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daughters on his own for some time before he met Georgina. He seems decent enough, and Georgina seems settled again. She’s expecting another child in late fall.”
    â€œAny man willing to take on the responsibility of raisinganother man’s child, let alone four of them, qualifies as decent to me,” Emma noted. “But if Georgina is settled again, why is Wryn living with you and Catherine?”
    â€œYou’ve obviously met her.”
    â€œI have.”
    â€œThen you know she can be . . . difficult,” he ventured.
    â€œYes, I’m sure she can be, but I still don’t understand why Wryn isn’t living at home with her mother and her stepfather.”
    Mark sat forward in his chair and squared his narrow shoulders. “Because Wryn’s behavior is so disruptive and so manipulative, James gave Georgina an ultimatum: either she found a home elsewhere for Wryn or he was going to take his daughters and leave.”
    â€œHow decent of him,” Emma said, quickly reversing her opinion of the man.
    â€œDecent or not, after living with Wryn for a matter of weeks, I’m not quick to condemn the man or to question his word. Not where Wryn’s concerned.”
    Emma leaned forward in her seat. “Wryn is a child. She’s only fifteen years old. What could she possibly have done that would justify such an ultimatum?”
    Mark shook his head and sighed. “James claims Wryn is responsible for the constant bickering between his two daughters. Some of their little trinkets have even disappeared, which he blames on Wryn, who in turn constantly twists and turns everything he has to say to her into another heated argument. She even ran away. Twice. When she finally refused to speak to him or to obey anything he or her mother told her to do, that’s when he gave Georgina his ultimatum.”
    â€œIf the man felt he was forced to choose between his own young daughters and his new wife and stepchildren, I suppose I’mnot surprised he sided with his children. But Georgina did just the opposite, didn’t she?” Emma whispered.
    â€œNot completely,” Mark argued. “Wryn isn’t her only child. She has three other children and another on the way to consider.”
    Emma stiffened her back. “No mother should ever sacrifice one child for another. There’s simply got to be another way.”
    â€œIf there was, she couldn’t find it and neither can we. If Wryn’s not in her room pouting, which almost seems like a blessing, she’s making our lives miserable. She lies persuasively without blinking an eye. We can’t rely on her to do a single task for the simple reason that she either finds excuses not to do it or she simply disappears and refuses to tell us where she’s been when she finally decides to come home. Frankly, Mother, Catherine and I are at our wits ends, which is why we left Albany sooner than we’d planned. We were . . . that is, Catherine and I were hoping we could make . . . make arrangements for Wryn before Warren and Benjamin get here.”
    â€œArrangements?” Emma asked as her pulse began to rise with one possibility she would rather not consider for more than a single heartbeat. “What kind of arrangements?”
    He cleared his throat. “Catherine and I both realize how much we’re asking, but we . . . we were hoping that you would let Wryn live here at Hill House with you, because in all truth, you’re the only one we think might be able to bring her under control.”

4
    F LABBERGASTED, E MMA BLINKED HARD in a vain attempt to make sense of what Mark had said. “Here? You want Wryn to live here? At Hill House?”
    â€œWe wouldn’t ask you unless we really needed your help, but we haven’t been able to think of any other solution. You’ve written about the two young women here working at Hill House, and we thought you might allow Wryn to live with you and