“Surely you’re not basing your career decisions on what Brandon does, or whether you get married,“ Diana said in genuine amazement. “Every woman has a responsibility to be able to take care of herself.“
“You sound like one of those hard-line feminists we have to study in college,“ Robyn muttered.
“No,“ Diana said easily. “I’m just practical. I’ve seen enough of life and the world to know that when the chips are down the only one you can really count on is yourself. Right, Colby?“
Colby studied her intently. “Yeah. Right. Do you want another taco, Diana?“
She laughed and got up. “No thanks, I’m stuffed. That was a delicious meal. Seeing as how you and Brandon fixed the dinner, I think Robyn and I can handle the dishes. Okay with you, Robyn?“
Robyn nodded reluctantly. Diana got the impression she didn’t want to be separated from Brandon by even a few feet. But she got up and began collecting dishes.
“This is a creepy old house, isn’t it?“ Robyn said as she followed Diana into the kitchen.
Diana looked around at the old two-story structure. The house was in decent repair, but there was an undeniable air of shabby gloom about it. The floorboards squeaked. The walls were bare. The appliances were old. The halls were dark. The furniture was ancient and worn-out, and the drapes were so faded that it was difficult to detect any sign of their original flower print.
There was something quietly, eerily sad about Aunt Jesse’s old house, as if the woman’s unfulfilled dreams still hovered there.
“Yes, it is a little creepy. Sort of fits the image of the kind of house a horror writer should live in, though,“ Diana said briskly.
Robyn gnawed on her lip again. “Mr. Savagar hates me.“
“Don’t be silly. He can’t possibly hate you. He hardly knows you. It’s the idea of you and Brandon getting married that he doesn’t like. He feels you’re both too young.“
“Brandon said his father was married at nineteen.“
“Which is precisely why he’s bound to be opposed to Brandon marrying at the same age. He knows nineteen is too young to make that kind of commitment.“
“You’re on Mr. Savagar’s side, aren’t you?“
“Not exactly. I do have my own opinions on some things, though, and I’ll admit I don’t think a woman should consider marriage until she’s established a career of her own. It’s just too big a risk.“
“You sound just like my parents. They’re always telling me what I should do. Always trying to dictate my life.
They think I’m still a child and they treat me like one.“
“They probably just don’t want you to make any serious mistakes at your age,“ Diana said soothingly, thinking that she was highly unqualified to be lecturing a teenager on how to conduct her life. She’d had absolutely zero experience in child-rearing.
“Brandon and I are adults, you know. We can make our own decisions.“
“Part of being an adult is not feeling it’s necessary to tell other adults that you are one.“
“What’s that supposed to mean?“ Robyn appeared genuinely bewildered.
“Never mind.“
“It’s not as if the people who don’t want us to get married know what they’re talking about,“ Robyn continued earnestly. “Take yourself, for example. You’re a lot older than me, you’ve got a career and everything and you’ve never married. Do you think I want to end up like you? And look at Mr. Savagar. He’s not married either. My parents may be married, but they’re always yelling at each other. Always fighting. The fact is, none of you know what real love is.“
Diana saw the incipient tears in Robyn’s eyes. She gave her a wry smile. “You may have a point, Robyn.“
5
“Couldn’t wait to get out of there, could you?“ Colby demanded roughly as he followed Diana into her cottage an hour later. He tossed her car keys down on the hall table. He had insisted on driving her home and intended to walk back to his place. “Can’t blame you. I wish I could walk away from that mess myself.“
“It’s a common enough situation, Colby. Just a couple of young people in the throes of first love.“
“A couple of young fools, you mean. Easy enough for you to sound calm. You’re not the one who has to deal with it.“ He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Marriage. I can’t believe it. After all I taught that kid. After all the lectures I gave him on not tying himself down to the first pretty face who comes along. Damn it, Diana, what the hell am I going to do?“
“I don’t know,“ Diana said gently, pouring him a glass of brandy. Specter watched broodingly. She tossed him a dog biscuit.
“I can’t let him do it. He’ll ruin his whole life. He’s got a great future waiting for him. The last thing he needs is to be saddled with a wife and maybe a couple of kids. I’ve got to make him see that. I can’t let him make the same damned fool mistake I made.“
“Stop pacing, Colby, you’re making Specter nervous.“
Colby swore under his breath and swallowed half the brandy in his glass. He looked at Diana mutely for a long moment. “I hadn’t realized how upset you were about your situation at Carruthers and Yale.“
She sipped her own brandy reflectively. “Ill find another job. I’ve got contacts in the business world. I’ve got a good track record. Something will turn up.“
“You’re cool enough about it now, but when Brandon brought up the subject at dinner, it was clear you’d been through hell. It really got to you. It was a major career disaster for you, wasn’t it?“
“These things happen in business.“
“Did that boss of yours – Aaron Crown – did he go to bat for you?“
“Aaron said he did everything he could for me. Gave me the highest possible recommendation. Tried to talk the powers that be into making good on their promise to deal fairly with a woman in management. But upper management was inflexible.“
“And I’ll bet you were as cool as a cucumber right through it all. No tears. No rage. No big emotional scenes and no recriminations.“
“One of the first things a woman learns in business is that men do not respect, let alone understand, what they think of as typical female emotions. It’s very important for a woman’s business image that she never cry or lose her self-control around the men she works with or for.“