Ashley Hughs pretended not to see Alexander's refusal. In her view, he was just not accustomed to Mona's intimacy in a short time.

"Mom, uncle." Alexander hadn't seen his uncle for long, and noticed that there was more white hair on his sideburns.

"Alexander." Lysander hadn't seen Alexander for some time, either. He went forward and patted Alexander's arm. There was a flicker of doubt in his eyes when he saw Mona held the arm of Alexander.

"I came to ...