It was so good to hear his voice. The doubts were swept away in an instant, just as she'd known they would be. He was Ross, her Ross, and the miles melted between them. He wouldn't forget. And neither would she.
Ross was coming home, due in three days. Charity could hardly contain herself. He'd already begun the journey back, although he was stopping off in New Zealand and Tasmania. She was busy planning for his return, imagin ing him in every room, imagining what the two of them would do together, when his mother called on the tele phone.
"I'm sure you are happily anticipating Ross's return, as we all are," she said after the initial greetings. "And that is precisely why I wish to talk to you. As you know, Ross is arriving Saturday afternoon."
"Yes," Charity said. "I'm planning to drive down to Los Angeles and meet him at the airport."
"Oh, no, no, no, impossible my dear. I'm going to need you here."
"What?"
"Ross's cousin Kenneth, a Bennington from my side of the family, has arrived on a short visit and we're having a tennis party that afternoon in his honor. He and Ross have always been so close, and he's anxious to meet you."
"Oh."
"What we'll do is send over a car to pick you up and bring you here. Meanwhile we'll send a private plane down to pick Ross up and bring him in for the party as well. It will save time all around."
Charity didn't like this brilliant idea in the least, but it looked like there was little she could do about it. Ross's mother was in an organizational mood and there didn't seem to be any way to stop her from bulldozing things into the patterns she'd already planned.
Charity worked hard picking out her outfit for the ten nis party. She wasn't going to be tricked into going South Seas again. With complete humility, she put herself into the hands of an upscale saleswoman at the most expensive department store in town, following her advice explicitly.
The tennis dress was adorable, the shoes top of the line, the little white socks turned down just right. She tied back her hair with a velvet ribbon and practiced looking perky in the mirror for hours the night before the party. Luckily, her legs were good, as well as her tan, and her tennis game was adequate.
She felt ready for just about anything, except for the upset stomach she got again. It must be more nerves over seeing Ross's parents, she decided. Everything would be all right once that ordeal was over. But she still got that same sinking feeling when the long white limousine Mrs. Carrington had sent for her brought her smoothly up the long driveway to the Carrington mansion.