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On Monday, the second day of the New Year, Anne sat on a cushion in the ritual room looking out at the garden, waiting for Dr. Abernathy. Every day, she meditated, recorded her dreams, scryed with the crystal, and tried to contact her guides. She ate like a Zen monk and trained like a Shaolin priest. She was beginning to notice some results. Her meditations were clearer and her visions more detailed, but she was bored. The sessions with Thomas had helped, but he’d left on a research mission the day before New Year’s and would not be back until tomorrow evening.
Anne looked outside at the gray winter sky, studying the labyrinth in the west garden.
The door opened. “Happy New Year, my dear.” Dr Abernathy walked over and kissed her briskly on the cheek.
“Happy New Year.”
“How’s the star pupil doing?”
“Hardly a star.”
Dr. Abernathy dragged two large pillows into the center of the room and settled onto them. “Actually, you’re doing remarkably well. I’ve had your grandmother’s reports. Increased dream activity, beginning contact with guides, improved scrying, past-life memories, conscious astral travel.”
Anne was taken aback. Dr. Abernathy had a way of restating things to make them sound better than she’d thought they were. She grunted. “But I’m not ready to do whatever it is I’m supposed to do.”
He laughed, “How can you be certain, since we don’t know exactly what that is?”
“Exactly my point,” Anne returned.
“Perhaps today we’ll discover more. Let’s see what we can find out about this mysterious mission.”
Anne lay back on the cushions she’d already arranged and placed her left hand over the crystal, ready to begin.
Dr. Abernathy laughed. “A few weeks ago I would’ve had to tell you how to start.”
“Okay, so I’m making progress, but I’m not ready to save the world.”
Dr. Abernathy didn’t answer. He stood and made a quick sweep around the room, reinforcing the circle of protection that always existed here, then returned to his seat. “Now close your eyes and just float. Allow yourself to relax.” He continued his hypnotic induction, his voice even and slow. After a few minutes, he said, “It’s time to ask for guidance about using the crystal. Ask exactly what it is you’re supposed to do to return the flow.”
Anne heard Dr. Abernathy’s voice as if from a distance. She floated in a warm sea of light, content. She allowed the phrase he suggested to pass through her mind, and waited. After some time had passed, she asked a second time, this time fueling the thought with the deep need she felt to know more. She continued to wait. Feeling she was losing some of the silence, she picked up her mantra, sinking deep again. She repeated the question a third time and waited.
After what seemed like a long time, Anne detected a small glow in front of her. She continued to watch as it brightened and took on the shape of an exceptionally tall human. The glow grew brighter and Anne realized the figure had wings, or was it a large aura of light? The face had just the suggestion of features. A wave of deep love flowed from the presence, love like she’d never experienced before, completely accepting and uplifting. Anne was overwhelmed with the surge of light that came with that love and basked in it. Here there was no hurry, no time. She wondered if this was the being she’d seen on her first astral trip with her grandmother. Affirmation radiated from the spirit.
She started to repeat the question in her mind, but before she could form words, the figure turned slightly and stretched out its hand. Anne looked and saw a gigantic lioness lying before her in the classic feline pose, paws stretched out in front, back legs tucked beneath her. Suspended above the head of this noble cat was a great solar disk. The enormous cat looked not at her, but into her. She realized she was looking at the true form of the Sphinx. She’d thought the Sphinx was male. A slight wave of amusement rose from the great cat in response to this thought.
Can you tell me—
Before she could finish her thought, Anne’s consciousness stretched into the surrounding desert and the huge stone pyramids rising into the sky. She heard a deep hum, like a large engine running deep in the ground. The cat stretched Anne’s awareness down now, into the sand, where she felt lines of energy running, converging on one spot, located somewhere behind her, since she had now merged with the Sphinx. Their awareness became the whole Giza complex, the flow and interweaving of many energies. Their third eye opened and tidal waves of energy flowed in, galactic energy, energy from the stars, not just one, but many, so many she was losing track of them all.
Then Anne stood in a room with limestone walls and an alabaster floor, holding the crystal before her. The crystal was white with light and there were others, each with a crystal held before them, each pulsing with a light too bright to be contained, each person chanting. Then the room began vibrating more deeply—the floor, the walls, Anne herself. The vibration spread through the sand, into the pyramids, which in turn lit up with white light. Anne noticed there were more than three pyramids now. The vibration increased in pitch until Anne lost track of where her body ended and another started, where her own mind ended and another began.
Anne opened her eyes and sat up with a gasp, but the ritual room wavered. She lay back down until the dizziness passed, then sat up straight, planting her feet on the ground, and scanned her body for imbalances. She felt as if she were suspended about three feet above the top of her head. Slowly, allowing her breath to steady her, Anne returned to the here and now. She reached for water. After gulping down half a glass, she massaged her temples until she started to feel better. She looked up into Dr. Abernathy’s concerned eyes.
“Take your time,” he said.
“I’m all right.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it just happened so fast I was startled.”
“What happened exactly?”
She told Dr. Abernathy what she’d experienced.
“Interesting.”
“Interesting? Is that all you can say?”
Dr. Abernathy shrugged. “What do you think it means?”
“Clearly, the crystal will be used in Egypt. Under the sand.” Anne took another sip of water. “Which is, of course, impossible.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Excuse me?”
“There are tunnels under the Giza Plateau.”
“Tunnels? I’ve never heard that. Where do they lead?”
“Who knows? To my knowledge, no permits have been granted to explore them since the early twentieth century when George Reisner’s son drowned in one.”
“Drowned?”
“Yes, many of them are full of water.”
“Water?”
“Yes, do you need some help collecting yourself?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you keep repeating everything I say.”
Anne laughed. “That’s because you’re saying very unexpected things.”
Dr. Abernathy steepled his fingers and studied her. “This was a very productive session.”
“Productive?”
He smiled at the repetition. “We now know where the crystal is to be used: Egypt. We know when: February first. We know the crystals will be activated by sound vibration, most probably chanting. In your vision, the other crystals were present. This suggests the hidden powers will guide the other Keepers of the Keys to the site.”
“Ah.” Anne was silent for a minute, trying to think how to bring up her next topic. “Speaking of the other crystals.”
“Yes?” Dr. Abernathy turned his penetrating gaze on her.
Anne had the fleeting thought that she’d had just about enough of people seeing into her. “I’ve discovered who is keeping another crystal.”
Dr. Abernathy stared at her, completely still. It was the stillness of a leopard ready to pounce.
“Say something.”
“Who?” he asked, never taking his eyes off her.
“Michael Levy.”
Dr. Abernathy’s eyes became hooded, but he continued to watch her.
Flustered, Anne tried to explain. “I saw him after my talk last week. He was just standing there,” she said, sounding like a teenager squirming out of an incriminating situation. “He wanted to know how I was. He had some things to tell me, so we went to the St. Anthony’s Club.” She waited for Dr. Abernathy to respond. When he didn’t, she burst out with, “They frisked him.”
“So I heard.”
Anne suppressed her annoyance. “Michael has another crystal. He showed it to me.” She forgot his disapproval. “It looked a lot like mine, only the setting was different. He said he worked with Cynthia, that she knew he had a crystal. Anyway, he’s left the country, gone to see the man Cynthia saw in Israel, to find out what he told her.” She stopped short, aware of Dr. Abernathy’s growing censure. “You still think he was involved in Cynthia’s death, but I’m certain he’s innocent.”
Still Dr. Abernathy was silent.
“He’s on our side, for Christ’s sake.”
“How are you so certain of this?”
“I just know.”
Dr. Abernathy favored her with a look.
“Okay, consider the evidence.” Anne’s attorney self surged to the surface. “He’s had a few opportunities to steal the crystal already. At first when I didn’t know what I had, he could easily have talked me into loaning it to him for study. He could have taken it after his talk. Besides, have you read his book? Have you heard him speak? He’s the most unassuming scholar I’ve ever met. He is kind, considerate.”
“Handsome?” Dr. Abernathy asked.
Anne blushed a dusky rose. “What exactly are you implying?”
Dr. Abernathy put a hand on hers. “Annie, I’m just suggesting you might not be entirely objective in this matter.”
She hesitated, then took a deep breath. “There’s another thing. I’ve known Michael in a past life. I think this had something to do with the crystals.”
Dr. Abernathy raised a bushy eyebrow. “Indeed? Tell me.”
Anne relayed the story of the dream she’d had the night of her grandmother’s gala, the memory that had flashed between her and Michael that afternoon in the club. “We were in Egypt. He gave me something to hide. It felt vitally important, sacred. He said something about the flow being stopped.”
Dr. Abernathy sat lost in thought for some time. Then he said, “This is suggestive, but I have two problems. The first is the same as I’ve said before. Apparently, in the life you have recalled, you two were lovers. Thus I have to repeat that you are not objective. Second, people, especially adepts, can change. The more advanced one becomes, the more one is subjected to tests.” He paused, searching for the right word. “Temptations shall we say. Michael may have become corrupt.”
“But he is a crystal holder,” Anne repeated with force.
“Yes, but that doesn’t guarantee he has remained pure of heart. I still want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not involved in Cynthia’s death, that he’s not working for the other side.”
Anne sat back. “Okay, investigate him, but hurry up. We haven’t got much time.” Anne’s eyes lit. “It was such an amazing experience. We were sitting there talking and suddenly we both remembered at the same moment. It was like we were both watching the same movie. We both knew the other saw the same thing.”
Dr. Abernathy watched her. “One more thing. You are not to see him again until I give you my permission.”
Anne didn’t answer immediately.
“You risked your own life and put Arnold’s job on the line. Do you hear me?”
“I wish I could say what I would have said two months ago.”
“And what is that?”
“I would have asked what gave you the right to tell me what to do.”
☥☥☥
On Tuesday morning, Michael leaned against a wall in the old city of Jerusalem, trying to find room to consult his map out of the way of the pressing crowd. The trip had been long, but he was a seasoned traveler. After settling into his hotel room, he’d walked to the Wailing Wall to pray as the white stones of Jerusalem turned to gold in the setting sun. There, among the quiet murmurs of men from many different lands touching the ancient stones, he’d found his center again. He’d returned to his hotel room with a sense of quiet confidence. But now the twisting alleys of the old city had gotten the best of him.
“Can I be of some assistance?”
Michael looked up to find an older man in a black suit and white shirt standing in front of him. The tassels from his tallis hung below his jacket.
“Thank you, sir. I’m looking for Ha’Omer Street.”
His gaze went to Michael’s bare head, then to his face. “A map is not so good in the old city. Too many turns.” He gestured for Michael to turn around. “Go back two blocks, turn left. Go another block, then right, then the next left, and the street is the third right.”
Michael repeated the directions, then thanked the man, who nodded and hurried on. Michael set off, making his way through the narrow streets. He finally found the address Mordechai had given him.
The house was tall, narrow, and crowded into a row of many similar ones. He leaned back against the railing of the porch and looked up at the four-story building. On top, a small round TV dish jutted from a tangle of foliage like an overgrown morning glory. He rang the bell and waited. The sound of footsteps came from behind the door, and then a grate being slid back. A woman’s voice asked, “May I help you?”
Michael tried to look through the grate, but the light was dim. “I’m Michael Levy. I believe you’re expecting me.”
“Just a minute.” The grate slid shut and Michael heard the sound of several locks being opened.
Just like New York.
The woman opened the door. “Please come in. He’s waiting for you.”
Michael followed the older woman in a dark dress up two flights of stairs.
He stood in the doorway and saw that the room was small, but every nook was filled. Across from him was a wall filled floor to ceiling by a built-in bookshelf, stuffed to capacity, with more books stacked on the floor. An old desk stood against the right wall, overflowing with scrolls and papers. A modern laptop running a fractal screensaver stood in the middle of this profusion of paper, completely out of place. Two faded green armchairs sat side by side on the left wall, each with a reading lamp. A knitting basket sat next to one chair. The other held a stooped, grayed man who gripped the arm of the chair and struggled to stand.
Michael hurried to the old man’s side and leaned down to offer his hand. “Sir, my name is Michael Levy. Your cousin Mordechai in New York sent me to speak with you.”
The old man shook Michael’s hand and settled back into his chair, wrapping a shawl around his shoulders. “Moishe, please call me Moishe. Mordechai sent me an e-mail telling me about you. Sit, sit. Just put those papers on the floor.” Moishe watched with the bright eyes of an eager bird as Michael cleared off the faded green armchair. “That I should live to see this day I am very grateful.”
“I take it you know a great deal about my task.”
“Yes. To meet you at last is an honor.”
Michael waved this comment away. “I have yet to earn any honors, sir. In fact, I have many questions, and the success of our mission is far from assured.” He took some time explaining where the situation stood at present. “I believe you met Cynthia Le Clair, the holder of a key, and that you sent her to a man in Egypt who has knowledge about the crystals.”
“Yes, did you speak with her?”
“Briefly, but before we could have an extended meeting, she died.”
The old man sighed. “I heard about her death. Most unfortunate.”
“How did you know, if I might ask?”
“Her nephew just visited me.”
“I see. So the family has been in touch with you?”
“Yes. And now you.”
“I thought she died from a heart attack, but the family suspects foul play.” Michael paused, “In fact, they suspect me.”
Moishe shook his head. “This is not good. The Keepers must work together. The family is trying to piece together in a month what Cynthia spent a lifetime learning.”
“Then I assume that you know the crystal has been passed to the niece, Anne, and that she is not properly trained.” Michael explained what he knew about Anne’s relationship to her family.
Moishe frowned, the wrinkles on his brow and around his eyes deep with age. “This is bad news, and yet you must walk the path that the Abisher has laid before you.” The old man leaned forward. “I may be able to help in some small way. I know some details about the history of the stone you carry that may have been lost.”
“I would be greatly indebted to you. Information has been scarce.”
“It is my service.” Moishe’s eyes strayed to the gold chain showing beneath Michael’s shirt.
Without hesitation, Michael pulled the crystal over his head and handed it to the other man, who carefully took it and held it to the light of his reading lamp.
So small,” he mused, “and so powerful. This stone, Michael”—he said the name with its Hebrew pronunciation just as his cousin had—“has traveled a long road. Your family must have told you that the crystal went to Germany to escape the Roman invasion and was held by them and various members of the Rosicrucian Order for many centuries. Certain members of the Levite priesthood who kept to the old knowledge have always been interconnected with the Rosicrucians, since their teachings share the same roots. Your grandfather watched the rise of the Nazis and, knowing they would seek possession of all the ancient mystical talismans, fled to America to keep it from them.”
Michael nodded.
What you do not know is that the crystal came to Israel with the Exodus. And the story you have been told about that is wrong.”
Michael leaned back in his chair, preparing for a long tale.
“First of all, you must have realized by now that the pyramids and monuments of Egypt were not built by slaves. The Torah teaches that the Hebrews were put at hard labor and treated harshly by their Egyptian task- masters. But the real Exodus took place much earlier than what is now believed. Freud, the old goat, hit closest to the mark when he declared that Moses had been a priest under the Pharaoh Akhenaten.”
“I’ve read his essays on the subject.”
Moishe nodded. “It fell to Akhenaten to revive the truth in a time of great darkness. The priests of Amun had become corrupt, as is inevitable in a time of ignorance. Akhenaten’s mission was to restore the understanding that one consciousness lived behind the different gods, but the priests resisted his teachings. They were so corrupt he decided to build an entirely new city.”
Moishe leaned forward, his eyes bright. “The entire city of Amarna was built using sacred geometry, a series of interlocking golden mean rectangles, moving down from the city’s relationship to the hills in the east, to the buildings and rooms.” Moishe gestured vaguely toward his computer, where the screensaver was happily spinning out fractal pattern after fractal pattern. “In this energetically charged city, Akhenaten established the worship of the highest reality, but the people needed some representation, something concrete after so many centuries of worshiping images. So he used the solar disk of Aten and the images of himself and Nefertiti to illustrate that each person could attain the consciousness of this highest plane.
“Of course, this teaching has been lost and Egyptologists assume Akhenaten was an egomaniacal king bent on forcing the people to worship himself and his queen.” Moishe shook his head. “So many of the great teachers are misunderstood. The Amun priesthood did not just stand by and give up their power either. They opposed him openly at first, but because he was pharaoh and the religion they had created deified the king, they were in a bind. They acted against him in secret. Eventually, they murdered him and attempted to assassinate the entire royal family to wipe out his line. They had to kill Tutankhamen as well, because he followed in Akhenaten’s footsteps, but once this boy king was dispensed with, the old priesthood returned to power and reestablished their religion. During this turmoil, many of Akhenaten’s followers escaped.”
Michael sat forward, but Moishe anticipated his comment. “Yes, this was the Exodus we know of today. The followers of Akhenaten fleeing Egypt. And they took these teachings with them, which became the basis for Mosaic Judaism. But like all things in the age of darkness, this light became distorted when it mixed with the teachings of the Amun priests.”
“And the crystal?”
“Two crystals made the trek across the desert with Akhenaten’s followers. One you hold. The Le Clairs have the other. But the origins of the stones were much earlier. They were formed during the previous age of enlightenment, during the height of the predynastic civilization.” The old man sat back. “Who knows? Perhaps they are even older and span the cycles of time themselves, appearing when the light returns, and kept in trust during the dark of night. Their ultimate origin is unknown, at least to me and the historians of the order.”
Moishe studied the stone for a moment. “This is why you must go to Egypt, back to the land that birthed the stones, to learn the use of this crystal.” He handed the necklace back to Michael. “The man you must seek out is well known in Egypt, but his true identity is unknown to most. He is a keeper of the indigenous wisdom of the ancient civilization.”
Michael felt a shiver as Moishe spoke these last words. “You’re certain the tradition is still alive in Egypt?”
“It is, and you must go to study with him.”
“I’ve been invited to speak at a conference there at the end of January.”
“Excellent, but be careful. There are those who wish to control the crystals, to use the energy for their own purposes. There will be agents in Egypt bent on stopping you,” he paused to catch Michael’s eye. “By any means.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“The man’s name is Tahir Nur Ahram. He lives in the village of Nazlet el Samman, two blocks east of the Sphinx, next to the perfume shop called Secrets of the Nile.”
☥☥☥
Anne didn’t feel ready to leave for Egypt next week, but Grandmother Elizabeth and Dr. Abernathy had years of experience in metaphysical practices. They’d insisted the final stage of her training must take place in the hands of what they called an indigenous elder, the man Cynthia had consulted and Thomas had found, a man who knew more about ancient Egypt than anyone else. He would be able to tell her more about the crystal. She’d finally agreed. She wondered if there would be initiation rites, going without food, taking hallucinogens. The last few days of her monkish routine hadn’t brought any great revelations, just a growing confidence in scrying with crystals and a sense of contact with Cynthia.
Today she had to meet with her colleagues who’d be taking over her cases to explain details and give hints about how to deal with some of her more ticklish clients. This took the whole morning. Over lunch from her favorite Chinese take-out—if she was leaving the nest, she was going to eat what she pleased—she and Susan sat in a conference room going over her schedule of public appearances, picking replacements when possible, or simply canceling if there was enough time to give proper notice. The cover story was simply that she was taking a break to attend to family business at the request of her grandmother. Attending to family was always good publicity in this political climate, especially for a woman. And it was the truth.
Just as they finished clearing her schedule, one of the receptionists appeared at the door, slightly breathless. “I’m sorry, Ms. Le Clair, but she insisted—”
“Since when am I not welcome here?” Katherine sailed by the receptionist into the conference room.
“Mother,” Anne said simply, as if that one word summed it all up.
Katherine fixed an eye on Susan, who quickly gathered the calendar and paperwork off the table and excused herself.
“I’ll speak to you before I leave,” Anne said as Susan walked out the door.
“Which is apparently more than you were going to do for me,” Katherine spit out.
Anne took a deep breath. “Shall we take this into my office, or would you like the entire firm to be in on it?” Without waiting for an answer, she straightened her shoulders and marched down the hall. Once there, she instinctively put her desk between them, settling into the large executive chair and pointing to a side chair for her mother. Susan quietly closed the door after them.
Katherine did not sit, but leaned over the desk as if she owned it. “I thought I raised you to have better sense. What in the world has gotten into you, spending your valuable time locked away like some nun, meditating, staring into crystal balls? And now, you plan to traipse all over Egypt trying to find the answer to some medieval riddle.”
“The mystery is older than the Middle Ages.”
“And how do you know that? Been listening to family fables again?”
This was too much for Anne. “Family fables? You’re the one who convinced me they were true.”
Katherine’s mouth worked. She sat down abruptly, took a deep breath, and began again, a few decibels lower. “Just because one small part of the story is true doesn’t mean you have to buy it all. Yes, we seem to be descended from Yeshua ben Yusef, or Jesus, if you prefer. But that doesn’t mean the story about the crystal is accurate. I’ve never found any evidence to support it. And as for all that psychic mumbo jumbo—”
“You said I had visions as a child.” Anne’s voice was creeping up again. “You said they were real, that it was inherited.”
“So we’re intuitive. So I sometimes know things before they happen. It’s just something scientists haven’t explained yet. Give them enough time and they will. But crystal balls? Ancient legends? You’re an attorney, for God’s sake.”
Anne pushed back in her chair. “Dr. Abernathy’s explanations make sense.”
“Dr. Abernathy—” Katherine forced herself to take another deep breath. “All right, if you want to spend your time chanting in black robes with your ridiculous relatives, that’s your business. I hoped to spare you all that foolishness. But I will not allow you to risk your life on this trip. It’s simply too dangerous. A war might break out at any minute.”
“A war has been breaking out in the Middle East since the fifties. Besides, Egypt is in Africa, not the Middle East.”
“Don’t split hairs with me.”
Anne took a quick breath to respond, but then noticed her mother’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “Mother.”
Katherine squeezed her eyes shut. “Damn it.”
“It’s okay. In fact, it’s much more persuasive than yelling.”
“Anne, I’m so frightened for you.” Katherine’s voice sounded small. “I’ve lost both my brother and sister. At least Cynthia’s death was from natural causes.”
Anne tried hard not to react.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
“Arnold will be going with me, along with another bodyguard. I’ll be perfectly safe.” Anne sounded as if she were quieting a child.
“That’s what James told me a month before he was assassinated.”
“But why should I be in danger?”
“Haven’t they told you? For God’s sake, Annie, don’t be so naive. The Illuminati are behind the current administration. They believe in magic as much as your grandmother does. They’ll kill for something they consider to be a powerful talisman.”
Anne frowned. “First you tell me it’s all just silly legends. Now you tell me you believe in the Illuminati, that they’re secretly in charge.”
Katherine shook her head. “People only think we’ve escaped feudalism. If they only knew.”
“What do you believe, anyway?” Anne was thoroughly exasperated. “Why did you never tell me any of this? You knew I’d end up in public life somehow, that the media would never just leave me alone. How was I supposed to conduct myself without knowing the truth?”
Katherine’s smile held the satisfaction of a raccoon who has successfully broken into the kitchen cabinet. “You were doing just fine, my dear. You were my proof that we could escape the past, that we could live in the twenty- first century, not the . . .” She waved her hand, searching for a date. “Sixth,” she said at random. “You were my trump card.”
“I am not a card in a game, Mother.” Anne spoke each word with emphasis. “I will not be played.”
“Oh, you won’t, will you? Did you ever before in your life want to go to Egypt? Did you believe in crystal balls last year? Would you have put your entire life on hold to research some superstition?”
Anne was silent.
“I thought not.”
They looked at each other for a long moment.
“All I’m asking,” Katherine said, “is for you to reconsider. Get away from your grandmother for a few days. Away from Thomas and Dr. Abernathy. You can stay at my place in Malibu. They won’t follow you out there. I’ll leave you alone.”
“But I—”
“For God’s sake, Annie, please. Don’t throw your whole life away over some new whim. Think about what you’re doing.” Katherine gathered her purse and coat and stood up. “Let me know if you want the keys.”
Anne nodded, trying hard not to show any reaction.
“Don’t I get a hug?”
Anne stood and embraced her mother woodenly.
“Just think, my darling.” Katherine kissed Anne’s cheek, then turned and left.
After the door closed behind her, Anne sat for a long time. Her mother was right. Three weeks was a very short time for such a dramatic change. But her mother had lied to her all her life. If she hadn’t, perhaps she’d be prepared now. She wadded up a piece of paper and threw it into the recycling bin.
In actual fact, they’d all lied to her, every single one of them. A chill crept over her. She found herself wishing she could talk to Michael. But hadn’t he lied as well?
In the end, she had to decide for herself. She couldn’t deny the power of her experiences. Regardless of how much she thought about what had happened, tried to puzzle out all the angles, she knew one thing. The crystal called to her. When she held it in her hand, she felt as if something she’d been searching for, even without knowing that she searched, had been restored at last. She felt complete. She had to follow where it led. It was well past dark before Anne called for the driver to take her back to the family estate.