“What about all that ‘good breeding’ you always talk about? What about your membership in the Mayflower Society and the Colonial Dames of America? I don’t think they take trailer trash, do you?”

“They need me more than I need them.”

He just looked at her.

“Is that all you’ve got, Chris? Was that your best shot? Then we’re done here—pack your bags and get out.”

He nodded. “That’s pretty much what I thought you’d say. You’re a smart girl, Vic—it’s one of the things I like about you. You know what you want and you know how to get it—and you don’t let anything get in your way. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I wasn’t surprised to find out where you really came from.”

“No?”

“It explains a lot about you. You’ve got the survival instincts of a pit bull, and somehow I never thought that came over on the Mayflower. You’re right, you can survive this—you’d rather not face all the embarrassment, but it wouldn’t stop you. I never thought it would.” He reached down to the floor again; he picked up a second manila envelope and set it in his lap, then looked at Victoria.

She glanced down at the envelope.

“A salary,” Riddick said, “plus benefits.”

“Never.”

He smiled. “You know, you left that library awfully fast this afternoon. You must have had a lot on your mind—you didn’t even see me standing by the door. You probably didn’t hear Momma calling after you either—she kept saying, ‘Wait! I have more to show you!’ I thought she just meant there were more pages in the scrapbook, but I was wrong—there was a second scrapbook. Shame on you, Victoria— your momma made a whole scrapbook for you, and you didn’t even bother to open it.” He tossed the envelope onto the bed. “You should have. You really don’t understand your family history until you do.”

She opened the envelope. She pulled out a stack of copies and began to read. Her mouth dropped open.

“Talk about a page-turner,” Riddick said. “I couldn’t put it down.”

She turned the pages with trembling hands. Her breathing became shallow and erratic. She kept looking up and staring at the wall as if she were searching for something written there.

“It explains a lot, doesn’t it? A lot about a lot of things.”

The papers slid off her lap and scattered on the floor. “I—I need some time to think about this.”