CHAPTER SIX

Claire nestled in the back of Aunt Grace’s chauffeur-driven limousine and considered what she had learned. Nicky was illegitimate for one thing, bereft of that heroic died-in-the-midst-of-battle father she had always found so boring. Thea had loved that grandfather story, and had cherished the one photograph Nicky had of him. Claire wondered where Nicky had gotten the picture. It certainly wasn’t one of Sebastian Prescott.

Sebastian Prescott. Her grandfather. Scotty’s grandfather as well. That made them half cousins, if such a term existed. Not full cousins because Scotty’s mother came from the married side of the family, while Nicky’s mother had been seduced and bought off.

Claire didn’t feel especially cousinly to Scotty, but then again, she’d never had a cousin, so it was hard to know how to feel. Didn’t cousins have reunions and go to each other’s weddings? Something like that, she supposed. Half cousins probably weren’t invited.

Next piece of information: Nicky’s father was at least well-to-do, and possibly rich, and willing to spend his money to keep from having to deal with his son. Now that was good to know.

Then there was the fact that Nicky knew all about it, and lied, and Megs knew all about it, and lied, and even Evvie knew all about it, and lied. Claire allowed herself a grin. All these years, she’d thought she was the only really untruthful member of the family. Now it turned out she came by her lying honestly.

And finally, there was the business about Sam’s mother still being alive. Claire knew if she’d pursued it, Aunt Grace would have been more than willing to tell her about it. Obviously Sam knew, and Evvie as well. Evvie really was a skilled liar. Amazing. But Claire felt dirty even being curious. Sam’s life was Sam’s, and his family was his, and if his mother was alive and he wasn’t sending out announcements, that was his business. Claire wasn’t a gossipmonger. She only sought out the facts that were relevant to her life.

She’d never had a grandfather before, and now she had one, and if she wanted, she could meet him at New Year’s. Scotty would be happy to introduce them, as long as he didn’t know the significance of the event. And Claire had no intention of telling Scotty that she was his long-lost cousin. The poor boy had cousins enough without her and her sisters. Why burden him even further?

Poor Evvie, finding out that way. It must be awful to discover that your dinner guest is actually a blood relation. It was amazing she only broke the one glass.

“The next block,” she said to the chauffeur as they reached Sam and Evvie’s neighborhood. It was quite a comedown from Aunt Grace’s. Not that Claire would ever live in Boston. New York probably, or maybe Paris or London. Or maybe all three. Flats and town houses and penthouse suites. The life she so richly deserved.

She thanked the chauffeur as she got out, treated him to a smile, and he smiled back. And why not? She had to be a welcome change of pace from Aunt Grace. Then she skipped up the stairs, pressed Evvie’s doorbell, and took a deep breath before entering. It wouldn’t do to let Evvie and Thea see how exhilarated she was. Evvie in particular, with her shrewd, dishonest eyes, might figure it all out.

But she needn’t have worried. Thea was sitting on the living room sofa, weeping, and Evvie was comforting her.

“Sybil,” Claire said immediately. “What did you hear?”

“Stop pretending you care!” Thea shouted.

Evvie raised her hand in warning. “Nothing about Sybil,” she declared. “Thea, calm down. Claire, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Sure,” Claire said. Had Evvie told Thea about Nicky? It was hard to imagine what else would put Thea in such a tailspin.

Evvie led Claire into her bedroom. She sat down on the bed, and gestured for Claire to join her. Claire could hear Thea crying in the living room, and wondered what was going on, and why it was going to be her fault.

“No one’s sick?” she asked.

“No one,” Evvie said. “We got back from Aunt Grace’s, and Thea decided to call Kip.”

“Kip,” Claire said. But if this were just another Kip crisis, why did Evvie have that big-sister-scolding look on her face? “Was he drunk?”

“It might have been better if he had been,” Evvie replied. “He was sober, and he was mean. You know how he can be. He told Thea he was working, that he was trying to go to school and hold a job and still have some time for his sculpture, and he wished she’d get it through her thick skull that he had no time for a lovesick schoolgirl, not even one as pretty as she was.”

“You’re kidding,” Claire said. “No wonder Thea’s so upset.”

“That’s only part of it,” Evvie declared. “Thea, of course, only heard the part about how pretty she was, and kept after him. How was the work going? Was he drinking? Did he contact his mother on Christmas? You know, Thea questions. I could only hear her end of the conversation, of course, but it was obvious Kip was being very short with her, and she didn’t care. Only then, he hung up on her, and she told me what he’d said before. The part about a lovesick schoolgirl. Which, frankly, she is, although he could have been kinder about it.”

“Kip isn’t kind,” Claire said. “That’s one of the few things I like about him.”

“I’m not in the mood for your flippancy,” Evvie said. “Thea was upset enough about this conversation, and then it got worse.”

“Don’t look at me,” Claire said. “I have an alibi. I was at Aunt Grace’s being bored by old-woman talk. I bet she won’t shell out an extra penny for my birthday, either, even though I listened to her reminisce for hours.”

“You volunteered to stay,” Evvie said. “You can’t blame Aunt Grace for being boring when she has the chance.”

“No, I guess not,” Claire said. She would have given Evvie a charming smile, but it wouldn’t have worked. She could charm Megs when she had to, but Evvie always saw through her. Evvie the liar was tough.

“I had just gotten Thea calmed down, when the phone rang,” Evvie said. “It was Sam, calling to say he’d made it to Long Island safely. That really got Thea going. How was it I’d fallen in love with someone who loved me back, and she’d wasted two full years on Kip, who had never loved anybody, except for Gina, and since she’d died, his heart had died too.”

“She didn’t really say that?” Claire asked.

“Of course she did,” Evvie said. “That’s pure Thea. I never could have made it up.”

“True,” Claire said. “So you brought me in here to warn me to stay clear of her? I’d love to, Evvie, but this is a three-room apartment.”

“I brought you in here because after I got through with Thea that time, the phone rang all over again,” Evvie replied. “And this time it was Scotty.”

“So what’s the big deal?” Claire asked. “Thea should be used to that by now.”

“The big deal is he wasn’t calling for Thea,” Evvie declared. “He was calling for you. He left a message. He wants to know if the two of you are still on for dinner and a movie tonight.”

“I’ll call him back right now,” Claire said. She wished Evvie weren’t staring at her.

“You’ll finish talking to me first,” Evvie said. “How long have the two of you been dating?”

“This is our first date,” Claire replied. “What difference does it make?”

“It makes a lot of difference to Thea,” Evvie said.

“I’m sick and tired of Thea,” Claire said. “And so’s Scotty, finally. She’s never given him the time of day. She uses him when she needs someone, but she only cares about Kip. Scotty’s a convenience for her, nothing more. Why shouldn’t he be dating someone else?”

“It’s fine as far as I’m concerned,” Evvie replied. “But that someone else doesn’t have to be you.”

“I like him and he likes me,” Claire said. She paused for a moment to see if Evvie was about to reveal their family ties. Claire didn’t know what to say if she did.

“Scotty’s a very sweet boy,” Evvie said instead.

Claire laughed. “He’s only a year younger than you,” she said. “Don’t make him sound like a Cub Scout.”

“I can hear you laughing in there!” Thea cried from the living room. “Don’t you dare laugh at me, Claire.”

“I’m going to kill her,” Claire said. “That will solve all our problems.”

Evvie put her hand on Claire’s arm to restrain her. “Thea’s upset,” she said. “Aunt Grace got to her, and then Kip, and now this business with Scotty. I agree with you about a lot of things. Thea has been using Scotty, and Scotty has every right to be fed up with it. But that doesn’t mean you have to chase him.”

“He called me,” Claire said. “What makes you think I’ve been doing the chasing?”

Evvie gave Claire a long hard look. “I think the two of you are playing a cruel game,” she declared. “Scotty’s taking you out to prove to Thea that he doesn’t care for her, which is untrue. And you’re the one probably behind it all, because this is just the kind of trouble you enjoy making.”

“I resent that,” Claire said.

“I don’t care,” Evvie replied. “It’s true. You’ve always egged Thea on. You’ve always tormented her. I don’t know why. You’re perfectly nice to me, and you’re terrific with Sybil, much better than I could have been the past couple of years, but Thea and Nicky you insist on being cruel to. Nicky can handle it. He’s an adult, he’s dealt with worse. But Thea really is sensitive. She really does bruise easily. And she’s feeling bad enough right now without you and Scotty kicking her while she’s down.”

“Are you finished?” Claire asked.

“No,” Evvie said. “I won’t have you doing this to her in my house.”

“That does it,” Claire said. “What do you think is going on here? Scotty and I are going to have an orgy while Thea’s trying to sleep? We’re going out for dinner and a movie. That’s all. There’s a movie we both want to see, and we might as well have supper first. Big deal. Scotty isn’t being underhanded about it. He called right here, left the message with you and everything. Don’t you think if this were something serious, he wouldn’t have been so open about it?”

“Not everyone is as devious as you are,” Evvie said.

“And I’m sick and tired of being insulted,” Claire said. “What is it, open season on me? Thea is two years older than me. As far as I’m concerned, she’s the one being rotten. She’s been picking on me ever since she got here. And now you are, too. What’s going on? I have to ask permission from both of you to breathe around here?”

Evvie sighed. “I don’t want you dating Scotty while you’re staying in my home.”

Claire laughed. “You might as well be honest,” she said. “You love Thea, and you don’t love me, and her feelings are the only ones that count. You’ve never once asked me how I feel about Scotty. You’ve just assumed the worst, the way everyone always does about me. I used to think you were different, Evvie. I used to think you were fair. Well, I can see I was wrong. The only family I really have is Sybil. She loves me, even if nobody else does. I just hope you don’t poison her mind against me.”

“You know perfectly well I love you,” Evvie said. “And you’re right. I haven’t asked you how you feel about Scotty. Maybe I don’t want to know. Just do me a favor, and even if Scotty is the one true love of your life, don’t rub Thea’s nose in it right now. Okay? You’re sixteen, he’s nineteen. The two of you can have seventy years’ worth of passion if you eat raw vegetables and exercise regularly. You don’t have to start things up now.”

For a moment, Claire was reluctant to do anything behind Evvie’s back. But then she remembered just how much lying Evvie had been doing, and for years now. One good lie deserved another. “If you insist,” she said. No point in being gracious about it. Evvie would really be skeptical if she was.

“Thank you,” Evvie said. “Now let’s go back into the living room and mop up Thea.”

“She drives me crazy,” Claire whispered.

“You do the same to her,” Evvie said. “And she loves you anyway. You might think about that sometime.”

Claire had entirely too many other things to think about just then to waste any brain cells on Thea. It would have been nice to be able to date Scotty openly, but part one of the plan, driving Thea crazy, had obviously been accomplished. And Claire was no longer sure what part two was going to be. The rules were different now that Scotty was her cousin. The rules were a lot different now that he was the key to Sebastian Prescott.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Thea. “It never occurred to me that you’d mind if Scotty and I dated.” It was hard getting that one out without a guffaw.

“I may have overreacted,” Thea said. “But I always thought Scotty loved me.”

“He has for a long time now,” Claire said. “But he can’t go on loving you forever. Not unless you love him back.” Not everyone is a masochist like you, she thought cheerfully.

Thea looked as if she might start crying again, or worse still, kiss Claire. Fortunately, the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” Claire said. If it was Scotty, it was best she intercept the call, before the waterworks got going again.

“I have a collect call for anyone from Sybil.”

“We’ll accept it,” Claire said. “Sybil? How are you?”

“Oh, Claire, thank God it’s you,” Sybil said. The connection was good, and Claire could hear the panic in her sister’s voice. “I have to talk to you, and I have to talk fast, before Nicky and Megs get back.”

“I’m listening,” Claire said.

“Is it Sybil?” Thea asked. “Let me talk to her.”

Claire waved Thea away. “Evvie and Thea are here, too,” she said. “They both want to say hello.”

“Later, if there’s time,” Sybil said. “Claire, Nicky’s going crazy.”

“What do you mean?” Claire asked.

“This place,” Sybil said. “Well, it’s terrific. I can see a difference in everything: attitude, program, exercises, all of it. I even feel stronger, after just a couple of days. But it costs a fortune.”

“We can find the money,” Claire said. “If it’s for you, we’ll manage somehow.”

“Stop sounding like that,” Sybil said. “Like Megs. Listen to me. It’s four thousand dollars a month. They said if I lived here, did a complete residential program, in six months, I’d be out with just a limp. I might need a cane on bad days, but that would be it. No walkers, no crutches.”

“Sybil, that’s great!” Claire said.

“It’s twenty-four thousand dollars,” Sybil replied. “We haven’t seen that kind of money in years. Not since we sold the house. And all that money is long gone. All we’ve had the past year is the trust fund money. You know that. You know what it’s been like.”

Claire wanted to assure Sybil that things would work out. But Sybil was right. She’d picked Claire to talk to because Claire was the only realistic one in the family. “You said Nicky was going crazy,” she said. “What do you mean?”

“When the doctors told him about the program, and what it would cost, he pleaded with them for long-term payments,” Sybil replied. “For scholarship aid, as if it’s some sort of college. It isn’t. They need to make their money, too. Insurance usually pays. We don’t have insurance. Therefore it’s cash up front, or else it’s no deal.”

“How did Nicky take that?” Claire asked.

“He got hysterical,” Sybil said. “I was in the outer office, and I could hear him screaming. Megs was trying to calm him down, but it was awful. I’ve never heard him out of control. He kept saying it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t just, that a fourteen-year-old girl should be condemned to a lifetime of being a cripple because of a few thousand dollars. Claire, he’s never called me a cripple before. And it isn’t a few thousand dollars. It’s a lot more than that.”

“Sybil, it isn’t your fault if Nicky lost control,” Claire said. She became uncomfortably aware of Evvie and Thea listening to her end of the conversation. Three-room apartments with only one phone were the pits.

“Of course it’s my fault,” Sybil said. “If it weren’t for me, none of this would be happening. I was the one who insisted on going out that day. For what? A few stinking dollars. Everything’s been ruined because of me, and now Nicky’s threatening to sue Aunt Grace and the entire Winslow family to break into Megs’s trust fund for the money I need.”

“You’re kidding,” Claire said.

“I wish I was,” Sybil replied. “Claire, that trust fund is all we have. The interest on it just barely gets us by. If Nicky hires lawyers, by the time they’re through, even if he wins, there’ll hardly be anything left. Just enough for my rehab, and then we’ll be completely sunk. Megs hates the idea. You know how she is about Aunt Grace. They had a terrible fight.”

“They fought?” Claire asked.

“They screamed at each other,” Sybil declared. “Megs said it was all Nicky’s fault for not letting Aunt Grace or Clark help us. Did you know Clark offered to pay for everything when I first got hurt?”

“Nicky wouldn’t let him,” Claire said. “Or anyone else for that matter. He said we could take care of it all.”

“He was wrong,” Sybil said. “Claire, I don’t want to be a cripple. The past two years have been hell, but I’d go through six more months if it meant I could walk again. I know I’m being selfish. I know I shouldn’t care, but I do. I hate looking like an old lady. I hate not being able to get around. I never wanted to depend on anybody, and I’m so helpless now and it’s so unfair. Why don’t we have money anymore? Why did we waste it all?” She cried softly into the phone.

“If you can just hold on a little longer,” Claire said. “Aunt Grace is ancient. She’ll die soon enough, and maybe she’ll leave us the money. Twenty-four thousand isn’t a lot for her. That’s practically disinheriting us as far as she’s concerned.”

“It’s now or never,” Sybil replied, sniffing softly. “That’s what they told Nicky and Megs. The longer I go without intensive therapy, the greater the permanent damage. Even a few months’ delay would be the difference between using a cane full-time and not. And I don’t think we can count on Aunt Grace dying tomorrow just to make my life easier. She’s never liked me.”

Claire laughed. “She’s never liked anyone,” she said. “Do you want me to come out there?”

“I’d love you to,” Sybil said. “But face it, Claire, you’d only make things worse. You’d get into a fight with Nicky the minute you got off the plane, and Megs’ll start crying again, and I couldn’t stand it.”

“Okay,” Claire said. “How long are you going to be there?”

“At least through New Year’s,” Sybil replied. “They’re teaching us some new exercises we can use after we get back home. Claire, I don’t know what to do.”

“Learn the exercises,” Claire said. “And don’t pay any attention to Nicky. We’ll find the money somehow, and there won’t be any lawsuits. I promise.”

“I miss you,” Sybil said.

“I miss you, too,” Claire said.

“They’re coming,” Sybil said. “I can hear them. I’d better get off the phone. ’Bye, Claire.”

“ ’Bye, Sybs,” Claire said, but Sybil had already hung up.

“What lawsuit?” Evvie asked. “What the hell was that all about?”

Claire sighed and told Evvie and Thea what Sybil had said. There was no point in censoring; they’d half guessed it from what they’d heard.

“Breaking into the trust fund would be a disaster,” Evvie said. “Someone’s got to talk Nicky out of trying.”

“I will,” Thea said.

“How’ll you manage that?” Claire asked.

“I’ll fly out there today,” Thea replied. “When I first called Clark from New York, he offered to pay for me to go to Oregon, spend Christmas there, only I said no. He’ll pay for the ticket when I tell him what’s happening. And then I can talk Nicky out of it, and help Megs out, and Sybil, too.”

“Maybe I should go instead,” Evvie said.

“You have a job to go to,” Thea pointed out. “You’re supposed to go back to work tomorrow. I don’t have to be in school for a couple of weeks. And there’s no point in my hanging around here, or even going back to New York. So I might as well go.”

“Will Nicky listen to you?” Evvie asked.

“If I have Megs on my side,” Thea said. “And you can call with reinforcements if we need you. I’m going to call Clark right now, so he can get me on the next flight out.”

“Thea,” Claire said. “It isn’t going to be fun out there. I know you think I’m always putting Nicky down, but you don’t understand how much he’s changed over the last year or so. You haven’t seen it like I have. This business with Sybil has destroyed him.”

“You’ve always underrated Nicky,” Thea said. “But thanks for the warning. I can take care of myself. Now let me call Clark, so I can pack and go someplace where I’m really needed.”

Claire looked at her sisters. Evvie was smart enough, and caring and dishonest, but she had her own set of problems. Thea was helpless. Sybil needed twenty-four thousand dollars, and it was obviously up to Claire to raise the money immediately.