The Philanthropist's Danse (12 page)

Freddie answered the phone on the eighth ring. He sounded tipsy, and William could hear music in the background, Freddie was celebrating. “I need to see you Freddie. Can you come to my office?”

Hagood told him to wait, and William heard the receiver drop to the floor and feet padding on carpet. The music was silenced, and the sound of feet returned to the phone. “What do you want Bill? What do you need from me now that can’t wait 'til morning?”

“Freddie, it’s important, I need to see you, now.” Hagood was in no mood to give up his celebrations. “Why?” William was becoming exasperated. “I’ll tell you when you get here, but it is important.”

“You can’t come up here?”

William thought about that. It might be better to see Hagood in his room, rather than have him wandering through the mansion drunk. “Sure, I’ll be right up.” Bird hung up, not waiting for an answer. He left his office and was careful to lock it after him. Larry had left but the book he’d been looking at was left open on a chair. The careless treatment of an old book irritated William, and he picked it up. It was a first edition Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. There was a gap on the shelf where it belonged, and William lovingly returned it to its place. He adored old books and envied the Old Man’s collection. When the
Danse
was over, he thought he might make the family an offer for some of the works in this room.

After a few moments of peace among its literary treasures, he left the library and heard a buzz of happy voices from the dining room. He guessed the nine survivors of the day were enjoying a celebratory dinner. He grimaced, they would not be happy when morning came, and they heard about the cancellation of their deal.

$

William knocked hard on Hagood’s door, afraid Freddie might have cranked the radio again. He need not have worried, Freddie was waiting. He answered the door in his suit pants, but his crisp shirt had been replaced with a t-shirt, and he was barefoot. He held a large glass of wine in his hand, but his eyes were sharp. Freddie’s sixth sense had tingled as soon as the lawyer had called. He knew something had happened, and now he was all business. “Come in, Bill.”

William refused a glass of wine but accepted an easy chair as Freddie got right to the point. “What happened? Is my deal off?”

William saw no reason to delay the news, so he was direct. “Yes, your deal is off. I’m afraid certain circumstances mean a new set of rules is in effect.”

He winced when Freddie shot out of his chair and spilled expensive red wine on the white carpet. “Goddamn it. It’s that fucking Judge isn’t it? I knew he was trash.” Freddie looked at William and saw confirmation in his face. “That man is a useless bastard. Did he know about my deal, is that what caused this?”

Bird shook his head. “No one knows about your settlement Freddie, just you and me. The Judge acted only after he was removed without a share. He didn’t know the others had come to an agreement, which is now voided, by the way. You start over in the morning, with new rules and twenty percent less money.”

Freddie looked at the lawyer with surprise. “The penalty will be applied? Why can’t you call us back now and let us try again before midnight?”

“Sorry Freddie, the Old Man was specific in his instructions.” Hagood whistled softly. “The Judge will not be a popular man in the morning. When do you tell the others?”

William grimaced. “Not until the session starts. They’ll find out when they see you, the Judge and Caroline back in the group.” Hagood snorted. “They kicked her out too did they? I bet she took that well.”

The lawyer shuddered at the memory of Caroline’s departure. “Not really. But she knows she’s back now, and she’ll be looking for revenge.” Freddie nodded absently. “I bet. That woman cannot take rejection. I know that all too well.” William decided he didn’t want to know what the other man was talking about. “I have to go, just be in the conference room at nine tomorrow morning.”

Hagood was remarkably calm for a man that had just lost millions of dollars. William could see why Freddie was such a formidable businessman, he had already moved beyond his disappointment to the next problem. He was already planning for tomorrow.

William left Freddie standing with his left foot in a puddle of expensive red wine. If he saw or heard the lawyer leave, he made no sign. Bird returned to his office, noting there was still celebratory noises coming from the dining room. Happy sounds that made the lawyer blanch. The morning would not bring fortune to those happy people, but instead a whole new set of problems. William did not look forward to telling them the news.

L
arry MacLean sat with Bethany and Junior to discuss the outcome of their efforts. The family had secured an impressive eighty-four percent of their father’s fortune. Tonight they could only guess what that meant in dollars, they would learn that in the morning.

The conversation had turned to Larry’s percentage. “You agreed to give me twelve percent, Beth.” MacLean was desperate, Bethany was angry. “But Larry, I can’t give you twelve percent of the entire fortune. You take your cut from our share, not the whole amount.”

“I disagree. You made no such conditions when you needed my help. I got you everything you wanted, the majority of your father’s money and an early settlement. We even avoided the penalty, and now you that got everything, you’re trying to nickel and dime me.”

Junior looked at MacLean, unable to remain quiet any longer. “Shut up Larry, we’re not talking about nickels and dimes, we’re talking about millions of dollars here, be reasonable.”

MacLean glared at Junior and Bethany and felt his anger rise. “Look, I told you what my help would cost, and you agreed to pay me twelve percent. Of it all, not just your share. You took eighty-four percent of your father’s money, so my cut is a fraction over fourteen percent of your settlement. Shit, I’ll round down, give me fourteen, and we’ll call it even.”

“But we still have to pay the Elliots, Betty and the old lady.” Bethany’s original disappointment at MacLean’s unexpected demand for money flooded back. She resented his new demand to take even more of their inheritance.

“I don’t see how your promise to pay the others is my problem. You made a deal, either keep it or break it. If you renege, I’ll tell William that we have no deal, and you can get used to the idea of giving up twenty percent to the penalty. It’s cheaper to pay me what you agreed.”

“You wouldn’t? You’d undo it all, just to spite us?” Bethany was incredulous but knew she had lost. He was right. They stood to lose more if the deal fell apart. It was better to pay MacLean his increased demand. She whispered to Junior, who was red faced and looked ready to explode. “We have to give it to him, we have no choice.”

Junior nodded, he didn’t trust his temper and dared not speak. Bethany’s voice turned to pure ice. “Fine, you get what you want, Larry, fourteen percent of our share. But when we’re done here, I never want to see you again.” MacLean winced, he loved Bethany as the daughter he never had. Her words stung because he knew she meant it. At that moment, Larry hated his brother more than ever for emptying the family trust and leaving him no option but to take from Thurwell’s family.

$

Philip approached his siblings to find out what had happened. He saw that an argument had broken out. He had been talking with Camille and both could see a fight going on. Bethany told him about the fight, and Philip gave her a hug, he could see she was saddened by the situation with their once kindly ‘uncle’ Larry. Philip was also interested to know how their agreement affected him. “So what do we get? Each, I mean?”

Bethany laid it out. “We take our share and give MacLean his fourteen percent. Betty and the old lady take eight points each. The Elliots get twenty million, and we divide what’s left four ways. We won’t know the dollar value until William tells us in the morning.” Philip shrugged. He knew it would still be an enormous sum and he could continue his life as he always lived it, never worried about money, or where it came from.

He noticed Bethany’s sadness. “Hey, sis, it’s okay. You did well today. We saved the Old Man’s money and we’re set for life.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek. “But he’s still gone Phil, and he didn’t want me, or us, with him at the end. Why?” Her brother wiped her tear away and smoothed his sister’s hair. He leaned closer until their foreheads touched. He had no answer to her question, and there was no comfort in words.

Junior watched them, and a spark of something ugly grew in him. His brother and sister had always been close, and their relationship made him feel like an outsider. After Junior’s mother’s divorce, Thurwell remarried, and his new wife bore him Bethany and Philip. But their mother never allowed him inside the cocoon of her family. He saw his French half-sister, and joined her with his back to the others, so he wouldn’t have to look at them.

$

Dennis Elliot sat on the bed as his wife called for a meal and wine to be brought up. She acted as if she was a big celebrity. He was stunned at how Janice had persuaded the family to pay them for their votes and was alarmed at how close he had been to voting the wrong way and wrecking her deal. He was also upset because she wouldn’t tell him how much she’d sold their votes for.

He heard her slam the phone down. “My God, Dennis, you wouldn’t believe how stupid the staff here is. They never would have made it in New York.” She was so full of herself that he was unable to bear her self-satisfaction.

“What did you get for our cooperation today, Jan?” He asked for the sixth time. “At least tell me that you got us a good deal?”

Janice could barely look at her husband with his hangdog eyes as he implored her to tell him how much they had earned. She didn’t want to say yet because she was trying to figure out a way to keep the bonus for herself. She would split the ten million with him, but she wanted the other ten million dollars for herself.

“I got us a lot of money Dennis, you’ll see. Stop worrying and just be happy. The Old Man is gone, but we won’t have to work again, and we’ll be able to afford a place of our own in the City.” Janice intended to leave Dennis for good at her earliest opportunity but had no idea he longed for the same. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have cared. She spoke of a future together neither of them wanted, but she didn’t know it.

Dennis watched Janice prowl the room as they waited for supper. She was plotting how she might persuade William Bird to give her the full amount of the bonus. The lawyer wasn’t a bad looking man, and she was attractive enough, perhaps he could be persuaded in the oldest way of all.

Janice went to her closet and looked at the clothes she had brought. Her best dress was a dark blue satin dress with a deep neckline. It was on a hanger covered in dry cleaner plastic.
That might do the trick
, she thought.

She heard a knock on the door and the bed creak as Dennis rose to answer it. If she let Dennis drink most of the wine, he’d be asleep in an hour, and she could slip out to see William Bird. It was a good plan, and she smiled at her own reflection in the mirror as she heard Dennis call her to come and eat. “I’ll be right there, dear.”

$

Betty Freah sat with Winnie Tremethick in the dining room. She was happy, but her mood was dampened by the knowledge that her good fortune came at the loss of the man she had liked and even loved a little bit.

Their conversation was sparse, Winnie never said much as far as Betty could tell. The old lady had refused wine with her dinner. She was so much like an elderly nun Betty thought it a miracle she had ever been married with children. She took a breath and tried once more to start a conversation. “I guess you’ll be heading home soon, Mrs. Tremethick?”

The old woman looked at her and cracked a small smile. “That would be lovely, I miss the farm.” She offered no elaboration and stared into space as she ate her food, apparently uninterested in further conversation. Betty gave up and ate the rest of her meal in silence with her memories of JT for companionship.

Winnie was relieved when the prostitute finally stopped talking. She had been trying to think but had no time to herself to do so. According to what she heard, she would be rich tomorrow. Winnie had no idea what she might do with a lot of money. She wouldn’t abandon the farm. She supposed her kids might like some money, but they still wouldn’t visit. They might call more often, but she doubted that too. She heard from her son three times a year, on her birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day.

Her daughter called every month, but never for long, and Winnie was never able to talk to her grandchildren. Her daughter thought her mother too provincial for the artsy life she led in Scotland as a sculptor and Winnie knew she was seen as an embarrassment. She sighed, there was no one else to give the money to unless she donated it to the church, but she did not care for the new vicar. Winnie had disapproved of the ‘new’ vicar since he arrived in her parish twenty years ago. It was unlikely he’d see a donation.

Winnie thought about these things but what concerned her most was why she had been invited to America at all. The question was at the forefront of her mind. Who was the man that had insisted she be here and why was she receiving his money? She worried there had been a terrible mistake and that a different Winifred Tremethick should be in her place.

Perhaps she would just go home and forget all about it, just put the money in her savings. She had no idea how she’d explain her riches to Mr. Chambers, the post office manager who kept her savings book updated. The idea made her smile. A commotion broke out behind her, and she turned to see what the fuss was.

$

The noise that had broken into Mrs. Tremethick’s thoughts was Larry MacLean’s hurried return to the dining room. He ignored Philip and Bethany’s protests and pulled up a chair to join them, breathless from his sprint from the library. Junior and Camille saw his hasty arrival and joined the others where MacLean was fending off objections to his re-appearance.

Junior decided to take charge. “What are you doing back here, Larry? Haven’t you done enough for one night?”

“Shut it, Junior,” the older man barked. “We might have a problem. I just saw Caroline Smith leave Bird’s office and she looked much too happy for a woman leaving here empty-handed.” Philip scoffed. “What are you talking about you old fool? Bill said he’d talk to the losers after we were done, it was no big secret.”

“Maybe, kid, but I was in the library when Smith left his office and she looked straight at me, as if she had won something. Maybe something important.”

Bethany interrupted. “Perhaps she just wanted you to think that? She’s proud. We all know Caroline would never admit defeat.”

“I thought the same at first, but I decided to watch to see if anything else happened. I moved to a corner where I couldn’t be seen and soon Bird came out of his office. He damn near looked right at me when he put a book back on the shelf, but he didn’t see me. I was lucky.”

He paused, still hardly able to believe Bird missed seeing him in the shadows. “Anyway, William left the library, and I followed him. I thought he was coming here, but instead he went to Freddie’s room.” Larry had their complete attention now, and they all leaned in to listen. “I had to follow carefully so he wouldn’t see me, but I was able to run up and listen at the door, and I heard Freddie shouting, he sounded pretty mad.”

Junior was torn between interest in what MacLean had to say and his distaste for the man. “Why would Freddie be mad at Bird? We were the ones that got rid of him.”

“I know, Junior. I agree, but Freddie was plenty mad about something and I don’t like not knowing what it could be.”

Bethany pulled a face, still angry with him. “You’re paranoid Larry, or you have a guilty conscience. Caroline would never let you see she was upset, especially not after her meltdown today. She’d pretend it never happened and was probably showing you a brave face. As for Freddie, who cares if he was mad? We threw him out and denied him a share of our father’s cash, of course he’s mad. William told Caroline and Freddie he’d speak to them later. Now we know he did. So what?”

MacLean recalled the expression on Caroline Smith’s face. He knew in his gut that something was going on. He also knew he had failed to convince the family anything was wrong, he needed more evidence. “Maybe. Perhaps Beth’s right and I read too much into nothing.”Philip grunted. “Sure, Larry, that’s it. You over-reacted. Now fuck off, you’re upsetting my sister.”

MacLean left to the sound of Philip and Junior laughing at him. He returned to the library and found a chair in the darkest corner of the room where he could watch Bird’s office unobserved. Larry trusted his instincts enough to invest some time in surveillance.

$

Janice leaned in to the bathroom mirror as she applied her eyeliner. She heard soft, regular snores from the bedroom where Dennis slept. She looked at her reflection. She looked good in full make-up. Once she stepped away from the mirror’s bright light, ten years melted from her face.

She was in good shape, she carried no extra weight to spoil her figure, and her breasts had filled out with age. She admired them in a dark bra, full and round. Janice reached for the hanger on the back of the door and stepped into her best dress. She liked the deep-vee front that showed enough cleavage to make most men look twice. She figured William Bird was like most men. She was counting on it.

Janice smoothed her dress and gave a flirty half twirl, watching herself in the mirror. She felt good, she looked good and would feel even better when the lawyer agreed to give her the bonus. She peeked into the bedroom. Dennis was flat on his back, still wearing socks even though his pants were neatly folded on the bed. His breathing was deep and regular. He would remain in that position until the early hours when his bladder would rob him of a full night’s sleep.

Janice had more than enough time to execute her plan. She picked up her shoes, tiptoed past Dennis and slipped them on in the hallway. The high heels made her legs seem long and slender, and she smiled. Most men liked legs, too.

$

Larry was almost asleep in the library. He had removed the light bulbs from the nearest lamp to create an entirely dark section of the room where he could observe Bird’s office without being discovered. He had not given up the idea something was wrong, the look he’d seen in Caroline Smith’s eye had unnerved him.

He heard the click of a woman’s shoes in the lobby and wondered if whoever it was would head to the dining room or the library. He pressed himself back into the chair, unconsciously trying to make himself invisible as he saw a woman enter the library. Whoever it was had a very appealing silhouette.