Penny Jordan Collection(4)

                Her memories of the way he had rejected her might have been                     carefully and very deeply buried but...but every time she returned to her                     brother’s home she was painfully reminded of her seventeen-year-old self and her                     vulnerability.

                No question about it, she must have annoyed and aggravated Ran                     with her unwanted adoration, but surely he could have handled the situation and                     her a little more gently, let her down a bit more caringly instead of...

                Sylvie was aware that Lloyd was watching her expectantly. How                     could she, as her instincts urged her to do, totally and flatly refuse to have                     anything to do with Ran? She couldn’t. She was a woman now, a woman who prided                     herself on her professionalism, a woman who along with her outward New York                     shine and gloss had also developed an inner self-worth and determination. She                     loved her work and she truly believed that what Lloyd and the Trust were doing                     was extremely worthwhile.

                Secretly, there was nothing she enjoyed more than watching the                     houses that Lloyd rescued from their often pitiful state of decay being restored                     to their former glory... Perhaps it was idealistic and, yes, even foolishly                     romantic of her, but there was something about watching the process, of seeing                     these once grand homes rising phoenix-like from the ashes of their own neglect,                     that touched a chord within her. She could well understand what motivated Lloyd,                     and she suspected that, ironically, it had been that long-ago conservation                     scheme she had worked on under Ran’s supervision which had awakened within her                     the awareness of how very important it was to preserve and care for—to protect—a landscape and its architecture, which had                     ultimately led to her sharing Lloyd’s passion for their task.

                However, Sylvie’s responsibility as an employee of the Trust                     included a duty not just to share Lloyd’s enthusiasm but to make sure as well                     that the Trust’s acquisitions were funded and run in a businesslike manner, and                     that the Trust’s money was used shrewdly and wisely and not wasted or                     squandered—a responsibility which Sylvie took very seriously. No project, and                     certainly no bill, was too small for Sylvie to break down and scrutinise very                     carefully indeed, a fact which caused the Trust’s accountants to comment                     approvingly on her attention to detail and her excellent bookkeeping.