Chapter Twenty One
Things were not going as smoothly for Brooke. More and more he was bedeviled with doubts and concerns he hardly knew how to articulate. It was mid-evening on a Thursday when he found himself standing in Stroud’s study, snarled up with the emotions of a guilty schoolboy called before the headmaster. Stroud was seated behind his desk, patiently awaiting Brooke’s revelation.
“I took Ever to the Knolls,” he blurted finally.
“She mentioned it,” Stroud replied with his customary reserve.
“What did she say?”
“Not much.”
“I’m not proud of it,” Brooke admitted.
“Did Ever consent to go?” Stroud asked.
“Yes. No. I don’t really know.”
Stroud smiled. “Are you still so unsure of her?”
“Hell, I don’t know. She goes along with all this like a well trained pet. God, she fulfil
