“You’ve acted very stupid and silly.”
“I’m sorry if you’re ashamed of me,” Penny replied glaring at her own reflection in the car mirror. “At any rate, I saved the car for you.”
“That accusation was ridiculous, Penny. Mrs. Deline is a wealthy woman who could buy herself a dozen cars in ordinary times. She merely gave in to a sudden whim.”
“Just what do you know about Mrs. Deline, Dad?”
“Not a great deal,” Mr. Parker admitted. “I met her at the club. She served as a special War correspondent in China, I believe. She has traveled all over the world and speaks a half dozen languages.”
“I never heard of her until she came to Riverview,” Penny said with a sniff. “Nor did I ever see any of her writing in print. If you ask me, she’s a phony.”
“Let’s not discuss the subject further,” Mr. Parker replied, losing patience. “When you’re older, I hope you’ll learn to be more gracious and charitable.”
Penny subsided into hurt silence. In all her life she could recall only a few occasions when her father had spoken so sternly to her. Close to tears, she studied the tumbling surface of the ocean with concentrated interest.
In silence the Parkers drove through the village, stopping at a filling station to inquire the way to Rhett State Forest. Supplies were purchased at one of the stores, and by that time it was noon. At Mr. Parker’s suggestion they stopped at a roadside inn for lunch. After that they drove on a half mile beyond the outskirts of Sunset Beach, past a tall lighthouse to the end of the pavement.
“We follow a dirt road for a quarter of a mile to Bradley Knoll,” Mr. Parker said, consulting directions he had jotted down on an envelope.