“Those were the earrings that caught Lawrence’s fancy,” he shouted. “Lydia, do you know what you’re doing? Take those earrings off at once. Come back where you belong. In a few moments you’ll see Lawrence in that dumb cape for the first time and fall in love with him. Then I’ll never get you out of here. And if you don’t fall in love with him, I don’t know what kind of trouble you’ll get us into, because then you’ll change everything!”

Roger came into the bedroom. “Ready, hon?” he asked. “I just saw Lawrence coming up the walk. His girl isn’t with him, though.” He stopped and said, reprovingly, “You’re smoking, and you know that’s not supposed to be good for—”

“Young mothers; yeah, I know,” Lydia said, glowering at him. “You just don’t think smoking is feminine, that’s all. Well, I’ll smoke if I want to.”

Seven shouted, “Lydia. Come with me at once.”

Cyprus said gently, “Seven, it’s no use. Lydia didn’t believe she had a soul in that life. And she didn’t believe in hearing voices inside her head either. She won’t hear a thing you say.”

“You just don’t understand,” Seven exclaimed. “You’re too … remote. Lydia’s my personality, and—” He broke off, groaning, as a grinning, disheveled Lawrence, disarmingly devilish in his infernal cape, stood triumphantly just inside the open front door, his cheeks red from the autumn air. And Lydia stood in the hallway, staring at him; hooked, Seven thought. He turned to Cyprus with dismay.

Lawrence said, “I had the funniest feeling that you didn’t want me to come inside. Like something was trying to keep me out.”

“Don’t be silly. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Lydia smiled and came out into the living room while Roger closed the front door. Without knowing why, Roger suddenly felt sad, and watching him, Seven wondered how much Roger knew or remembered. Lydia was obviously ignorant of what was really happening.

And Lawrence was positively gleeful. Roger looked at him and said, uncomfortably, “What happened to your girl?”

“She couldn’t make it,” Lawrence said cheerfully. “You’ll have to share Lydia with me for the evening.”

“Why, that’s pretty flippant,” Lydia said, laughing. She threw herself down on the couch.

“Something else is wrong,” Seven said to Cyprus. “I just remembered; Lawrence is supposed to be a good deal younger than Lydia. They fell in love under these circumstances, only she was so much older that the whole idea seemed ridiculous at first. She was at least ten years older, and—”

“And now?” Cyprus asked.