〃Excuse me for interrupting； Mr。 Stephenson。〃 She leaned toward the
mike； looking at Ross for the first time entirely in the context of the
present。 〃I would like to respond to the gentleman。〃 Her expression
brooked no argument。 She was determined。 Ross straightened and backed
off； seeming bemused。
She looked back at the man in the audience。 〃First things first； Mr。…〃
〃…Younger；〃 he supplied； dropping the r at the end of his name in true
New England form。 〃…Mr。 Younger。 I have a bachelor of science in geology
from Williams College in Williamstown； Massachusetts； and a master's in
geology from Boston College。 I spent three years working for Conarn
Petroleum； performing geological studies on oil deposits in the Gulf of
Mexico。 I was then able to co…found Earth Science Education； Inc。； the
consulting firm that was contacted by Senator Wolschinski to study the
pros and cons of the Rye Beach Resort and Condominium plex。〃 Holding
the man's gaze steadily； she pushed on。 〃I have control over neither my
age nor my looks。 And I never worked for Senator Wolschinski prior to
the day he retained my services for this project。〃 She tipped up her
chin a hair。 〃Have you any other questions？〃
Again a collective murmur went through the crowd。 Just as the man
shrugged and stepped back； Chloe saw the hand on the podium lift。 Ross
pressed his chin with his