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"Very unnerving," Jacques agreed

Ann frowned suddenly "You look exhausted, Grandpapa" She looked at Tara, as if her cousin’s arrival and tirandfather was foolish and discourteous and Tara certainly should have known it

"I’m fine But I will sleep now And Ann, you are not a foolish little chicken--youin, and, of course, you must see that the alar Tara, we ers into this house You understand that? We ers in"

"Of course not," Ann said "We’ll leave you now to sleep"

She kissed hiht hers, and in the with determination

"Bonne nuit, Grandpapa," she said softly

They started out of the room He called after them

"If there is trouble ever, of any kind, you ht in the Resistance, you will re with my aim"

"Of course, Grandpapa," Ann said

They stepped out of the room Ann closed the door behind them "You have to learn, Tara, how easily he tires," she said reproachfully

"I just got home, and have been with him only a few minutes," Tara said "But don’t worry, I adore him, too, and intend to be very careful"

"Itnews that has so upset hiain "When I heard on the radiomy skin just seemed to crawl! Oh, Tara, I should have a wonderful dinner and sit down and be chatty, but I ae drink in the bathtub, and then bed Would you ht, but the day was so chaotic, I ran so late, and then hearing about the ot to sleep because Grandpapa wanted o to the church"

"If you had arrived tomorrow, it would have been too late"

"Yes, well, I arrived today," Tara said ruefully "Go to bed, get your rest I’ Eleanora is a shepherd, huge, and loyal, and so trustworthy!"

"Good night, then"

Tara kissed her cousin on both cheeks, and headed for her room Once inside, she sat down at the foot of the bed She felt numb The worker had been beheaded

Sweat broke out on her pal to shake off the hten around her as she sat She walked to the French doors that led out to the balcony and opened therandfather’s, while Ann’s room was to the left--all three of them overlooked the front of the house with the drive and the entrance to the stable to the right when she was looking down

There were no stars in the sky, and thefall suddenly see if she had the energy to go and give Eleanora a welco Fear seeain

A dog It had been nothing but a dog

And there it was Down below, at the end of the drive Eleanora?

The aniain Deep, and otherworldly A haunting sound that ht have co to the night and the heavens above

She leaned over the balcony It was not Eleanora It was not a shepherd

It was a wolf And a wolf as large as a horse, so it seemed

There were no wolves here, just outside of Paris, she told herself And she blinked Hard

The wolf reht was split with the unearthly sound of the creature crying out to thein the doorway, away fro that the sound didn’t seeer and fear

A man had died A horrible death And she had been there, down in the darkness of ancient corridors that belonged to the dead Naturally, she was frightened And it wasn’t at all usual to see a wolf in the driveway

She opened her eyes The as gone

Neither did she see Ann, securing Eleanora

Tara hesitated for afrom the stables She turned, ready to hurry down Across the room, she realized that she had left the balcony door open

She often left it open when she stayed at the chateau

For athe breeze touch the draperies The feeling was soft, cool, seductive, but the chill was giving her goose bumps She walked purposely back, closed and locked the doors to the balcony and then hurried downstairs

There was no one about But the front door wasn’t locked, and she assu

Old Daniel was still whinnying It was very strange, because he was thehad to be disturbing the horse

She hesitated, afraid to step outside

But

Ann had to be out here somewhere