Much to Baby DeeDee’s delight, a son was born to Adam and Flora in May, an event of great and momentous joy. And two years later another baby boy joined the family. By the time their daughter entered the world, Lucie was eight years old and past the self-interest of her four-year-old world. She’d been longing for a sister.
The Comte de Chastellux took his growing family on numerous travels over the years to please his wife’s interest in anthropology, and in so doing, please himself.
James became Uncle James when he fell in love with Spring Lily and gave up the array of beautiful women who had serially infatuated him. It was a surprise to all when their simple friendship suddenly changed.
And the young children of the two men who had always been the best of friends grew up together in Aspen Valley, a large and raucous crew of mixed-blood children, bright, beautiful, wild, and unconditionally loved by their parents.
That wild spirit was nurtured by their families, tempered by the responsibilities of their lives, briefly constrained by the curriculum of eastern colleges, and eventually channeled into challenging careers in the new state growing up around them.
There were nine of them, four Serres and five Du Gards.
They called themselves Ravens-Who-Touch-The-Sky.
More conventional souls, resistant to the charm of their brash assurance or hostile to their wealth and power, called them less poetic names.