The Philanthropist's Danse (30 page)

“Yes.”

“Janice Elliot votes Aye. Johnston Thurwell?”

Junior paused. “I don’t agree with this. You are all no-good parasites taking the family’s deserved wealth.”

Larry was on his feet, and his face took on a dangerous look. “Junior, don’t fuck this up. You made a promise.”

Junior waved a hand dismissively. “Oh relax Larry, I’ll support it, I just want to make it clear I detest these leeches for stealing my inheritance. I vote yes. Happy?”

“Mr. Thurwell votes Aye. “Larry MacLean?”

“Yes. Thank God, yes.”

“Larry MacLean votes Aye. Caroline Smith?”

“Aye, yes.”

“Ms. Smith votes Aye.”

The Judge looked at the tally sheet though he did not need to.

William confirmed what they all knew. “The motion is passed unanimously, ten votes to zero. You have agreed the fortune will be equally divided among the ten of you.” Genuine smiles broke out on faces that had been grim for days.

The Judge and the lawyer shook hands, and William stood to address them. “I offer my sincere congratulations to all of you. I need time to process the payments. I’ll soon provide you the details of how to access your money and advise you of the amount you will each receive. Until then, relax. I’ll ask Jeremy to send in champagne.”

His announcement was met with applause as he picked up his laptop and papers to leave. He stopped when he got to Junior. “Come with me Junior, you can’t stay here.”

“Fine, why would I want to celebrate the destruction of one of the world’s great family fortunes?” He turned to the others. “I hate you all. Burn in hell you greedy bastards.”

Junior followed William to the door where Jeremy and two staffers met them. Junior was escorted back to his room, and Jeremy sent for champagne as the lawyer disappeared to his office.

D
ennis walked to the conference room window and looked out into what little light filtered through the falling snow. He was upset, even though he would be a rich man before the day was out. He was upset he had not seen Junior punished. He looked over his shoulder at the people shaking hands and congratulating each other. He saw Janice in conversation with Betty Freah, both glowing with the promise of enormous wealth.

Dennis was excited too, but the Old Man was in his thoughts. Johnston Thurwell was gone, and the last vote had divided his vast fortune. Everyone would move on with their lives, except for his old boss. Dennis faced an entirely new life. He had no home or job but would not need to work again. He could settle his debts and... And what? The question bothered him. He did not know what came next. He turned to look at Janice, was his future with her? He had doubts about the story she’d told about her deal with the family. Dennis shook his head to clear his mind. He needed to return to the others. Freddie watched him with a puzzled expression, and Janice was trying to get his attention. Dennis folded his face into its familiar manservant smile and walked back to the happy group.

$

Larry sat and marveled at his good fortune in saving his situation from certain ruin. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Freddie. Larry stood and faced the other man, their faces impassive as each weighed the other. “You played that well, Larry. I don’t know how you could stand to support Junior after seeing what he did to Camille. I guess it’s always about what you need, right?”

Freddie’s eyes were hard as flint, but MacLean returned the look unflinchingly. “Are you upset because Junior wasn’t thrown out, or because you’re not stealing half of my share? Perhaps if you hadn’t been such a prick when I needed help I wouldn’t have been forced to do what I did. So fuck you, if you don’t mind.”

Freddie smiled. “Perhaps, Larry, but I’ll be able to live with myself. I doubt the same can be said for you. Enjoy your victory.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

Larry thought about leaving the others to visit with Winnie when a light touch at his elbow made him turn. Bethany leaned on the back of a chair to rest her ankle, and her eyes were moist. “I don’t forgive you, Larry. We’re no longer friends and never will be again, but thank you. You saved my brother from losing everything when he deserved to lose it all. It would have broken my heart to see him cast out, even after what he did. You stopped that from happening. Perhaps it was for your own selfish reasons, but you stopped it. Thank you.” She brushed his cheek with her lips and was gone, moving across the room to join Camille who was struggling to her feet with the help of Judge Freeman.

Larry watched her go with a heavy heart. Bethany was a gentle creature, and he had lost her forever and regretted it bitterly.

$

Camille wanted to return to her quiet suite. Her head pounded, and she felt weak. Ron Freeman had seen her distress and had excused himself from Betty to get to her side. She looked at him helplessly, and his anger rose as he thought about what her brother had done to her. “Let’s get you out of here.” Camille tried to stand, but her legs buckled with the effort.

The Judge picked her up in his arms without effort. Others turned to see what was happening, and Freeman felt a stab of self-consciousness, which to his relief ended with Bethany’s arrival. “She needs rest. Will you carry her up to our room?” Camille protested that she could walk, but Bethany interrupted her weak attempts at argument. “You need to rest, Camille, and we need to talk. Alone. Let the Judge carry you, I think he can manage.” She winked at the Judge who flushed and followed her.

Betty watched the small drama from across the room. The Judge had rescued Camille with a gallantry she found quite romantic. Janice watched with a hard expression in her eyes. Betty turned to the housekeeper. “That poor girl will have a scar over her eye forever, Junior really beat her badly.”

Janice waited until the Judge carried Camille out of earshot. The cold fury on her face shocked Betty. “Her brother is a sick pig, she’s lucky he didn’t rape her too. She got off easy.”

Betty looked closer at Janice. She had known lots of abused women in her life, most of whom polite society never listened to. Ordinary people often considered rape an occupational hazard for working girls, but that didn’t make the hurt and shame less real. The look on Janice’s face was a look Betty had seen before, and suddenly she realized there was a history between Janice and Junior.

Betty took Janice’s hand in hers and led her away from the others until she was certain they could not be casually overheard. “Does Dennis know?”

Betty saw Janice’s shock at her blunt question. She felt an urge to deny everything, but when she looked in Betty’s eyes she saw understanding. “He knows some of it. He knows enough.”

Betty looked at Dennis and realized why Janice had been late to yesterday’s meeting. “My God, it was here, this week? Did Junior attack you here?” A tear rolled down Janice’s cheek. It was the only answer Betty needed. “We have to tell William. Junior cannot be allowed to get away with this too.”

Janice shook her head. “He already has. I can’t tell William Bird. You don’t understand. I just can’t. Junior will get his money, and no one will care what he did to me, or his sister. I have to live with what happened. Dennis wants to hurt him, but the rich always get away with everything. You heard how Philip killed a boy and walked away from it. Do you think anyone will care about what happened to a servant? There were no witnesses. It’d be his word against mine.” Tears flowed down her cheeks. “People will say I was asking for it.”

Betty sighed, she had heard the same argument from every abused woman she’d met, and it infuriated her. “Oh come on, it’s not like you went looking for it, is it. He wanted it and took it. That’s the way it always goes.”

Janice saw Dennis looking at her across the room and shame flooded her. “But I did go looking for it. He took what I offered, and more besides. That’s what happened.” She shuddered as she remembered that night. “He’s an animal.”

Betty had no idea why Janice would want something from Junior, didn’t she know his reputation? Was it possible she had never heard the dark whispers about him? “Did he rape you, Jan?”

Janice shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know what you’d call it. I can’t tell you. I won’t tell you. Dennis can’t know that I went to Junior’s room voluntarily, neither can William. What happened, happened. It’s over. I just saw Camille, and it all flooded back. I’ll be okay.” She offered a small smile as a thank you for Betty’s concern and excused herself.

Betty watched her go and saw Dennis scurry after her, his face a portrait of concern. She didn’t hear Freddie’s approach until he nudged her playfully.

“What was that all about? Did you girls have a fight?” Freddie was surprised when Betty rounded on him. “Shut up, Freddie. Sometimes you’d do better to mind your own business.” She stalked off and left him speechless. He was disappointed. He had taken time to get close to Betty. He liked her a lot and was sorry he had caused her to get angry with him. He figured chasing her was not a wise move, so he let her go. Making up was easier if you didn’t throw gas on the fire.

He saw Caroline and decided to join her. Smith saw Hagood’s approach, but her mind was not in the room. It was on last night, and the horror she had witnessed. She had voted twice with barely a thought to what she was saying or thinking. When Camille had entered the room, she realized she had not dreamed the attack. Her memory played it over and over again, and she shivered as she recalled the fear that had transfixed her and made her unable to help. Freddie noticed the odd look on Caroline’s face and wondered what was up with the women this morning.

He understood Camille would be shaken, Bethany too. But what made Janice leave in a hurry and then Betty blow up? Even Caroline Smith, the usually unflappable executive looked as if she’d seen a ghost. He sat next to her but if she noticed she gave no sign and he hesitated to say anything after the reaction he’d gotten from Betty. After a moment, she looked at Freddie. She showed no sign of being pleased to find him sitting with her, but no displeasure either. She simply didn’t care he was there. “What do you want, Freddie?”

He shrugged. “Nothing, really. Are you alright?”

Smith looked at him, and there was a long pause while she thought about the answer. “Yes, I’m fine, thanks.” He was surprised, she looked far from fine. She stood and left him without another word. He found he was alone in the room, even MacLean had left.

A waiter appeared and asked if he required anything. Freddie shrugged. “Not unless you have any idea what’s going on this morning.”

$

William locked his office door. He needed to be free of interruptions. He fumbled the key code to his safe in his haste and cursed as he waited the programmed three-minute delay before he could try again. He entered the code with more care on his second attempt and pulled the yellow envelopes out of the safe. At the bottom of the stack was the thickest one of all, labeled
The End of the Danse
. He would look through them all to be certain he had not missed anything.

He settled into his chair when he heard a soft knock at the door. He waited and hoped whoever was there would go away, but then he heard Betty’s soft voice through the door. “Mr. Bird, please open the door, I need to speak with you, please.”

William swore under his breath and stashed the envelopes in a desk drawer before he unlocked the door. He invited Betty in with as much grace as he could muster, but was unable to restrain himself from checking the clock as she took a seat. “What can I do for you Betty? I have a lot to do if you and the others want to get your money today.”

She nodded and bit her lower lip. “I think Junior has hurt someone else, in fact, I’m sure of it.”

Bird grunted, surprised. “That’s not possible, Betty, he’s been under guard since last night. He’s had no chance to get near anyone.”

She shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. It must have happened before last night. He hurt another woman before he beat up Camille.”

Bird was concerned. “Did he hurt you, Betty? Did Junior do something to you?”

She shook her head. “Not me, someone else. I don’t know if I should tell her name, she doesn’t know I’m here, but she’s been hurt, and I’m sure it was Junior.”

William was frustrated. “Betty, you cannot make accusations against Junior without some foundation. I can’t do anything unless whomever you think was attacked comes to me herself.” His hard tone took her by surprise.

“If I tell you who it is, will you follow up? Will you find out what happened?”

“No, I won’t. Unless this person complains to me, I’m not going to dig up more trouble. Listen, Betty, the group just agreed a deal. You all want to collect your money and get out of here. If I start looking into an attack that might or might not have happened, no one gets paid today, and no one goes home tomorrow.” He realized he sounded harsh and mellowed his tone. “You speak to this woman. If she wants to tell me, I promise to listen. If that happens, I’ll look into it, but not before. You’ll excuse me, please?”

He stood and opened his door, indicating their meeting was over. Betty knew the lawyer was right, unless Janice wanted to make something of it, there was nothing to be done. She thanked him for his time and left, frustrated and embarrassed. She had acted in haste, upset William and achieved nothing to help Janice.

$

William returned to his desk and flipped through the envelopes. He had passed a half-dozen before he realized he hadn’t read any of them. His mind was on Betty’s visit. She claimed Junior had attacked someone else, a woman. If it had happened like Betty said, then the victim had to be Caroline or Janice. Camille and Bethany had both been attacked, and he was sure Winnie Tremethick was untouched. Caroline had witnessed Junior’s attack on Camille and he felt sure she would have said something if she had been the victim of another attack.

He frowned as he ticked off the events as they could have happened. If Betty was correct, the only other woman Junior could have hurt was Janice. But why? He remembered the night the housekeeper had appeared at his door and offered herself to manipulate her reward. He had refused, of course. But did Janice make the same offer to Junior?

It was hard to believe she would be so desperate, but it was possible. She had wanted to steal the bonus from her husband badly enough to offer herself to him. Perhaps she had seen Junior as the next best option. Junior might have agreed to help Janice, but if Betty was right, he had exacted a high price in return.

William returned to the envelopes. He knew none addressed sexual assault. There was also no envelope with instructions about what to do about Philip’s attack. He snorted as he came to the envelope labeled
In Case of Murder
. He and the Old Man had laughed about that one. William had called his boss paranoid.

It seemed ironic that had Philip been successful in his attempt to murder him there would have been instructions about how to deal with it, but because he had failed, there were none. William had an idea of how to deal with Philip. He would determine Junior’s fate once he heard Camille’s decision about whether or not she wished to press charges. He thought if Junior had assaulted Janice, it might make Camille’s decision easier.

He thought about calling Janice, but had no idea if Dennis knew anything, or if there was anything to know. He decided to heed his own advice. If Janice wanted to complain, he’d act, but not before. He put it from his mind and opened the last envelope to find out what to do now the guests had reached an agreement.