Of course, tastes differed from person to person. Just as Bert preferred someone like Catherine—plain and gentle, like a simple bowl of rice porridge—there might well be men who were drawn to someone as bold and intense as Riley.
When Catherine couldn't get through to Riley, she switched to calling Duke instead.
"Duke, has Riley gone home? I can't get through to her no matter how many times I try."
Duke frowned slightly when he heard that.
"She hasn't come back yet. You can't reach her at all?"
"No. Her phone's been switched off every time I called, so I thought I'd check with you to see if she'd already gone home."
Worry was evident in Catherine's voice. Duke tried to reassure her.
"I'll try calling her again. Don't worry too much—she's probably off somewhere drinking and having fun again."
