I am still breathless when I look out over this vista. I can't believe my good fortune and never take it for granted. This house, these houses really, since there are three of them on the property, are beyond decadent. I reside in complete and utter luxury.

Sometimes the guilt washes over me, the same way my beloved sea covers my head with a wave now and then. I'll spend a few minutes giving to charity online.

Mostly, however, my days are filled with sunshine, water, laughter, extravagance and love. Perhaps I am not deserving of such things, but that's the way it happened.

Thinking once more about what led to this place, this unveiling, has made my past come alive again. That's good, because I must be prepared for questions. I must be ready to answer correctly. To never be exactly truthful.

As I wait for the reporters to arrive and snap pictures of the Book of Vryheid, I don't just think about those early events from the 1980's. I also contemplate the twenty years since Karoline died. I know time hasn't really gone by quickly. Sometimes it just feels that way.

Ethan took a leave of absence that summer of 1983 and we stayed in Canada at the farmhouse for several months. Throughout those long luscious weeks, Meme enjoyed a well-deserved remission from pain. It was a wonderful time. We laughed a lot. Played like children. Got to know one another for real.

Vera and Ian came to visit. So did sister-cousin Elizabeth. There was, eventually, forgiveness.

When Meme's time was over, Vera returned to the farmhouse. She was there with us at her sister's deathbed. She was helpful and kind in the aftermath, too. She wouldn't talk much about her early years, but we learned enough to become somewhat sympathetic.

Vera plays grandmother to my children, though she's slowing down in her early eighties. Ian is wonderful as a grandfather, too. They remain in Bell Canyon but they're in a retirement home now. We visit as often as we can.

Parris came to Meme's funeral and stayed a few days. All these years later she is still my friend. We've gone through a few life changes together, including marriage and babies. It's a great feeling to share life's joys and sorrows with someone who knows you so well.

I learned more in those months at the farmhouse than I had in thirty-three years. Meme, Dembi and Miriam modeled family for me. Ethan taught me love.

Meme never did fully recover her power of speech. She never told us much about what had happened with Karoline and Glenn. As for him and his cohorts, they did their time in jail. We haven't heard anything about them since.

By pointing at pictures and mumbling simple words, Meme was able to reveal that Larue was our father. Although they never married, she really knew a strong healthy love with him. I hope it's true that people reunite in the afterworld.

I became very proud of my heritage. No longer do I feel as though I have to pick sides. I am a hybrid. Years later I became a spokesperson for unity between races. Ironically, my face is well known throughout the country these days. Something I didn't want when I was younger. I am a television star. I am often a guest on talk shows. I'm the one in those ads from the state promoting understanding and community.

We found Cornwall Johnston. He lived in a hovel just outside Vancouver. Gradually we convinced him to come and stay with us. He hasn't left. He's one of the residents of our compound beside the Pacific Ocean. Of course no one knows that. An agent still sells his paintings. The art world is astonished every time a new one is 'discovered'. As a result, we are all insanely rich. Even his paint box was worth a fortune.

The Johnstons were, indeed, a talented bunch. Cornwall's forefathers had kept the Vryheid Book throughout the decades and every one of them was a great artist. CoJon was the best of them, but he says that's because he had the example of his ancestors. I think it's because the artistic gene just kept getting stronger. One of my daughters shows great promise. Maybe the talent will keep going into the future.

It wasn't easy getting Cornwall to tell us about the Vryheid fire. He was wracked with guilt because he hadn't paid any attention to the abuse and insanity within his family. A gentle giant with a huge talent, he kept to himself. Lived quietly in one of the village huts. That terrible night he was away in the cave-Dembi's cave-where he did his painting, when the smoke and screams drew him back. It was only after his two brothers died that he learned of the appalling treatment of their younger sister. He gave the farm to her and retreated from the world.

Although Cornwall is now in his eighties, he's still energetic and strong. Every morning he walks around the property. Every afternoon, until the light wanes, he paints. I think he's overjoyed at this second chance with Meme through her children and grandchildren.

Ethan left his job shortly after we were married. Ted and Teresa were ecstatic, both with the wedding and my husband's retirement. They are thrilled to be grandparents again. Ethan keeps very busy with a variety of projects. Three of them being our two daughters and me.

We kept the farmhouse but followed through, in a fashion, with the donation of Vryheid. Our lawyers negotiated a major change to the gift. The museum has a ninety-nine year lease. The Johnstons technically own the village. After all, the rumors about the gold still might be true. Meme wouldn't be expected to know all those nuances when she originally gave the land away.

The farmhouse serves as the Burford museum these days. Mary Lou West and her collection moved in with the antiques we agreed to leave behind. Dembi spends a lot of time there.

Every year we all return to Vryheid for the annual powwow held on the grounds. You should see the place now. It's dotted with little gardens. The church has been restored to its former beauty. The cemetery is well kept. There's even a real road right into the village.

The farm is now surrounded by huge homes that are architectural beauties. Miriam, her husband Viho and their children live in the loveliest one. They have a house here, too, more like a cottage, where they spend several weeks a year. Dembi has a room at Miriam's as well as a small cottage here. He has become close to Uncle Cornwall on visits to California.

Dembi hasn't been the same since Meme died. He lost some of his childlike nature. Now that we're all in our fifties, we're a bit more subdued, but Dembi is almost withdrawn.

In the last couple of years we decided to release the Book of Vryheid to the world. It will be a national treasure in Canada and a source of endless interest in the States. Its sale will also keep our children and future grandchildren in the style to which they are or will be accustomed.

As usual in L.A., there is talk of a documentary and a movie. Right now I am simply interested in getting through the press conference.

Initially it wasn't easy to move the book from its hiding spot. Dembi was terribly upset. He changed his mind when we took him to Dublin and showed him the Book of Kells. He decided our book deserved a similar place in history.

I still have the occasional doubt or run-in with the Ice Queen. However, I am living proof that people can change. On the whole I am gratefully happy with life. I adore Ethan and my daughters. I'm a very good mother. I miss Miriam and Dembi every day and revel in our long visits and vacations.

As long as I remember to never be exactly truthful, everything will be all right.

No one will ever know that my memory returned during my first stay at the farmhouse. Flashbacks of the night Vryheid burned gradually became clearer. Eventually, I saw my little girl self as plainly as though I had remembered all along.

I lit the dry grass around the hut where my uncles were working on their illegal home distillery. They'd told me to stay away from the equipment in the back. At the time I thought they said it was highly flappable, but soon I knew what they meant. I did stay away. I didn't get too close when I threw the smudging stick right into one of the open cans.

Those men didn't deserve to live. Filthy disgusting animals. I saw what they did to my mother when Larue was away. I saw how they got her drunk and crawled into her bed. Meme did love me, but she had to give me away for my own protection. And perhaps to protect the others, too. I don't know whether or not she knew the truth about the fire. She never asked and I never told.

No one will ever hear about the rather strong shove I gave Karoline the night she died. She would probably have jumped anyway. After all, she was responsible for Giulio's suicide and she kept my trio away from me. She was a psychopath. Ethan said so.

As for my husband, I will never tell him that I knew who he was the moment he set foot in our apartment. How could I not know? The upper echelon of money and stardom in Hollywood is surprisingly small. I was a little afraid my lifestyle might change once Karoline was gone. My creature comforts and travel budgets might have been cut drastically without her. As it turned out, I needn't have worried. My calculated pursuit of Ethan doesn't really matter anyway. I truly did fall in love with him.

I will never mention Glenn or the Fischers. As far as anyone is concerned, they simply dropped out of sight after jail.

Nowadays I can handle the Ice Queen. I only let her out when absolutely necessary. I simply keep her thoughts and secrets to myself, locked up safe in my diary.

If you enjoyed this book, please consider writing a short review and posting it on Amazon, Goodreads and/or Barnes and Noble. Reviews are very helpful to other readers and are greatly appreciated by authors, especially me. When you post a review, drop me an email and let me know and I may feature part of it on my blog/site. Thank you. ~ Cathy cathy@catherineastolfo.com.

Message from the Author.

Dear Reader, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the ride that was Anne's journey. I actually "met" her three years ago, but got sidetracked from writing by breast cancer. Fortunately I was a lucky woman; my experience was relatively easy. The women who survived, or did not survive, are my heroes.

Lots of people wonder why I write such dark novels. I don't usually consider them "dark" myself, because they always end with hope and love conquering all. In a way, that does happen with Sweet Karoline, too. I am simply fascinated with the human condition and all its facets, but I have a strong belief that we can overcome evil with goodness. Thus in my life I am quite a joyful optimist.

The best part about being a published author is getting to share what I have written. So please, don't hesitate to contact me and tell me what you think (politely please). Visit my website-and virtually, me. I would write anyway, but the delight is in knowing you've read my book.

Please do remember what I said about "never allowing the facts to get in the way of a good story". That's the motto I follow, so everything in this book has been brushed with a wild imagination. I hope you suspended belief and simply enjoyed.

Next up are a young adult book (a ghost story of course) and a cozy (not so dark this time). I hope you stay with me as a reader fan for a long, long time!

~ Cathy.

cathy@catherineastolfo.com.

Book Club Questions by Frances Daley.

1. Who was writing the diary at the end of each chapter?

2. What betrayal did Karoline feel that caused her to inflict such pain on her "friends"?

3. Why do you think Karoline impersonated Anne with her birth family?

4. The passages set in Italy made Karoline seem "attractive" in Anne's eyes. She made a similar comment about the picture of her with Dembi. What was it that made Karoline attractive on those occasions?

5. Did the author convince the reader that Anne was as shallow and self-absorbed as the character continually focused on, or was that only Anne's perception of herself?

6. Were you surprised that Giulio and Paulo ended up together?

7. The confession Anne made to Ethan was only a half-truth. Or was it? If it was only partly honest, why was she able to be content with herself?

8. Why would Karoline have been involved with Glenn? Was the relationship intended to upset Anne or was it to keep him close because he was related to the artist CoJon?

9. What particular passage or image is most vivid in your mind after reading the novel?

10. Was time intentionally manipulated to keep the reader unsure of what stage Anne was in her "development"?

11. Is Ice Queen Anne a good description of her character when she becomes forceful? Why or why not?

12. Women dominate the storyline in "Sweet Karoline". Is it fitting that Meme is the one that brings down Glenn at the end of the novel?

13. Why did Vera create such a complex history for herself and inflict it on her children?

14. Could the relationship with the triplets have been just as effective with them being siblings only? Why or why not?

15. There seems to be a fixation on appearances in the novel. What is the author saying about physical beauty?

16. Family history plays a key role in the unraveling of the novel. Why do you think Karoline's background isn't more fully developed?

17. What is the significance that the CoJon paintings paid for the apartment?

18. What questions do you have unanswered at the end of the novel?

19. What role does setting play in this novel?

20. The blend of the three distinct racial groups in a town named for Freedom is very vividly brought out during the powwow. Is it significant that the Johnstons retain the land when they seem to be so corrupt? Why or why not?

About the Author.

Catherine Astolfo retired in 2002 after a very successful 34 years in education. Catherine received the Elementary Dufferin-Peel OECTA Award for Outstanding Service in 1998. She was also awarded Dufferin-Peel Catholic Elementary Principal of the Year in 2002 by the Catholic Principals Council of Ontario.

Catherine is a past President of Crime Writers of Canada and a Derrick Murdoch Award winner (2012). She was a Zonta Club 2012 Nominee for Women of Achievement.

Writing is Catherine's passion. She can recall inventing fantasy stories for her classmates in Grade Three. Her short stories and poems have been published in a number of literary Canadian presses. In 2005, she won a Brampton Arts Award. Her short stories won the Bloody Words Short Story Award (second and first) in 2009 and 2010. She won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Best Short Crime Story Award in 2012.

Catherine's novel series, The Emily Taylor Mysteries, are published by Imajin Books and are optioned for film by Sisbro & Co. Inc.

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