“Have you talked to Darren and Vicky about this?” Phila asked.
Barbara's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “No, as a matter of fact, I haven't. I assumed Darren would not be particularly supportive.”
Phila tossed that assumption aside with a flick of her hand. “Oh, don't worry about Darren, he's not a reactionary, ultraconservative, right-wing turkey like the rest of the Castletons and Lightfoots. He's much more flexible, much more open to information. What's more, he's married to a woman who is very interested in children's issues.”
“Is that right?” Barbara's gaze drifted toward the center of the room, where Darren and Vicky stood talking to a circle of people. “I hadn't realized that. Perhaps I'll just have a word or two with Victoria Castleton. Norm, go ahead and get out the checkbook. It looks as though we may be making a contribution tonight, after all. Nice to have met you, Phila. Good to see you again, Nick. Let's get together for dinner soon.”
“Yeah, we'll do that,” said Nick, his eyes amused as he nodded at the other two. When the Appletons were out of earshot, he looked down at Phila. “Congratulations. You just got money out of the tightest checkbook in the room.”
Phila was astonished. “Why are they here, if they're not strong supporters?”
“According to Vicky, you don't dare not invite Barbara and Norm to an affair like this. They wield a lot of clout in this town. But no one actually expected to get their financial support tonight. Barbara's notorious about only backing a few selected pols. When she does back them, however, they generally do well. She can bring money out of the woodwork. Lots of it. Let's hope you didn't oversell Darren's support for children's issues.”
“I didn't. Darren will listen to children's advocates. I know he will. If he doesn't, Vicky will make him listen.” Phila was sure of herself. She looked thoughtfully around the room. “You know, a person could do a lot with a roomful of money like this.”
“That's the whole idea.” Nick's voice was bland. “What's that funny expression on your face? You thinking of getting into politics?”
“Who, me?”
“Don't look so damned innocent.”
“Heavens, I'd make a lousy politician.”
“That's true. You're too mouthy. You'd be much better at the fund-raising end of things.”
“You think so?”
“Sure. You're the type who'd be happy to beat up on people until they forked over a contribution. It takes nerve to be an arm-twister at an event like this.”
Phila looked around. “This could be fun. Let's go practice.”
Nick groaned. “Give the woman a taste of power and she goes wild.”
Phila spent the rest of the evening listening, observing and asking questions. It took her mind off her other problems. Reed gravitated toward her at one point, a drink in his hand, and asked how she was getting along.
“Well, no one's tried to throw me out yet.”
Reed nodded, pleased. “A good sign. You must be keeping your mouth under control.”
“I'm getting sick and tired of comments on my mouthiness. Where's Hilary?”
“Talking to some business acquaintances. Where's Nick?”
“Over there with that heavyset man in the corner.”
Reed glanced in that direction and nodded. “That's Graveston. Owns a couple of restaurants here in town.”
Eleanor spotted them and left a small group of women to come over to Reed.
“There you are, Reed, I've been looking for you. Have you seen the Brands yet?”
“Over near the buffet table,” Reed said. “Why?”
“I want to make sure they meet Darren and Vicky. Everything is going very well, don't you think?”
“It's going great,” Phila said, even though she hadn't been asked. “Darren's a natural, isn't he?”
Eleanor looked at her. “Yes, he is.”
“Nick and I were talking earlier about how this political business definitely seems to be Darren's proper niche. Be a shame to waste all that charisma. Lord knows we need more decent men in office.”
Eleanor's gaze sharpened. “You and Nick were discussing this?”
Phila nodded, sipping at her champagne. “Nick's seen the light, you know, Eleanor.”
“What light have I seen?” Nick asked from directly behind Phila.
Phila jumped in surprise and then smiled meaningfully. “The light about Darren's future in politics. I was just telling Eleanor that you've decided it's the right thing for him.”
Nick looked at his father. “With her around, I don't even need to open my own mouth. She's starting to do all my talking for me.”
Reed's grin came and went. “I've noticed.”
Eleanor was staring at Nick. “Do you mean it?”
“Ask Phila. She seems to be doing all my thinking for me tonight.” Nick glanced across the top of Eleanor's head. “There goes Howard Compton. I'd better say hello.” He started to excuse himself and then spotted the full glass in Phila's hand. “How much champagne have you had already?”
“This is only my second glass. I think. Maybe it's my third. I'm not sure. Don't be such a grouch.”
“Keep an eye on her,” Nick said to Reed. “She's a bit testy this evening. In this mood she gets into trouble easily.”
“I don't know what you expect me to do with her. Want some more food, Phila?”
“Yes, please.” She smiled widely at Reed. “Don't pay any attention to Nick. He never wants me to have any fun.”
Half an hour later Phila found herself standing alone conveniently near the hall that led to the rest rooms. She decided she'd better take advantage of the opportunity. She went down the carpeted hallway and pushed open the appropriate door.
She stood staring in amazement at the plush facilities. The room had been done in soft turquoise and rose and featured a couple of graceful velvet sofas, a wall of mirrors lit with makeup lights and marble trim on all the stalls.
But it was the view from the window in each stall that captivated Phila. The scenic panorama would have graced any upscale condominium, and here it was wasted on a rest room. Real class. Phila started opening stall doors to see which cubicle had the best view.
She was watching the lights of the city from the middle stall when she heard the outer door of the lounge open and close. Phila hurried out to wash her hands, embarrassed that someone might discover her enthralled with the view from a rest-room stall.
She stopped short, her insides twisting with sudden, sick tension as she saw Hilary standing by the long row of marble sinks. Phila's pleasantly lightheaded feeling died when she saw the anger twisting the other woman's beautiful face. It was obvious Hilary had psyched herself up for a confrontation.
She looked like a savage queen, Phila thought, awed by the threat of the uncontrolled emotion in Hilary's eyes.
“Hello, Hilary,” Phila said cautiously.
“God, you have a talent for looking innocent, you little bitch.”
Phila sucked in her breath as a cold, anguished chill shot through her. “I know how you must be feeling—”
“You know nothing of how I feel. Nothing. You really think you're going to win, don't you?” Hilary asked. “Oh, I've seen the way they're starting to pay attention to you—believe in you, listen to you. And because of you, they're all starting to believe in Nick again. An interesting process. But you won't win, Phila. I can't let you. I've put too much time, too much of myself into this game, to lose it all now.”
Phila mentally fought the onslaught of Hilary's fury. “Nick told me all about Traynor and your plans to ruin the company. But I can't let you do that to the families. They don't deserve it.”
The lounge door opened again, and Nick strolled into the room with as much aplomb as if he were walking into a boardroom. He stood there, raw and masculine-looking, amid the luxurious, ultrafeminine surroundings. He looked at Phila.
“I saw you head for the ladies' room and I saw Hilary follow. Something told me I'd like to be included in a h
igh-level meeting like this. What don't we deserve, Phila?” he asked.
“She wants to punish all of you for what happened three years ago,” Phila said softly, her eyes on Hilary's rigid features. “But it isn't fair. You're all innocent. Except Burke, of course.”
“You're right, you know.” Hilary folded her arms under her breasts and watched Phila. “I intend to take C&L apart bit by bit and make a fortune for myself in the process.” Hilary turned her eyes on Nick. “I'm going to destroy everything any of you care about.”
“It's taken you nearly three years to set it up but you're about ready to pull it off, aren't you?” Nick asked mildly.
“Yes,” Hilary said proudly, “and I will pull it off. When I'm finished I'll have everything I want, everything I need, and the Castletons and Lightfoots will just have to watch their precious family firm go into the hands of strangers.”
“There was no rape, was there, Hilary?” Phila asked. “It was a seduction. You seduced Burke out of desperation when you realized Nick was going to leave the firm and go through with the divorce if you refused to follow him. You knew you had no chance of seducing Reed. He would never have touched you. Neither would Darren. But Burke was a different breed of cat.”
“You're wrong. There was a rape. It was a rape in almost every sense of the word except the physical as far as I was concerned. Everything I had been promised was taken from me. I had made a bargain with the Lightfoots. I had married one of them, and in return I was supposed to get what I wanted.”
Phila nodded slowly as the rest of the puzzle fell into place at last. “But when you realized you were going to lose all of it, you turned to Burke, didn't you? It had to have been Burke. He was the weak one. You knew he was the only one left you could use.”
“He wanted me so badly he could taste it. He had wanted me ever since I'd walked in the front door as Nick's wife.”
“Probably because you fell into the category of forbidden fruit,” Phila said. “You played on that, didn't you? You thought if you controlled Burke he would support you after you lost your status as a Lightfoot wife. You were terrified of losing that status. It was all you cared about. It was the reason you had married Nick in the first place.”
“True.” Hilary smiled. “You think you know me so well, don't you? Because of Crissie, I suppose?”
“That's part of it. You were right, Hilary. You did have a lot in common with Crissie. You need an enormous amount of financial security the same way Crissie needed it. You're pathological about it. It's the single most important thing in the world to you.”
“A woman has to take care of herself in this world.”
“With your marriage falling apart and with no possibility of getting your hooks into Reed or Darren, Burke was your only chance of hanging on to some security. How far did your fantasies take you, Hilary? Did you actually think he might divorce Eleanor and marry you?”
“It was always a possibility,” Hilary agreed. “But there was no need to go that route after I accidentally got pregnant. I hadn't even thought of that approach. But when I realized I was going to have the baby, I suddenly saw how much simpler everything would be if I said the baby was Nick's. As the mother of a Lightfoot baby, my status would be inviolate for the rest of my life.”
“But why set out to take apart the company, Hilary?” Nick asked softly. “Why not just be satisfied with taking control of it?”
Hilary slid a cold glance in his direction. “Because after I lost Burke's baby, I realized I was in constant jeopardy. I knew that, sooner or later, you would probably come back like a king returning to claim the throne. You always considered C&L your birthright.”
“But you were Reed's wife. You were safe,” Phila pointed out.
“Just how long do you think I would have remained Reed's wife if everyone discovered the truth? I couldn't take the chance. I saw my opportunity to take over when Reed began losing interest in the company. I realized that if I handled things right, I could gradually acquire enough power to sell off the company and make myself safe and secure for the rest of my life. I wouldn't need Lightfoots or Castletons at all. I would be free. And that's exactly what's going to happen.”
“It isn't going to go down that way, Hilary,” Nick said. “I'm back.”
Hilary smiled. “You came back too late, Nick. Or perhaps too soon. Either way you don't have the power to take over now. Even with Crissie's shares, you can't get enough family backing by August to pull it off. I'll still be CEO after the annual meeting.”
“Don't count on it.”
“You think the families will believe any of this? You can shout yourself hoarse trying to tell them what's going on. They won't buy it. I've had three years to work on all of them. By now they all have reasons for wanting me to stay in charge. You're the renegade as far as they're concerned, not me.”
“I know.”
Hilary's beautiful face became tight with sudden fury. “None of it had to happen this way. It's all your fault, damn you. We had a business deal, you and I. You violated our agreement.”
“It was supposed to be a marriage, not a business arrangement. I wanted a wife, not a business partner.”
“A wife? You wanted a fool of a woman who would follow you barefoot through the burning sand anywhere you chose to lead.” Hilary's lovely mouth twisted with sarcasm. “What kind of an idiot did you think I was? I married you because you were the heir apparent to C&L. Not for any other reason. What other reason could there have been?”
“Good question. Certainly not because you loved me?”
“You bastard. Love had nothing to do with it. It was business on both sides. You wanted me for what I could bring to the family: beauty, background and breeding.”
“You wanted me because your family fortunes were on the skids. You wanted to marry money.”
“It's the way it's done in our world, Nick. Remember? I was brought up to understand these things, just as Eleanor understood them forty years ago.”
“You don't have a glimmer of understanding, Hilary.” Nick propped one shoulder against the wall.
“That's not true. I was prepared to hold up my end of the deal. I would have made you a good wife as long as you were head of C&L. But within eighteen months of our wedding you were getting ready to walk away from the firm just because Reed and Burke wouldn't let you do what you wanted with the company. And you expected me to go with you.”
“Yeah. Real dumb on my part. Somewhere along the line I got the idea that a wife is supposed to stick with her husband regardless of what kind of job he holds.”
“That's an outdated, chauvinistic, stupid thing to say.”
“Depends on the wife,” Nick said. “My mother would have followed my father into a swamp.”
Hilary gave a sharp exclamation of disgust and turned back to Phila. “Crissie understood. She knew what I wanted, what I needed. She would have helped me.”
“She understood, but she didn't turn the shares over to you and she never bothered to change her will, did she?” Phila shook her head. “Some part of her could never have let you destroy C&L, Hilary.”
“You're wrong. She would have backed me all the way.”
“No, I don't think so. The thing is, Hilary, no matter what happened, no matter how much she sympathized with you, she could never have allowed you to hurt the Castletons that badly. You see, in the end, when the chips were down, Crissie considered herself family.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I need a drink.” Phila walked through the door of Nick's condominium and headed straight for the kitchen.
“You've already had enough champagne to float a tanker. It's a wonder you can still stand up. What is it with you tonight? I've never seen you like this.” Nick shot the bolt on the door and followed her.
Along the way, he managed to leave behind his bow tie, black jacket and gold cuff links. By the time he reached the kitchen he looked thoroughly disreputable and dangerously sexy as far as Phila was concerned. She
decided it wasn't fair.
“I'm celebrating.” Phila jerked open the cupboard and removed the half-empty bottle of scotch. She had a little trouble getting a glass off the next shelf. It almost slipped out of her grasp.
“What are you celebrating?” Nick reached out casually and took the bottle from her hand. Then he reached for the glass.
Phila ignored the question and sighed softly. “It was very sad, wasn't it, Nick?” She looked at him as he splashed a minuscule amount of scotch into her glass and handed it to her.
“What was sad? That little scene with Hilary in the women's room? It wasn't sad. It was inevitable. She's beginning to feel the pressure. Tonight she realized she's losing.”
“How did you happen to walk in when you did?”
“I've learned that it's best to keep an eye on you. You do have a way of getting into trouble.”
“Totally untrue. I resent that.” She tasted the scotch and realized she really didn't want any more to drink after all. She put the glass down on the counter.
“When did you realize the baby was Burke's?” Nick asked quietly.
“It all came together tonight when Hilary started talking about how she had been cheated. It's obvious when you stop and think about it, though. Everyone should have realized it a long time ago. After all, there's no way you could have done it and then walked out. You're just not the type. And Darren is a little too wary of Hilary to be comfortable going to bed with her. Besides, he loves Vicky. But the real clue was the way Eleanor acted.”
“Eleanor? How did she act?”
Phila shrugged. “She was always so protective, so adamant about supporting and defending Hilary. After a while it became obvious she suspected the truth or at least part of it. She still believed there had been a rape. But deep down I think she believed it was Burke who had raped Hilary, not you. Hilary probably planted that fear herself, and played on it to her own advantage.”
“Christ.”
“Whatever the reason, Eleanor felt she had a responsibility toward Hilary. After all, she was the one who had brought Hilary into the families. Then, too, she feels a kind of kinship with her because they both married into the families for similar reasons.”