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Maybe I will have to marry him if you make a habit of becoming a
jailbird.

Either that, or go to law school myself."

"Now, that would be much better, " Victoria said firmly.

The two sisters had made their peace with each other again by the time
they were dressed, and Olivia had almost forgiven her for the exotic end
to the afternoon, but she had forced Victoria to swear that she would
stay away from demonstrations for the rest of their stay in New York.

She didn't want to spend her time there getting Victoria out of trouble.

Victoria promised reluctantly, and lit a cigarette in their bathroom
while Olivia combed her hair and complained about how unattractive it
looked for a lady to smoke cigarettes, but Victoria only laughed at her
and told her she sounded like Bertie.

"If she ever knew you smoked, she'd kill you! " Olivia waved her
hairbrush at her twin to emphasize her point, as Victoria laughed,
looking terribly racy as she sat with her long legs crossed on the edge
of their huge tub, in one of the dresses Olivia had just bought them.

It was bright red and a little shorter than some of the dresses they
wore, in fact it was extremely fashionable and suited them both to
perfection.

"I like it by the way, " Victoria complimented her as they walked
downstairs to the dining room with their arms around each other.

"I like all the dresses you pick for us. Maybe I'll just live with you
for the rest of my life, and forget about Europe."

"I wouldn't mind that, " Olivia said softly, feeling sad at the thought
of a time when they might not be together. She had never let herself
think of marriage because she couldn't bear the thought of leaving
either of them, her father, or her twin sister. It would have been like
leaving part of herself behind, and she felt at times that there would
have been nothing left of her without them. "I can't imagine ever
leaving you, " Olivia said as she looked at the familiar face she had
seen all her life, so totally identical to her own that it was like
looking in the mirror. Each detail that the one had, the other had on
the opposite side, so that it really was like looking in the mirror.

"I couldn't leave you, " Olivia said, looking at Victoria, who smiled
and kissed her cheek gently.

"You won't ever have to, Ollie. I don't suppose I could bear to go
anywhere without you. I'm all talk, " she said, sensing that she had
upset Olivia with her talk of Europe. "I'll just stay home with you and
get arrested whenever I need a breather."

"You dare! " Olivia wagged a finger at her again, as Bertie joined them
in the dining room in a black silk suit Olivia had had copied for her
from a magazine from Paris. It looked surprisingly well on her, and she
wore it whenever she had dinner with the family, which she considered an
honor.

"And where were you all afternoon, Victoria? " Bertie asked as they took
their seats, and both girls averted their gazes as they opened their
napkins.

"At the museum actually. There was a splendid exhibit of Turners from
the National Gallery in London."

"Really? " Bertie said, opening her wise old eyes wide, pretending to
believe her. "I'll have to be sure and see it while we're here."

"You'll love it, " Victoria said, smiling brightly, as Olivia looked up
at the ceiling of the house her parents had once lived in. She wondered
what it had been like when their mother was there, what she had been
like, and who truly resembled her more spiritually, herself or her
sister. It was a question they often pondered, but they both knew their
father preferred not to discuss it. Even after all these years, it was
still too painful for him.

"It'll be nice to see your father tomorrow, won't it, girls? " Bertie
asked pleasantly as the meal drew to a close, and the kitchen girl
served them coffee.

"Yes, it will, " Olivia said, thinking of him, and the flowers she
wanted to put in his bedroom, as Victoria wondered if Olivia would
really kill her if she squeezed in just one more demonstration.

She had heard about one that afternoon, on the way to jail, and she had
promised to be there. But as she thought of it, Olivia glanced over at
her and shook her head, as though she knew what she was thinking. They
did that to each other sometimes, they never knew
how it happened, but it did. It was almost as though they could hear
each other's thoughts before the other said them.

"Don't you dare, " Olivia whispered to her behind Bertie's back, as they
left the table.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, " Victoria said primly.

"Next time I'll leave you there, mark my words, and let you explain it
to Father."

"I doubt that, " Victoria said with a laugh as she tossed her long dark
hair over her shoulder. There was almost nothing she was afraid of.

Even being in jail that afternoon had made no impression on her
whatsoever.

She had found it interesting, but not daunting.

"You're incorrigible, " Olivia said, and then they kissed Bertie good
night and went upstairs to their bedroom. Olivia looked at fashion
magazines while Victoria read a pamphlet by Emmeline Pankhurst about
hunger strikes in prison. She was, according to Victoria, the most
important suffragist in England. Victoria dared to light a cigarette in
their room, knowing that Bertie had already gone to bed, and she urged
Olivia to try one, but she wouldn't. Instead, Olivia sat looking out the
window, at the warm September night, and despite everything else she had
tried to think of that night, her mind wandered back to Charles Dawson.

"Don't, " Victoria said to her, as she lay on her bed and watched her
sister.

"Don't what? " Olivia asked, as she turned to look at Victoria reclining
elegantly and smoking.

"Don't think about him, " Victoria said quietly, blowing a long, slow
cloud of smoke toward the window.

"what do you mean? " Olivia looked startled. It was always eerie when
either of them guessed what the other was thinking.

"You know exactly what I mean. Charles Dawson. You had that same look in
your eyes when you talked to him. He's too boring for you.

There are going to be lots of wonderful men here. I can feel it." She
looked very worldly as she said it, but Olivia still looked startled.

"How do you know what I'm thinking? " It happened to them so often.

"The same way you do. I hear you in my head sometimes, like my own
voice, thinking. Sometimes I can just see it when I look at you."

"It scares me sometimes, " Olivia said honestly. "We're so close I don't
know where you end, and I begin, or do we? Do we just blend into one
sometimes? "

"Sometimes, " Victoria smiled at her, "but not always.

I like knowing what you think .. . and I like being able to surprise
people, and change places, like we used to. Sometimes I miss it. We
should do it again sometime, while we're here. Nobody would ever know
the difference.

And it would be great fun, wouldn't it? "

"It seems different to me now that we're older. It seems deceitful, "
Olivia said, looking thoughtful.

"Don't be so moralistic, Ollie. It's harmless. It doesn't hurt anyone.

I'm sure all twins do it." But they had only met twins once or twice in
their lives, and never of comparable ages or sexes, nor quite as
identical as they were. "Let's do it soon, " Victoria prodded her,
always willing to cross the line and be daring, just as she had been in
their childhood. But this time, when Olivia looked at her, she only
smiled, and didn't answer, and Victoria knew she wouldn't do it. They
were grown-up now. And Olivia thought switching was childish. "You'll
turn into a dreary old crone if you're not careful, " Victoria warned,
and Olivia laughed at her with genuine amusement.

"At least if I do, maybe by then you'll have learned to behave
yourself." The two sisters exchanged a warm look, and Victoria chuckled.

"Don't count on that, big sister. I'm not sure I ever will behave
myself."

"Neither am I, " Olivia whispered, and then left the room to get ready
for bed, as Victoria looked longingly out the window.

Chapter 3.

Their father arrived, on schedule, late Friday afternoon, from
Croton-on-Hudson. Donovan had driven up to pick him up in the Cadillac,
and Olivia had the house in perfect order for him.

Everything was exactly as it should have been, everything had been
dusted and shined and fluffed, and his bedroom was exactly the way he
liked it.

Olivia had flowers everywhere, and it smelled exquisite. Even the garden
had been cleaned up for him so he could use it, although it was just a
small patch of green after what he was used to in Croton. But when he
arrived, he was extremely pleased with what he saw, and he had high
praise for Bertie and both his daughters. He always included Victoria to
be kind to her, although he knew that it was Olivia who ran his
household.

He was happy to see them both and looked lovingly at both of them.

And then he kissed Victoria, and thanked her for Olivia's hard work,
which made them both giggle and he understood immediately what had
happened.

"I'm going to have Bertie make you wear colored ribbons in your hair
again, except that you'll probably do what you did then, and switch
them."

"We haven't switched in ages, Father, " Victoria said plaintively, and
Olivia looked pointedly at her.

"That's right, and who was trying to talk me into it just last night?

" Olivia said, as Victoria pretended not to remember.

"She won't do it anymore, Papa. She's no fun anymore, " Victoria
complained and he laughed ruefully at her. "You two will make everyone
miserable enough just by confusing them completely, without switching.

" He still shuddered when he thought of their presentation year two
years before, they had both been so striking in their finery, that he
hadn't been able to go anywhere with them without stopping traffic. In
his opinion, it had truly been excessive. And he was hoping that this
time people would be a little less excited each time they saw them. It
remained to be seen. They were going out the next night to the theater.

On the night of his arrival, Olivia had planned one of his favorite
dinners, with venison and asparagus and wild rice, and some clams that
had been brought to them that morning from Long Island. There were
vegetables from their garden in Croton that Donovan had brought down
with them at her request, and a chocolate cake that her father swore
would kill him, but of course he ate it. And after dinner, the three of
them had coffee, while he talked about some of the treats he had planned
for them, including the theater the following night, and several times
in the ensuing weeks. There were people he wanted them to meet, two new
restaurants he hoped to try with them, and he told Olivia that night
that he wanted to give a party. It had been years since he'd entertained
in New York, and he thought it might be interesting for them,
particularly now with everyone home from New England and Long Island
from the summer. This was the opening of the season. And it sounded
intriguing to both of them as they listened.

"In fact, " he said, smiling at both of them, and looking better than he
had in years, "we've already been invited to a ball at the Astors', and
the Whitneys are giving a huge party two weeks from now. I'm afraid you
ladies will have to do some shopping." It all sounded exciting to both
of them, but Olivia was even more excited about their party. Her father
had said that he wanted to invite about fifty people. Just big enough to
be lively, and small enough to get to talk to almost everyone at the
dinner. He promised to give Olivia the guest list the next day.

He had already written down all the names, and she and Bertie would have
to get busy. He knew only too well that Victoria would be no help to
them.

And the next morning, Olivia was already at her desk, poring over the
names, and writing out invitations. The party was to be in two weeks,
the same week as the ball at the Astors'. They were going to be very
busy. Olivia was also pleased to realize that she recognized many of the
names from two years before, although she couldn't always add faces.

But she remembered meeting them, and thought it would be fun seeing them
again, particularly here at the house. She loved entertaining for her
father. She had already put together several menus in her head, and
early that morning she'd been examining their linens.

She was going to have to have more of them brought down from Croton.

The crystal and the china were adequate here, and she knew exactly what
she wanted in the way of flowers, and she hoped she could still get them
by late September.

Olivia stayed at her desk most of that afternoon, working on her plans,
and Victoria went out for a drive with their father. They drove uptown
in the Cadillac, and eventually took a slow walk down Fifth Avenue,
where Edward ran into several people he knew and was proud to introduce
his daughter. They were both in high spirits when they got home, and so
was Olivia. She had organized the entire party.

And that night, when they went to see The Seven Keys to Baldpate with
Wallace Eddinger at the Astor Theater, their father seemed to know
everyone in the theater. And as usual, when they were introduced, they
created quite a stir. The girls were wearing matching black velvet
evening suits with little ermine wraps and collars, and each of them
wore a single long black beaded feather in her hair. Together, they were
like a double vision straight out of a fashion magazine from Paris, and
by the next morning, they were once again in the papers.

But this time, Edward was calmer about it than he had been two years
before, and the girls were less excited by it. They were two years
older, and they were somewhat used to causing a sensation in public.

"That was wonderful, " Victoria said, talking about the theater the
night before. She had liked the play and had been so engrossed by it she
scarcely noticed the attention being lavished on them by the people
around them.

"It's a lot better than getting arrested, " Olivia whispered to her with
a grin, as she went to get their father another cup of coffee.

They went to church together later that morning, at St. Thomas, and
everyone greeted them, and then the three of them got in the car behind
Donovan, and came back to the house on Fifth Avenue to spend a quiet
Sunday together. And the next morning, Olivia had work to do, running
the house and ordering things for their party, and her father left to
meet his attorneys, which was, after all, why they had come here. Both
John Watson and Charles Dawson came back to the house with him later
that afternoon, and Olivia had a little moment of terror when she first
saw them come in. She was afraid Charles might slip and say something to
her about the day he had taken her to the Fifth Precinct.

But in fact, he said nothing at all to her. He nodded politely to her as
they arrived, and said good-bye to her when they left, and showed no
particular recognition, which was a great relief to her, although
Victoria said she wouldn't have cared, when Olivia told her.

"Father would go right through the roof, " Olivia warned her, bringing
her back to earth rapidly, "and you know it. You'd be on the next train
back to Croton."

"Maybe you're right." Victoria grinned at her. She was enjoying New York
too much to take that chance again.

She wanted to go to meetings of the National American Women's Suffrage
Association, but she had promised to stay well away from all their
demonstrations.

They went to the theater again that night, and to dinner with friends of
her father's later that week, and Victoria had been amused to listen to
them talking about some utterly scandalous man named Tobi Whitticomb,
who had apparently made a vast fortune in somewhat speculative banking,
and an even larger one by marrying an Astor.

He was supposedly a very good-looking young man and had quite a
reputation with the ladies. Every one in town was said to be talking
about him after some recent, scandalous liaison which no one would
explain in any detail to either Victoria or her sister. And then their
father shocked everyone by saying that he had recently done business
with him, and found him both civilized and pleasant. In fact, they had
concluded some very profitable dealings, and he had found him to be
nothing but honest and very decent.

After that, everyone argued with him, and there was a great outcry and
exchange of stories about Whitticomb, and the assembled company had to
admit that in spite of his reputation, he was invited to all the best
homes and parties. But that, they said, was because he was married to
Evangeline Astor. And everyone in the group agreed that she was a sweet
girl, and an absolute angel to put up with Toby. But she'd apparently
been putting up with him for a while, since they'd been married for five
years, and had three children.

And it was only on the way home that night that Olivia remembered the
Whitticombs were invited to her father's party.

"Is he really as bad as they say? " Olivia asked with curiosity as they
rode home in the comfortable Cadillac at the end of the evening.

Victoria wasn't paying any attention to them, she had had a nice time
talking to some woman about politics, and she had seemed to have a great
deal to say on the subject.

But Edward Henderson smiled at the elder of the twins and shrugged in
answer to her question. "One has to be careful of men like Tobias
Whitticomb, my dear, he's very handsome and very young, and probably
very appealing to most women. But in all fairness to him, I gather that
most of his conquests are among married women, and they ought to be wise
enough to know better. And if not, then more pity to them. I don't think
he goes around ravishing young girls, or I wouldn't have had you invite
him to our dinner."

"Who's this? " Victoria asked vaguely, as she turned her attention to
their conversation. They were almost home by then, and she wasn't
particularly intrigued, as she hadn't heard the earlier conversation.

"Apparently, Father has invited some terrible libertine to our party,
and our hostess tonight was warning us about him."

"Does he murder women and young children? " Victoria asked, almost
without interest.

"Apparently just the opposite, " Olivia explained to her. "He's supposed
to be very charming, and women drop at his feet, like little dogs,
waiting for him to love them."

"How disgusting, " Victoria said with unreserved disapproval, as Olivia
and their father laughed at her reaction. "Why are we inviting him? "

"He has a charming wife as well."

"And does she wait for men to drop at her feet too? They could create
quite a problem at the party, with everyone dropping on the floor around
them all evening." They were at the house by then, and the three of them
went in, tired, and well pleased with their evening. And the subject of
Tobias Whitticomb was quickly forgotten.

But in spite of having invited the dubious Whitticombs, who had actually
accepted by then, they were all looking forward to their party.

Almost everyone they had asked had accepted, and there were going to be
forty-six guests at four round tables in their dining room, and dancing
in their drawing room afterwards, and even a rather elaborate tent over
the garden so people could stroll there. Olivia had gone to a great deal
of trouble on behalf of her father.

It seemed only moments before the big day arrived, and for two days,
Olivia did nothing but check flowers and linens and china. She tasted
food, and watched them set up the tent over the garden. There were ice
sculptures set up in the dining room, and the orchestra arrived and she
put them in the drawing room. The preparations seemed to go on forever.