It was still early evening at the Remington Estate.  Laure was curled up in an armchair by the fire, which East had built for her, warming herself and feeling snug.  She had been caught in an unscheduled rain that afternoon, but was now dry and pretty again, no worse for the drenching.  Her dark hair was uncurled, newly dry and brushed, and full of static.  Electric wispy tresses fell on her shoulders and across her brow.

East stood by her chair, holding his hat out to the heat, for Laure had refused to let the servants put it in the dryer with the rest of their wet clothes.  Laure had tried to throw it in the fire, but East grabbed it from her and warned her very firmly not to try it again.

"Yes, Daddy," she shot at him.

The remark hit home and hurt, as it was supposed to.  Worse.

No matter how many times he worked it out, three times twenty-three was sixty-nine.  He was seventy.  That was nearly half a lifetime.  Why shouldn't she treat him like her father - or her grandfather?

When I am in my twilight years, you will be as old as I am now.

He would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation, but he felt too deeply to laugh.  Why in the name of merciful God this woman?  It was bad enough that she owned him, but did she have to know it?

The man East least wanted to see - or even acknowledge the existence of - chose this moment to appear.  Laure's husband.

Stephen Remington's manner of entering a room was almost an apology, as if he needed permission to move about in his own house.

"Laure, darling," said the vanilla man, unaware that he was interrupting a duel and that East was staggering from a well-aimed dart fired by sweetly Cheshire-smiling Laure.

Can't he see the blood all over the carpet?

Laure could see it.  She missed nothing.

"My darling," Stephen began again.  "You... I..."

"Yes, darling?" Laure prompted.  "Dr. Dittrich was here yesterday...."

"I know that," Laure said.  The bothersome doctor had insisted on checking her over - of course she knew he had been there.

"I'm afraid you have cancer."

East nearly choked.  Laure was perturbed.  "How can I?" she said.  "I thought there were no diseases on this planet."

"It is not a germ, Laure.  You don't catch it."

"Then, darling, how come I have it?" said Laure sweetly.

"I don't know how these things work.  But you must go to the Yrlin clinic right away."

"I must?" said Laure, beginning to show real annoyance, unused to hearing orders, especially from Stephen.

"Dr. Dittrich said it was quite extensive," Stephen said.

"Herr Dittrich is a quack.  They all are."

"Darling," said Stephen, "doesn't it hurt?"