Should she apologize to the Ballards and stay put? Should she just say she was missing her family and have Elspeth pack her belongings—her considerably pared-down belongings—for New York? She felt sick and alone and she had a responsibility to her family, to the Ballards, and to Elspeth. She’d tried that excuse when Gran Gwen came to her room a little while later. “I see,” she’d said. “If that’s true, I suggest you give it a few more days. It sometimes takes a while to accustom oneself to being away from one’s family, especially under circumstances such as these.” Was she being polite, or did she really want Deanna to stay? Deanna couldn’t trust herself to know. “But if it’s merely because you argued with Joseph. Well, let me say, you needn’t think that Joseph’s attitudes reflect those of this family. Young people can be headstrong. That is a good thing. He’ll either come round or he won’t; that’s his choice.”
