But Ross, feeling responsible, whispered as he greeted her, “They won’t bother you; I’ll keep them on a leash, never out of my sight.” “Oh, but you mustn’t,” she said in alarm. “You’d have no time for yourself.” Or to be with Katherine, he thought, which was what she really meant. Amused, he watched her welcome the children. Stubborn, tenacious, trying to manage her family’s lives, so she could live through them. And clever, he reflected; she knew Katherine and I would get along. “We’ll make time for everything,” he promised, bringing a smile to Victoria’s face as she watched them go to their rooms to unpack. The children were in a wing of four rooms and a playroom, with its own courtyard, that Hugh and Victoria had added to the villa, anticipating noisy visits from grandchildren. Craig, Jennifer, Derek, and Ross had stayed there every summer, and as they grew older the playroom grew with them: rocking horses and Tinker Toys replaced by motorized Erector sets, model airplanes, and, finally, drafting tables, a television set and stereo, and a cabinet filled with chess, backgammon, Scrabble, Chinese Checkers, and Monopoly.
