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Show 189 just throw it across the piano bench. Then come sit with me for a while." She indicated a velvet-upholstered wing chair; Karl sank into it, glad to get off his feet because the impact of her beauty weakened him. She wore a deep-rose dress that heightened the color of her skin, the warmth of her eyes. Her long neck was sheathed in the lace and rose cloth of the high-collared dress, making her face look like a flower on a slender stem. Winter sunlight reached through the windows to gild her hair. Almost immediately, Mary Margaret came in with a tea tray. Yulyona hurried across the room, saying, "Let me help you with that -- it's heavy. Set it on this table next to Karl. Would you like to have a cup of tea with us, Mary Margaret?" The girl smiled her thanks, but shook her head. On the way out, she picked up Karl's coat and hat from the piano bench and took them with her. "Lemon? Cream?" Yulyona asked, pouring the tea. "Have one of these cakes, Karl. I just got home from school, so I'm famished." "Thank you." He held the teacup carefully -- it was much smaller than the mugs they used at home. His fingers shook. "I want to...," he began, but at the same instant Yulyona said, "Karl, have you...?" She smiled. "You go first." "I mainly came to tell you that I haven't said a word to anyone about your marriage." Mainly that, but mostly to see her one more time. |