30. Back to base

Proserpina

When we stopped to refuel and where I have no idea. All I recall is the landing on American soil and groggily getting out of the car in front of the large house I had visited once before, the night Lucien had seduced me so thoroughly.

My heart pounding, I studied the house in the twilight. It was as large as I remembered and as grotesque.

The wide pathway, the well-maintained gardens, the swimming pool in the distance, glistening invitingly in the evening sun, everything bespoke wealth. Spanish arches, wide verandas and wrought iron balconies completed the look of extravagance. And the entire sprawling estate was bounded by on all sides a high wall. The sentries at the door were also conspicuous in their presence. As the car sped past the huge iron gates and the cubicle where the guard sat, I was dimly aware of the feeling that I was entering a fortress.

I shuddered.

The night I had visited, it had seemed an ugly sprawling building. In the gathering dusk, I made a kinder as