The Captive Page 0,18

already asked you to go with him."

"Why?" Cassie blurted, and then thought, Ask a stupid question...

"Because Faye is on the prowl," Diana said patiently. "And she likes Adam, and the mood she's in tonight, she'll try anything. That's the one thing I couldn't stand, Cassie, for her to get her hands on Adam. I just couldn't."

Cassie looked around for something to sit down on.

"But Diana ... I don't even have a dress. I'm all muddy...."

"You can go over to Suzan's. All the other girls are there. They'll take care of you."

"But..." Cassie shut her eyes. "Diana, you just don't understand. I can't. I-"

"Oh, Cassie, I know it's a lot to ask. But I don't know who else to turn to. And if Faye goes after Adam..."

It was the first time Cassie had ever heard such a forlorn note in Diana's voice. She sounded on the verge of tears. Cassie pressed a hand to her forehead. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. But-"

"Thank you, Cassie! Now go right to Suzan's-I've talked with her and Laurel and Melanie. They'll fix you up. I'm going to call Adam and tell him."

And that, Cassie thought helplessly, was one conversation she thought she could miss too.

Maybe Adam would get them out of it somehow, she thought as she drove the Rabbit up Suzan's driveway. But she doubted it. When Diana made her mind up about something, she was immovable.

Suzan's house had columns. Cassie's mother said it was bad Greek Revival, but Cassie secretly thought it was impressive. The inside was imposing too, and Suzan's bedroom was in a class by itself.

It was all the colors of the sea: sand, shell, pearl, periwinkle. The headboard on Suzan's bed was shaped like a giant scalloped shell. But what caught Cassie's eye were the mirrors- she'd never seen so many mirrors in one place.

"Cassie!" Laurel burst in just behind her, making Cassie turn in surprise. "I've got it!" Laurel announced triumphantly to the other girls, holding up a plastic-draped hanger. Inside Cassie glimpsed some pale, gleaming material.

"It's a dress Granny Quincey got me this summer-but I haven't worn it and I never will. It's not my style, but it'll be perfect on you, Cassie."

"Oh, God," was all Cassie could think of to say. She'd changed her mind; she couldn't do this after all. "Laurel-thanks-but I might ruin it..."

"Don't let her talk," Melanie ordered from the other side of the room. "Stick her in a bath; she needs one."

"That way," Suzan said, gesturing with splayed fingers. "I can't do anything until my nails are dry, but all the stuff's in there."

"Beauty bath mix," Laurel gloated, examining the assortment of bottles on the gilt shelves in Suzan's bathroom. There were all kinds of bottles, some with wide necks and some with long narrow necks, green and deep glowing blue. "Here, this is great: thyme, mint, rosemary, and lavender. It smells wonderful, and it's tranquilizing, too." She scattered bright-colored dried flowers in the steaming water. "Now get in and scrub. Oh, this is good," she went on, sniffing at another bottle. "Chamomile hair rinse-it brightens hair, brings out the highlights. Use it!"

Cassie obeyed dazedly. She felt as if she'd just been inducted into boot camp.

When she got back to the bedroom, Melanie directed her to sit down and hold a hot washcloth on her face. "It's 'a fragrant resin redolent with the mysterious virtues of tropical balms,' " Melanie said, reading from a Book of Shadows. "It 'renders the complexion clear and brilliant'-and it really does, too. So hold this on your face while I do your hair."

"Melanie's wonderful with hair," Laurel volunteered as Cassie gamely buried her face in the washcloth.

"Yes, but I'm not going to give her a do," Melanie said critically. "I'm just making it soft and natural, waving back from her face. Plug in those hot rollers, Suzan."

While Melanie worked, Cassie could hear Laurel and Deborah arguing in the depths of Suzan's walk-in closet.

"Suzan," Laurel shouted. "I never saw so many pairs of shoes in my life. What do you do with them all?"

"I don't know. I just like buying them. Which is lucky for people who want to borrow them," Suzan called back.

"Now, let's get you into the dress," Melanie said, some time later. "No, don't look, not yet. Come over to the vanity and Suzan will do your makeup."

Feebly, Cassie tried to protest as Melanie whipped a towel around her neck. "That's all right. I can do it myself-"

"No, you want Suzan to do it," Laurel