a work of art in itself, which matched the elaborate sconces along the walls. The whole entrance reminded Serena of a brilliantly lit ballroom. The maids were quick to welcome Brad home, and they went off to report to the cook that he was back, and he promised to go out to the kitchen to see her in a minute. But first he wanted to show Serena the apartment where he had grown up.
In its own way it reminded her of the palazzo. It was smaller of course, and it was after all an apartment, yet it had a grandiose quality to it more typical of a house, and the way it was decorated looked not unlike the assorted homes in which she had grown up. There were delicately shaded Aubusson rugs, damask drapes, and rich brocades, a grand piano in the library, as well as three walls of rare books, and in the dining room there was an impressive collection of family portraits. The living room was subtle and lovely and very French. There were two Renoirs and a Monet, a great deal of Louis XV, rivers of white silk and gray damask, accented with a little dusty rose, and vast quantities of gilt and marble. It was certainly not a “little apartment” by anyone's standards, and its main virtue in Serena's mind was that it gave her the impression she had already seen it before. It was just like all the palazzi she had known as a child. It was in better condition, and there were some very fine things, some even lovelier than what she had seen in Venice, and yet it had that familiar ring that one finds in Paris and London and New York and Rome, Munich or Barcelona or Lisbon or Madrid, the look of a vastly expensive home filled with priceless things, the rich gilts of Louis XV, the needlepoint scenes of Aubusson, the shapes and the colors and the smells that all looked so familiar. It was almost as though she wanted to sigh in relief and say, “It's all right, I've already been here.” Teddy had noticed the look of relief on her face and immediately teased her.
“What did you expect? Lions and tigers and a woman with a whip and a chair?”
But Serena laughed at him. “Not quite, but …” There was teasing in her face as well.
“Close, huh? Well, you're in luck. We only feed the Christians to the lions on Tuesday. You're two days late.”
“It's a beautiful place.”
Brad was looking around him as though seeing it for the first time, and he smiled at them both. “You know, I'd forgotten how nice it all is.” It had been ten months since he'd been home on leave, and that had been so hectic mat he'd never noticed his home the whole time he was there.
“Welcome home, Big Brother.”
“Thanks, kid.” He squeezed his younger brother's shoulder, and put an arm gently around his wife. “You all right, sweetheart? Not too tired?” Just the way he said it warned Teddy of something.
“Something wrong?” He looked at them both worriedly and Brad shook his head with a smile, but there was a look in his eyes that Teddy had never seen there before, a look of tenderness and pride and excitement. “What's up? Or am I being nosy?”
“I guess not. I wanted to tell everyone tonight. But I'd like to tell you first.” He had a right now to hear this first. B.J. reached for Serena's hand and smiled at Teddy. “We're having a baby.”
“Already?” Teddy looked stunned. “When?”
“Not for another six months, or six and a half, to be exact.” Brad looked teasing. “It's decent. We've been married for six months now.”
“I didn't mean that.” Teddy looked embarrassed and then glanced at Serena. “It just seems so soon.”
“It is soon, and I'm glad. I'm not as young as you are. I don't want to waste any time, and Serena's happy too.” He beamed at her again and Teddy smiled as he watched them.
“I think I'm sick with jealousy, but the weird thing is, you know, I'm not even sure I mind.”
B.J. laughed at the candor of his younger brother and all three of them chuckled together. Something very odd had happened between the three of them that day. A new bond had formed between two people who had already loved each other all of their lives and they had managed to include in it a whole other person. It was as