felt, was that.

“Just how do you expect to prevent a grown woman from doing as she chooses? The fact is, Laura is very attracted to Michael, perhaps more than attracted. She’s been lonely and unhappy, and now she isn’t.”

“He’s taking advantage of that. He’s a bad influence. Why, she didn’t even come down and say good night to her guests. She’s never shirked her duties that way.”

“She was tired, Annie, and the Greenbelts are my and Tommy’s friends. Which isn’t the point at all, really. You can’t worry yourself so about all of this.”

“You’re her mother, but you know I love her, just as you love my girl. When Margo had troubles, you worried yourself for her.”

“Yes.” Understanding, Susan laid a hand over Ann’s. “They’re our children, and that’s as it’s always been. But children grow and go their own way no matter how we worry. That’s how it’s always been, too.”