was sorry she left me," Echo told me. "She said she
would never leave me again. Never."
Her happiness not only disappointed me, it
frightened me. She was being set up for a great fall. I was positive, but I dared not contradict her or Rhona
directly.
"People say things sometimes and forget," I
told her.
"No," she said, and shook her head vehemently.
"She won't forget. She promised."
All I could do was smile and nod. I kissed her
on the forehead and told her to sleep tight. She nodded
and hugged Mr. Panda to her.
When I stepped out into the hallway. I could
hear Rhona's and Skeeter's laughter below. They had
put on some music, not caring how loud it was and if
it would disturb me or Mrs. Westington. I thought I
heard the sound of something being knocked over,
too. Their laughter stopped and then I heard R
hona
moan. Skeeter laughed and Rhona cried out
passionately. They're probably making love right on
the living room floor. I thought, For a moment I was
tempted to go look. I went into my room instead and
closed the door.
I stood there in the darkness. trembling. How
horrid all this had become. How sorry I felt for Mrs.
Westington. I was sure she would be having a
troubled sleep tonight.
"Uncle Palaver," I whispered, "you taught me how to make coins and cards disappear. You even showed me how you could make me disappear after I crawled into your magic box on the stage. But you forgot to show me how to make a horrid person
disappear."