I led him upstairs. On the way he told me that Grandpere Jack was the same.
'You wouldn't recognize the house, of course. He's made it into the same pigsty he had in the swamps. And the grounds are peppered with holes. He's still looking for the buried money.
'For a time, after you had left, the authorities thought he might have done something to you. It was something of a scandal, but when nothing to lead anyone to believe it was found, the police stopped hounding him. Of course, some people still believe it.'
'Oh. That's terrible. I'll have to write to Grandmere's friends and let them know where I am and that everything is fine.'
He nodded and I showed him into Gisselle's room.
Nothing brought the tint back into Gisselle's cheeks and the glint back into her eyes as much as a handsome young man did. We weren't sitting and talking five minutes before she was flirting, batting her eyelashes, swinging her shoulders, and smiling at him. Paul was amused, maybe even a bit overwhelmed with such feminine attention.
Toward the end of the visit, Gisselle surprised me by suggesting that we go visit him in the bayou one of these days soon.
'Would you?' Paul beamed. 'I'd show you around, show you things that would make your eyes pop. I've got my own boat and now I have horses and—'
'I don't know if I could sit on a horse,' Gisselle moaned.
'Of course you can,' Paul said. 'And if you couldn't, I'd sit with you.'
She liked that idea.
'Now that you know where we are, you don't be a stranger either,' Gisselle told him. 'We've got to get to know each other more and more.'
'I will. I mean, thanks.'
'Are you going to stay for dinner?' she asked.
'Oh, no. I got a ride in with someone and I've got to meet him real soon,' he said. I could tell he was making that up, but I didn't say anything. Gisselle was disappointed but she lit right up when he leaned over to kiss her good-bye.
'You come back real soon, hear?' she called as we started out.
'You could have stayed for dinner,' I told him. 'I'm sure Daddy would like to meet you. My stepmother Daphne is snobby, but she wouldn't be impolite.'
'No. I really do have to get back. No one knows I came here,' he confessed.
'Oh.'
'But now that I know where you are and I've met my other half sister, I won't be a stranger. That is, if you don't want me to be.'
'Of course I don't. And one day soon, I will bring Gisselle out to the bayou.'
'That would be great,' Paul said. He looked down for a moment and then looked up quickly. 'There hasn't been anyone else for me since you,' he confessed.
'That's not right, Paul.'
'I just can't help it,' he said.
'Try. Please,' I begged him. He nodded. Then he leaned forward quickly and kissed me. A moment later, like some memory from the past that had flowed through my thoughts, he was gone.
Rather than go right back to Gisselle, I went out to the garden. It was still a very beautiful day with the azure sky looking like an artist's canvas, sprinkled here and there with dabs of puffy white clouds. I closed my eyes and I might have fallen asleep had I not heard Daddy's voice.
'Somehow I thought I would find you out here,' he declared. 'I took one look at that blue sky and said to myself, Ruby's somewhere outside enjoying the late afternoon.'
'It is a pretty day, Daddy. How was your day?'
'Good. Ruby,' he said, sitting down across from me and looking very serious, 'I've made a decision. I want you and Gisselle to attend a private school next year. She needs special attention and . . . frankly, she needs you. Although she'd never confess that.'
'Private school?' I thought about it, thought about leaving the few friends I had made, and especially, thought about leaving Beau. Things were still difficult between us because of what Daphne had told his parents, but we were finding ways to see each other from time to time.
'It would be better for everyone if you two attended a live-in, private school,' he added, his meaning quite clear. 'I will miss you both terribly, but I'll try to be there often,' he promised. You won't be far from New Orleans. Will you do it?'
'A school full of snobby rich Creoles?' I asked.
'Probably,' he admitted. 'But somehow, I don't think you're afraid of that anymore. You'll change them before they change you,' he predicted. 'It's the kind of place where you'll have great balls and parties, travel excursions, the best teachers and facilities, and most importantly, you'll get back to your art. And Gisselle will have the special care she needs.'
'All right, Daddy,' I said. 'If you think that would be best.'
'I do. I knew I could count on you. So,' he said. 'What's your sister doing? How come she let you get some free time?' he joked.
