Emily returned to Evensong shaking.

She had forgotten all about this part.

Now that Aunt Elizabeth was dead, cousin Andrew Murray would get New Moon. His solicitor had been there. Mr. Murray was conscious of their current hardships and sorrow, and he shared in it, the solicitor informed them. That is why he would give them until 1 June to vacate New Moon. Also, Mr. Andrew was prepared to make Cousins Laura and Jimmy a very generous offer. He would rent out his old house in Shrewsbury once he took up residence in New Moon, but he was offering Jimmy and Laura the old converted barn that stood in the lot. It was no longer being used. True, it would be small, but how much room did they need?

"A barn!" Aunt Laura cried. "Andrew Murray wants me--to leave my home--and live in a barn!"

"Our Lord lived in a barn, Laura," said Cousin Jimmy gravely.

"He was born in a barn but he didn't have to stay there," said Aunt Laura with uncharacteristic snappishness. "Oh, Emily, what will we do?"


Emily's eyes flashed white lightning. "We'll figure something out, Aunt Laura," she said. "But don't worry--this isn't happening."

* * *

"Emily!" said Aunt Addie, opening wide the door for her. "Why, where are your two darling babes? I was hoping you'd bring them with you." Aunt Addie had no grandchildren of her own--Andrew's wife had died young--and this was a sore point with her.

"Juliet's come down with a sniffle," said Emily politely. "And besides, I've come to talk business with Andrew--he could hardly take me seriously with a squalling baby on my knee." She tried to smile but her face felt very stiff.

"I see," said Aunt Addie coldly, recognizing that Emily had come to talk about New Moon. Aunt Addie wanted badly to be one of the New Moon Murrays. They were considered finer stock than the Shrewsbury Murrays. She wanted very badly indeed to be mistress of that great ancestral home. She called for Andrew, who came in from his study.

"Emily!" he said, jovially. He took her hands and leaned in to give her a kiss. His sidewhiskers tickled her cheek. Emily remembered how when Andrew had been courting her, long ago, she'd had that feeling of his sidewhiskers. Why did he never shave them?

"Let's go for a walk," Emily suggested. She couldn't be here anymore, under Aunt Addie's watchful eye.

"Mind you take a jacket, Andrew," said Aunt Addie shrilly. "There a persistent little wind blowing about the place tonight--mind you don't bend in it."

Emily understood perfectly what she meant. There was no wind--the night was calm.

* * *

They took a little path that ran by the edge of the Shrewsbury Run. It was terrible --Andrew made small talk as if nothing was wrong. Emily hated that falseness. She decided to cut right to the chase.

"Andrew, I want you to give up New Moon," she said. "When Cousin Jimmy and Aunt Laura die, you may have it. But to take it from them now is so cruel. It is the only home they have ever known. I do believe it will kill Aunt Laura to leave it."

Andrew looked at her closely. "Nonsense, Emily," he said. "Aunt Laura will like it very much in town once she gets acclimated. She is accustomed to being coddled and indulged. She goes into hysterics if anyone does anything she doesn't like. It's a bit forced, isn't it?"

"No, it's not one bit forced," said Emily, through gritted teeth. "And Cousin Jimmy loves the place so--"

"Jimmy wouldn't notice where he was," said Andrew, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He's a half-wit. It's all the same to him."

Emily's temper flared but she held it down. She bit her toungue--literally--until the urge to scream at him had passed. Otherwise she would have no chance at all.

"If you'd married me so long ago, you'd be the mistress of New Moon now," said Andrew easily, looking up at the sky.

"What does that mean?" said Emily with a sideways look.

"Nothing," said Andrew. "Just speculating."

Emily's eyes flashed. "Suppose I wanted to buy New Moon from you," she said. "How much would you let it go for?"

A true Murray--one with any pride--would not sell the family home for any price. But Andrew was that other kind of Murray. Cousin Jimmy had remarked once that he'd sell his own mother for a dollar fifty in the market. Emily had giggled, and said that if Aunt Addie was her mother, she'd pay someone to take her away. New Moon was shabby and rundown--it was not worth more than two or three thousand dollars.

"Not a penny under five thousand," said Andrew. "I'm sorry Emily."

"I'd like to buy it from you," said Emily staunchly.

"Bring me the money and then we'll talk," said Andrew.

* * *

"We haven't got five thousand dollars," said Teddy. "Even if we sold this house we'd only get about one thousand, and I'd have to sell fifteen paintings before we'd make up the difference. The bank would never give us a loan that big. I'm a painter, Emily--according to them, that's not a real job. Makes them nervous when a man doesn't have a farm or go to an office everyday. "

'There's some way," Emily said.

Ilse had no money, but she and Perry offered what little they had. Neither did Dr. Burnley, but he did the same. Emily sat down and wrote a letter to Dean, explaining the whole situation--but she could not do it, she could not ask Dean for money. To make matters worse Teddy found the letter and they had a huge row over it.

The days grew longer and warmer. For the first time Emily dreaded summer.

She met Andrew at church. He winked at her. Winked! "Got any of that money to show me yet?"

"No," said Emily shortly, wishing she could strangle him.

Secretly, Aunt Laura and Cousin Jimmy began to pack their things and ready them for the move into town. They did not let Emily know. It hurt them to leave New Moon--but one must prepare for the inevitable.

* * *

Suddenly it was May--it was the last week in May--it was almost time for them to be out of New Moon. Emily's heart ached. She went out on the porch one night and stared through the gaps in the tree braches at the lights of New Moon. This time next week, when she saw those lights, it would be because Andrew and Aunt Addie and Uncle Wallace were there.

Emily felt as if she'd failed all of them.

Teddy found her on the porch, staring moodily into the distance. He kissed her lightly and held out the day's mail, which he'd picked up on his way home.

"There's a letter for you there, Emily," he said. "Postmarked California--you haven't got an improper correspondence going on behind my back, have you?"

Emily smiled wanly. "It must be from Little Elizabeth and Dean," she said.

Teddy went inside, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

In a minute he ran back again. Emily was shouting on the front porch--he could hear her bounding around--was she laughing or crying or both?

"Teddy, come quick!" she screamed.

He flew downstairs. No--nothing was wrong, but there was Emily on the porch with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips. She held a slip of paper in her hand.

"It's a check," she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "From the Hollywood Grand Motion Pictures Company. They want to make Lost Charlotte into a movie. Sara Stanley, the Canadian actress, will play Charlotte Olney." Her voice broke.

"A movie!" Teddy said.

Emily nodded. "They wanted to buy the rights from me--they sent a check for ten-thousand dollars. Teddy! Teddy, do you know what this means? New Moon--lovely old New Moon-- is saved!"