The Ring Read Free Page A

be totally at a loss for words.
    Then just say that I'm ugly and stupid and fat She grinned at him and they both laughed.
    Would that please you?
    Immensely. She was teasing and mischievous again.
    Well, at least no one would recognize you if I wrote about you like that.
    Are you really going to write about me?
    He was thoughtful for a long moment as they walked toward the house they both loved. One day I will. But not yet.
    Why?
    Because I'm still too overwhelmed by you to write anything coherent. In fact he smiled down at her from his considerable height "I may never be very coherent again.
    Their afternoons together were sacred, and they were often torn about whether to spend them in bed or sit comfortably in his ivory tower talking about his work. Kassandra was the woman he had waited half a lifetime for. And with Dolff, Kassandra had found what she had always so desperately needed, someone who understood the odd meanderings of her soul, the longings, the fragmented pieces, the rebelliousness against the lonely restrictions of her world. They had come to an understanding. And they both knew that, for the moment, they had no choice.
    Do you want some tea, darling? She tossed her hat and gloves on the desk in the entrance hall and went to her bag for her comb. It was onyx and ivory, inlaid and beautiful, and expensive, like everything else that she owned. She put it back in her bag and turned to Dolff with a smile. Stop grinning at me, silly ' tea?
    Hmmm ' what? Yes. I mean, no. Never mind that, Kassandra. And then he firmly took her hand in his. Come upstairs.
    Planning to show me a new chapter, are you? She smiled her incomparable smile as her eyes danced.
    Of course. I have a whole new book want to discuss with you at length.
    An hour later as he slept peacefully next to her, she looked down at him with tears in her eyes. She slipped carefully from the bed. She always hated to leave him. But it was almost six o'clock. After softly closing the door to the large white marble bathroom, she emerged again ten minutes later, fully dressed, with a look of great longing and sadness about her face. She paused for a moment next to the bed, and as though sensing her standing next to him, he opened his eyes.
    You're going?
    She nodded, and for an instant they shared a look of pain. I love you.
    He understood. So do I. He sat up in bed and held out his arms to her. I'll see you tomorrow, my darling. She smiled, kissed him again, and then blew him another kiss from the doorway before she hurried down the stairs.

Chapter 2

    The drive from Charlottenburg to Grunewald, only slightly farther from the center of the city, took Kassandra less than half an hour. She could make it in exactly fifteen minutes if she kept her foot on the floor in the little navy blue Ford coupe; she had long since established the quickest route home. Her heart pounded slightly as she glanced at her watch.
    She was later than usual today, but she still had time to change. It annoyed her that she should be so nervous. It seemed absurd to still feel like a fifteen-year-old girl late for curfew.
    The narrow, curved streets of Grunewald came rapidly into view, as the Grunewaldsee lay flat and mirrorlike to her right. There wasn't a ripple on the water, and all she could hear was the birds. The large homes that lined the road sat solidly behind their brick walls and iron gates, concealed by trees and shrouded in their conservative silence, as in bedrooms upstairs maids assisted their ladies to dress. But she still had time, she wasn't too late.
    She pulled the car to a quick halt at the entrance to their driveway and hopped rapidly out of the car, fitting her key into the heavy brass lock in the gate. She swung both sides open and drove the car through. She could have someone come back to close the gate later. She didn't have time now. The gravel crunched noisily beneath the wheels of her car as with a practiced eye she surveyed the house. It had been built in