Raisa's horse pulled to a stop and went up on its hind legs. Carolyn's breath skipped a beat as she saw Raisa jump off the animal and run into the arms of the man waiting at the steps.

Carolyn slowed down and arrived to hear only some of what was being said. Suddenly she felt the spark of jealousy come alive.

"God, I've missed you. You are as beautiful as ever," he said to her and she swung her around in his arms.

"I never stay away from you too long," Raisa said as she ran her hand through the man's hair.

Carolyn's horse bucked, expressing her own emotions. Raisa turned around and a bright smile appeared on her face. She walked towards Carolyn with an extended hand to help her down her horse.

"Come Cara, there is someone I want you to meet." Raisa pulled Carolyn with her not noticing the displeasure in her lover's face.

"Andreas, this is Carolyn Stenbeck."

Carolyn looked from Andreas to Raisa back to Andreas again. Her face now was filled with a big smile as she put her hand out.

"Welcome to Virago." He looked to her, his eyes filled with curiosity and admiration.

"Thank you, it's lovely here," Carolyn replied honestly.

"I'm glad that you like Virago, Raisa and I grew up here. It's far away from everything but it is best that way sometimes; it's a different world here."

"It's a beautiful world," Carolyn agreed.

Raisa smiled and thought to herself She has just won Andreas, how does she do that?

"I hope you will be able to stay with us a long time."

Raisa suddenly looked at her brother and saw the appreciatory gleam in his eyes. No, no, no, Carolyn is mine, I'm going to clear this up right now.

"Well...." Carolyn was interrupted.

"WE do not have definite plans yet." Raisa placed her hand possessively around Carolyn's waist.

Carolyn looked at Raisa and smiled indulgently before she continued. "Yes, we do not have definite plans yet."

Andreas received the message loud and clear. He could see that there was a lot he had to discuss with his sister. He recognized that she had been possessive and, if he didn't know any better, jealous. Yes, they had a lot of talking to do.

Simon running up to them excitedly distracted them all.

"Mom! Mom! Dad is on the phone. He wants to talk to you." The boy tried catching his breath and therefore missed Carolyn's eyes as they filled with concern and Raisa's anger began to show.

Andreas however missed nothing.

"Excuse me," Carolyn said as she started walking away.

"Carolyn..." Raisa reached out to try and stop her.

Andreas intervened by holding his sister in place. "Raisa, why don't you introduce this young man to me."

Carolyn broke eye contact with Raisa and started walking towards the house. Raisa pulled her arms out of Andreas grasp and stomped away in another direction.

It seems that all is not that well, he thought to himself. Then Andreas directed his attention to the boy in front of him. "Hello," he said extending his hand.

Simon took it and stared at him for a moment. "You are Raisa's brother."

"How did you know?"

"She showed me your photograph."

"Ah.... Well, Simon have you seen the miniature horses yet?"

"What? NO!"

"Come on, let's ask permission. If your mother says yes, I will take you to see them."

~~~~~~~~~~

The conversation with Matt had turned into a shouting match. She was relieved that it had been over by the time Andreas and Simon came into the room. Carolyn had allowed her son to ride with Andreas to the south pasture to see the miniature horses. Carolyn knew that a confrontation with Raisa was inevitable and she figured the sooner the better.

She liked Andreas; she could see his gentleness as Raisa had said. Simon had taken to him right away. After seeing them off Carolyn went in search of Raisa.

~~~~~~~~~~

Carolyn searched for Raisa everywhere. Finally, she just went back to the house. She was going upstairs toward the bedroom she had been sharing with Raisa when she heard loud crashing noises.

When she opened the door she saw chairs upturned and glass chips all over the floor. She looked towards the vanity and instantly knew what had happened. The smell of perfume permeated the room.

At that moment Raisa walked out of the bathroom. Carolyn looked around in shock.

"Why?" Carolyn asked in disbelief and anger.

"Because I wanted to!" Raisa yelled back.

"Why?" Carolyn demanded.

"Because it's mine. I can do with it as I please. If I want to smash it into a million pieces then I do it!" Raisa spat out at her.

"Will you do that to me some day?" Carolyn asked suddenly.

All anger left Raisa's face. Suddenly she understood Carolyn's question. And she rushed to her side.

"No," she said softly trying to reassure her. "No, I would never hurt you."

Carolyn stepped away from her and surveyed the room once more. "Violence seeps into everything in this country, even here," Carolyn said to herself.

"You sound like my mother!" Raisa said in anger.

"Perhaps, that is what she ran from!" Carolyn regretted the words as soon as they had come out. Raisa bolted and ran out like an injured animal.

"Wait! Raisa wait!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Carolyn got to the verandah only to see Raisa gallop away. She would have to wait until she came back to talk to her. She kept telling herself she should never have said that to Raisa. She had trusted her with her pain and it had been used against her to hurt her. Carolyn had done the same thing that everyone else had done. She had hurt her.

"Oh Raisa, I'm so sorry."

Carolyn walked back inside. Nona met her as she walked into the house.

"She will come back."

"I hurt her," Carolyn said sadly.

"She is wild inside. Very much like her father," Nona said sadly. "Adele loved him but in the end..." Nona could not finish. Her head bent down in sadness.

"Nona, what happened with her mother? She told me some things... but I don't think she herself understands what happened."

Nona looked at her with doubt. "I can't..."

"Please help me. I love Raisa. Whatever is chasing her is coming between us."

"Come." Nona started walking towards the verandah and sat down in a wicker chair and Carolyn sat in another opposite her.

"Adele, Raisa's mother, married Martin, her father, when she was barely 19. I worked for her family in Italy then. Adele was beautiful and vibrant. She was very much like Raisa in some ways. But of course not quite," Nona smiled indulgently.

"Martin, was handsome and charming. They fell passionately in love. Adele's father objected to the marriage and they eloped. Adele got in touch with her family about two years later. They loved her, so some ties were repaired."

Nona now took a deep breath before she started again. "She was lonely for her homeland and her people. That's where I come in. I agreed to come and help her with Raisa; she was expecting another child then, Andreas. Right away, I noticed that things were not going well between them. Adele was short tempered and Martin was not indulging."

Carolyn waited patiently.

"After Andreas was born, things just seemed to get worse as time went by. Martin showed favoritism to his son. He was the male child Martin had wanted and Adele fought with him constantly because he ignored Raisa. Still, there was this thing between them that kept the marriage going... until it all exploded one night." Nona, became very sad and quite suddenly seemed to age in front of her.

"They fought, and I think that things just went too far. Martin had been drinking. Adele ran out of the house and he went after her. When she returned her clothes were torn and dirty, and, worse of all, she did not speak for days. When Martin came back in the morning he locked himself up in his study and drank for days. She told me she was leaving him. She said she had to leave or this land would kill her. She said she would make arrangements later for the children and me. She never did; Raisa never forgave her. I can still see my little girl... she stood in this verandah everyday for a month waiting. She never believed that her mother would really leave her, you see."

Nona looked up at Carolyn now. She could see the questions and the horror on her face.

"I never heard from Adele again. Martin never spoke of her and refused to have anyone speak her name. He never allowed the children to go out of the country even when Adele's parents requested to see them."

"Oh Nona, how awful. Raisa was just a child."

"I don't think she ever forgave either Adele or Martin. But, at least in her mind Martin stayed. She became the son he wanted."

"And Raisa, the little girl, just got lost along the way," Carolyn said sadly.

"She is still there when she puts her head on my lap. When she is tender and out there in the land that she loves, then she is my little girl again. She was adventurous as a child. A little too wild but she was kind and tender. She adored her mother. When she finally accepted that Adele was not coming back for her a part of her just died inside, I think."

"No wonder she is so angry," Carolyn whispered out loud.

"She is fighting herself all the time. Sometimes, it is stronger than she is," Nona said sadly. "You also hate this land don't you, like Adele did?"

Carolyn looked at the old woman and nodded. "She has been so different here until today. I fear the violence Nona. I fear Raisa sometimes too," Carolyn said lowering her head.