Page 181

"Everyone lies. It's a matter of survival," she declared.

"Then why hate my mother for lying?" I retorted. She widened her eyes.

"I'm not here to talk about your mother. I'm here to talk about you," she said. "As I told you, you are my sister's granddaughter and I made promises to my father."

"I know," I said. "Thank you for being so honest." I wanted to add: and for using the truth like darts.

"I didn't tell you everything," she confessed. I sat back as she paused.

"My father left both my sister and me a considerable fortune. Most of what you see, what we have, does not come from my husband's brilliant business acumen. Samuel was never a good businessman. To this day I don't think he understands what a profit-and-loss statement is," she said disdainfully. "But that's a different matter. As I told you, Belinda is under a doctor's care. That is eating away at her inheritance, but even if she lives to be a hundred, it won't eat but a small portion of it. The money was well invested and earns good interest. To come directly to the point, your mother would have inherited what was left of Belinda's fortune if I hadn't helped Belinda to see more clearly. Instead, a trust has been formed and you are the heir."

"That's correct. It's specifically set up to provide you with your educational needs, your basic needs, until you are twenty-one. After that, you can waste it as you see fit. I'm the administrator of the trust."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked.

"Why? I didn't feel you needed to know all this until you were sufficiently retrained."

"Retrained?"

"Until you had lived with a family in a moral setting and lost whatever bad habits Haille might have instilled in you."

"She didn't instill any bad habits in me," I replied firmly.

"I wish that were true, but frankly, I don't see how it's possible for you to have grown up as her daughter and not be somehow affected. Anyway, I'm glad Cary got you to come to your senses and return."

"Why?" I challenged. "You obviously hate my mother and hate the sight of me."

"I don't hate the sight of you. I told you why I have the feelings I have toward your mother, but I'm. . . sufficiently impressed with you to believe you have the capability to overcome your unfortunate upbringing. If you will behave and listen to wiser minds, you have a lot to gain, as you now know. It will be a considerable fortune, more than most people make in two lifetimes of hard work. There, now I've given you your incentive and I've welcomed you back," she said, as if that were the prescription to treat her bout of conscience.

"Welcomed me back?" I shook my head and snorted. "I came here, didn't I?" she protested.

I stared at her a moment. This was the closest she would come to an apology, I thought. Whether it was because of the promise she had made to her father or came from genuine and sincere remorse for telling me things bluntly and causing me to run off, I didn't know.

"I would just ask you for one thing," she continued.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Let the past

be the past. Concern yourself with your future. Nothing can be gained by digging up the ugly days and ugly memories," she said.

"I don't know if I can do that," I said. "There are still things I need to know."

Her eyes grew small again and her face firm. She leaned toward me. "I would not like to hear that you were going around Provincetown asking questions and stirring up gossip about the Logan family."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Make sure," she warned. Then she rose. "Stop by the house from time to time to tell me how you are getting along," she said. "Have Cary bring you," she added before leaving the room.

Aunt Sara was in the hallway. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Olivia?"

"Certainly not," Grandma said. She looked at me for a moment and then turned and walked out of the house. It was as if a wind had blown through and shut the door.

"Wasn't that nice?" Aunt Sara said, as if some member of royalty had lowered herself to visit. "Dear, come help me set the table."

I stood there for a moment in a daze. I was to inherit a fortune? Had Mommy or Daddy ever known? If they had, they couldn't tell me about it without telling me everything else. The more I learned, the more I was amazed by what they had sacrificed to run off together the way they had.

May and Cary arrived only minutes before Uncle Jacob. Cary looked tired but did his best to hide it. May was very excited to see me and was filled with so many things to tell me, her hands never stopped moving. Aunt Sara went on and on about Grandma Olivia. Cary looked at me with surprise and