"Like you?" he asked. "I think I'm in love with you!"
She sighed, leaned against his shoulder. "Then what's wrong? You're not already married. Mother had your service record checked." Diana smiled impishly. "Mother has second sight."
The bitterness was like a sour taste in Orne's mouth. He could see the pattern so clearly. "Di, I ran away from home when I was seventeen," he said.
"I know, darling. Mother's told me all about you."
"You don't understand," he said. "My father died before I was born. He—"
"It must've been very hard on your mother," she said. "Left all alone with her family ... and a new baby on the way."
"They'd known for a long time," said Orne. "My father had Broach's disease, and they found out too late. It was already in the central nervous system."
"How horrible," whispered Diana.
Orne's mind felt suddenly like a fish out of water. He found himself grasping at a thought that flopped around just out of reach. "Dad was in politics," he whispered. He felt as though he were living in a dream. His voice stayed low, shocked. "From when I first began to talk, Mother started grooming me to take his place in public life."