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Do you want to go out for a drink somewhere? He was surprised to hear himself say it, but he liked talking to her.

All right. Where are you staying? Her brown eyes looked directly into his. She wasn't afraid of anything, and certainly not Spencer.

The Shoreham.

So are we. We can have a drink at the bar. I'll just go tell my mother. She did, and a few minutes later they left, most of the guests were already gone, and it was almost one o'clock, and her mother didn't object to her leaving with Spencer. He was a respectable, attractive man, and she knew she could trust him with her daughter. She waved to them as they left, but Spencer didn't want to interrupt what looked like a serious conversation with the Speaker of the House. They left quietly and caught a cab back to the hotel, and took a quiet table in a corner of the bar. He noticed several heads turn as they walked in. They made a very striking couple.

He ordered champagne, and they talked for a while longer, about New York, his job, and California. He told her how much he had loved it and that he'd like to live there someday, although he didn't see how, working for a law firm on Wall Street. And she laughed at him, all she wanted was to move to New York when she finished college, or maybe Washington now that her parents would be there for most of the year. She talked about wanting to have her own house in Georgetown.

It was obvious from the way she talked that she had never lacked for anything. It never dawned on her that she might not get what she wanted. But he had figured out that much when he met her in her home in San Francisco. Their house there was both opulent and beautiful, and it was easy to see that her life had been an easy one. Both her parents had come from families with a great deal of money.

You have to come to Tahoe sometime. My grandfather built a wonderful house on the lake. I've loved it ever since I was a little girl. But oddly, when she mentioned it, he thought of the Alexander Valley, and he asked her if she'd ever been there. No, but I went to Napa once, to visit friends of Dad's. There's not much there though, except vineyards and a few Victorian houses. It had seemed very dull to her, but she looked intrigued as Spencer described the valley north of it, and she saw something in his eyes that aroused her curiosity. There was a look of remembering, a look that told her there was more to it than he was telling. Do you have friends there?

He nodded pensively. Two of the men who served in the army with me live there. He told her about Boyd and Hiroko then, and her eyes hardened as she listened.

It was stupid of him to marry her. No one's going to forget what happened in Japan. She sounded spoiled and insensitive suddenly and it annoyed him. It was exactly the kind of reaction Hiroko had been faced with constantly since coming to California.

He spoke very quietly, barely concealing his anger. I don't suppose the Japanese will forget Hiroshima either.

Didn't you say your brother was killed in the Pacific? Her eyes honed in on him and he looked at her squarely.

Yes, he was. But I don't hate them for it. We did our own share of killing there. It was a pacifist view she wasn't familiar with, and it wasn't in keeping with her father's opinions. He was an ardent conservative, and he had fully approved of the bombing of Hiroshima. I hated everything we did there, Elizabeth. No one wins a war, except maybe governments. The people always lose, on both sides.

I don't share your view. She looked prim and he tried to cool down by making light of it.

I suppose you would have liked to join the army too. Along with her longing to be an attorney or a politician.

My mother worked for the Red Cross, and I would have, too, if I'd been old enough.

He sighed. She was still so young, and so naive, and so influenced by what her parents thought. He had his own views about the war, which differed greatly from his father's. Spencer was only happy it was over, but he still remembered the friends he'd lost, the men who had served with him ' and his brother. He looked at Elizabeth then, and he felt almost old enough to be her father, instead of only ten years older. Life is funny, isn't it, Elizabeth? You never know which way it's going to go. If my brother hadn't been killed, I might never have gone to law school, he smiled quietly, I might never have met you.

That's a strange way to look at it. She was intrigued by him. He was honest and gentle and intelligent, but not as ambitious as she would have wanted. He just seemed to be enjoying life as he rolled along, waiting to see which way it would take him. We make our own destinies, don't you think?

Not always. He had seen too much reality to believe that. And if he had made his, his life might have been very different. Do you think you'll make yours? He was as fascinated by her as she was by him. They were so very different.

Probably. She sounded sure of it, and he admired her for her confidence and determination.

I believe you will, given half a chance.

Does that surprise you? She looked so sure of herself, so unruffled, and so in control after the long evening.

Not really. You seem like someone who's always gotten what she's wanted.

And you? Her voice grew softer. Have you been disappointed, Spencer? She wondered if he'd lost someone he truly cared about, or had had a broken engagement, but he hadn't.

He smiled before he answered her, thinking about it. Not disappointed. Only rerouted, one might say, and then he laughed openly as he poured the last of their champagne. The bar would be closing soon, and he would have to take her back to her parents, or their suite anyway. They both knew the evening would go no further. My parents wanted me to marry my brother's wife when I came home, his widow, I should say. That was a bit of a go-around when I got home.

Why didn't you? She wanted to know everything about him.

He looked at her honestly. I didn't love her. That's important to me. She was Robert's wife, not mine. I'm not him. I'm someone very different.

And who's that, Spencer? Her voice was like a caress in the dark room as she searched his eyes, what do you want?

Someone I love ' and respect ' and care about. Someone to laugh with when things go wrong ' someone who's not afraid to love me back ' someone who needs me. He felt very vulnerable as he said it to her, and he wasn't sure why he had opened up to her. He wondered if Crystal would ever fit the bill. It wasn't likely. It was odd how the memory of her stayed with him. She was a wildly beautiful girl, from a distant place. All he knew was how lovely and gentle she was, and how he felt when he was near her. He didn't know what was inside her or what she thought, or who she would be once she was a grown-up. Nor did he know what was inside Elizabeth, but he suspected it wasn't soft. She was made of sterner stuff, and he couldn't imagine her ever needing anyone, except maybe her father. If you had your way, what would you want, Elizabeth?

She smiled and was as honest as he had been. Someone important.

That says it all, doesn't it? He laughed, but her words had hit their mark. She was exactly what he had thought her. Tough, smart, interesting, alive, ambitious, and independent.

Spencer escorted Elizabeth to her room, and said good night to her in the hall, and she turned as she opened the door and looked at him with a warm smile. When are you going back to New York?

Tomorrow morning.

I'm staying here for a few days. I'm going to help Mom look for a house. But I'll be back at Vassar by next week, Spencer ' and then so softly he could barely hear her, ' call me.

How would I find you? For the first time, he thought he might call her, although he wasn't sure why. He found her a little overpowering, and yet it might be fun to take her to dinner or the theater. She certainly wouldn't embarrass him, and she was interesting to talk to, and there was something vaguely intriguing about taking out a Supreme Court justice's daughter.

She told him what dorm she was in, and he promised to remember. And then he thanked her for the evening. I had a great time. He seemed to hesitate, not sure what he should do next, but she looked supremely comfortable as she stood in the doorway.

So did I. Thank you. Good night, Spencer. And then the door closed quietly, and she was gone, as he walked slowly back to the elevator, wondering if he would really call her.

The partner Spencer worked for was pleased with him when he went back to New York with reports of the induction, and the dinner afterward. It pleased the firm to have their young attorneys rub shoulders with important people. The fact that his own father was a judge hadn't done him any harm with them either. And his father was pleased as well, when he told his parents all about it. He omitted any mention of Elizabeth though, somehow that didn't seem important and he didn't want them to get their hopes up.

And in the end, after thinking about it for a while, he decided not to call her.

But Elizabeth took matters in her own hands a month later when she came to New York to visit her brother. She looked him up in the phone book and called him. She called him on a Saturday, and he was surprised to hear her voice. He had been on his way out to play squash with friends from the office.

Is it a bad time? She sounded, as always, very mature, and he smiled as he looked out the window and juggled his racket.

Not at all. How've you been?

Fine. Vassar is a little better this term. She didn't tell him she'd been going out with one of her professors. But boys her own age always bored her. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the theater tonight. We have a spare ticket.

Are you here with your parents?

No. I'm staying with my brother and his wife. We're going to see Summer and Smoke at the Music Box Theater. Have you seen it?

No, he smiled, but I'd like to. What the hell, how dangerous could it be with her brother there? He didn't trust himself with her. He didn't want to get involved with someone quits so intent on her future. He still remembered her answer when he asked her what she was looking for in life, and she had answered, someone important.

We're having dinner at Chambord before the theater. Why don't you meet us there? Say, at six?

Fine. I'll meet you there. And thank you, Elizabeth. He wasn't sure if he should apologize for not calling her, but decided it was best not to say it. And she certainly made things easy for him. The best restaurant, the best show, and an introduction to her illustrious brother, Ian Barclay.

Spencer arrived at the restaurant precisely on time, and recognized her instantly, in a well-cut black evening suit and a small black velvet hat perched atop a very appealing new hairdo. She seemed to take a lot of care about how she looked, and he liked that about her. She was good-looking and chic, and she always made an impression. For a girl not yet twenty, she had a lot of style, and so did her brother Ian. Spencer found him to be an intelligent man, although a little forceful about his political ideas. But in spite of that, Spencer liked him. His wife was a very attractive English girl he had met while flying bombing raids with the RAF. She was the daughter of Lord Wingham, and Elizabeth made sure that Spencer knew it. Her life was filled with important names and illustrious people with powerful occupations. In an odd way, it made him feel powerful just being with her, as though some of it might rub off. They were all so damn sure of who they were, and where they were going, and it was easy to see why it all mattered to her so much. Ian and Sarah talked about spending Christmas at St. Moritz, and they had just been to Venice that summer. They had gone to Rome afterward, and had had a private audience with Pope Pius, because he knew her father. She had the enormous ease of the aristocracy, and seemed to expect that everyone knew the same people she did.

They enjoyed the play, and Spencer invited them to the Stork Club afterward, and they all danced and talked and laughed, and after that they went back to the Barclays' apartment on Sutton Place. They had no children yet, and Sarah was far more interested in her horses. She talked about jumpers and hunters, and they invited him to ride with them sometime. It was all very pleasant, and this time when Spencer told Elizabeth he'd call her, he meant it. He felt he owed her something after the pleasant evening he had spent, which was precisely what she had intended.

He called her two weeks afterward, and he would have called her sooner, he explained, except that he'd been buried in work at the office. But she didn't scold him for not calling. They made a date for the following weekend. She stayed at her brother's again, and Spencer took her to dinner and dancing at the Stork Club. He wasn't intent on impressing her, but Elizabeth wasn't the kind of girl one could take anywhere except the very best places. He told her about the cases he'd been working on, mostly litigation that involved business or taxes. It was interesting work, and she made intelligent comments. And that night, when he took her home, they stood outside her brother's apartment, and he kissed her.

I had a lovely time, she said quietly, but there was something warm in her eyes just for him that didn't go unnoticed.

So did I. And he meant it. She was good company, and she looked smashing in a silver dress her sister-in-law had brought her from Paris.

What are you doing next weekend?

I have exams. She laughed. Stupid, isn't it? It plays havoc with my social life. They both laughed and he suggested she come back to New York the following weekend.

She did, and they went out again, and this time the kisses were a little more fervent. Her brother and sister-in-law were away for the weekend that time, at a hunt in New Jersey, and she invited Spencer in for drinks at the end of the evening. They sat on the couch for a long time, kissing and talking. And afterward he felt guilty about it. She was too young for him to be toying with her, and he couldn't imagine that it would lead anywhere. Her world was more than a little beyond him. He wasn't in love with her, but he was attracted to her physically, and he knew that he liked her. He liked the sense of power that flowed so freely in her world, yet he was also aware of a certain lack of warmth. Everything was very calculated and cold. But as a tourist in that world, he had to admit that it was amusing.