Breath of Scandal(59)

"Then there's no reason for you not to come in. Please. Is this your little boy? He's adorable."

Jade found herself being ushered through beautiful but homey rooms. They passed through a sunny kitchen where the tantalizing smell of bacon and eggs made her salivate. These days her diet consisted mainly of Rice Krispies and peanut-butter sandwiches. She didn't remember when she had last eaten a cooked mM.

They entered a glass-enclosed back porch that extended the width of the house. At a wrought-iron table with a glass top, Dean Heaton was finishing his breakfast. As on the day Jade had met him in his office, he was dressed in a brown suit and tie, but she could envision him wearing a sweater with suede elbow patches and baggy trousers with a shiny seat.

Grizzled hair encircled his balding head like a laurel wreath. Tufts of hair sprouted from his ears. He also had more than adequate nostril hair. Rather than repulsing, how-



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ever, his hirsute features were endearing. His face was pleasant, his eyes friendly, his smile sweet. He glanced up curiously when his wife escorted Jade in. He removed the linen napkin he had tucked into his shirt collar and stood up.

"Well, Miss Sperry, isn't it? This is a pleasant surprise." "Thank you." She shifted Graham to her left arm and extended her right hand. After they shook hands, he motioned her into the chair across the table from him and invited her to sit down.

Jade felt flustered and gauche. The shoulder strap of her handbag was about to slide off her arm, and Graham was squirming and reaching for the drooping frond of a Boston fern hanging overhead.

"No, thank you, Dr. Hearon. I really can't stay. I apologize for interrupting your breakfast, but as I told Mrs. Hearon, I needed to see you before you left for campus."

"I've got time for one more cup of coffee. I'd love to have you join me. Cathy, please ... Miss Sperry?" Again he gestured toward the chair. Jade dropped into it, not wanting to appear rude, but mainly because balancing Graham and holding on to her slipping handbag was a feat that would have challenged an expert juggler.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for dropping in like this. I should have called- No, Graham!" In the nick of time, she prevented her son from eating the leaves he had pulled off the fem. "I'm sorry. I hope he didn't damage the plant."

"That's the third time you've apologized since you came into the room, Miss Sperry. Such an overdose of contrition is making me nervous."

"Me too," Cathy Hearon said as she reentered, bearing a small tray. On it were a cup and saucer and a plate. On the plate were a wedge of honeydew melon wrapped in a paper-thin slice of prosciutto and a blueberry muffin.

"Oh, I didn't mean for you to-" "Would you prefer tea over coffee?"

Jade didn't want to offend them by declining their hospitality. Besides, her stomach was growling. "Tea, please," she said quietly. "If it's not too much trouble."

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"None at all. I've already got it brewed."

Cathy Hearon went for the tea. Jade smiled sickly at the Dean of Student Affairs. "Thank you for your hospitality. "You're welcome. Butter?"

He passed her a Waterford crystal butter dish. As she smoothed butter onto the warm muffin, she handed Graham the teething ring she carried everywhere they went. For the time being, he seemed content to gnaw on it while she ate breakfast.

Mrs. Hearon poured her a cup of fragrant jasmine tea, then resumed her seat at the table.

"What's the baby's name?" "Graham. "

"Graham. I like that. Very unusual, isn't it, dear?" "Uh-huh. Miss Sperry is the young woman from Palmetto whom I was telling you about."

"Oh, yes. You see, Miss Sperry, Mitch has distant relatives in Palmetto."

Jade swung her startled gaze to the dean. He hadn't said anything about Palmetto at their previous appointment. She didn't want them to ask, "Do you know - - . " The less said about Palmetto, the better, because she didn't want to lie to them about anything.

Thankfully, Graham provided a distraction. He banged his teething ring on the edge of the table, then threw it to the floor in favor of a shiny silver spoon. She picked up the teething ring, but he found the spoon tastier.

Cathy laughed as he wetly gummed the spoon. "He's not hurting that old spoon a bit. He can chew on it to his heart's Content. "

Dean Hearon was regarding Jade closely. "I don't remember you mentioning that you were a mother when you came to see me a few weeks ago.

"No, sir, I didn't."

"Not that it's any of my business, of course. It wouldn't have made a difference to the scholarship committee, either. "

Jade blotted her mouth with her linen napkin. "I'm afraid it is your business, Dr. Hearon. That's why I'm here this



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morning. " She opened her handbag, removed the voucher, and slid it across the table toward him. "I must regretfully decline the scholarship."

Mrs. Hearon was the first to break a long, awkward silence. "Miss Sperry, I'm familiar with you because my husband told me about you. You made a favorable impression on him. But if it'll make you more comfortable, I'll leave you alone to discuss this matter privately. "