They pulled up to the gate, and pushed the button. A buzzer sounded and the gate slid open.
“Apparently we’re expected,” Merry said. “You think the butler’s named Jeeves?”
There was no doubt in Betsy’s mind that they would be met by a butler at the front door. The mansion was in a classical style, slightly intimidating with its perfect white paint. She looked down at her t-shirt and low cut jeans, and wished she’d dressed up a bit more.
The door opened before they got there, and sure enough, a full suited butler opened the door and a footman of some sort came out to help them with the pram.
The interior of the reception room was bright marble with huge fresh floral arrangements on the small tables that Betsy suspected were Chippendale. The grand staircase ran right up the middle, just perfect for someone to make an entrance. At the top of the stairs was a life sized portrait of a beautiful woman in a glamorous red evening gown. Betsy had seen her before many times before.
“Kathryn Miller. I love her old movies. My favorite is that one with Cary Grant and the crazy dog and the lion.”
“Between the Lions,” he said.
“One of my favorites, as well,” a voice said from the next room. The butler led them in, and sitting there, still elegant despite her age, was the woman from the portrait. “Would you like some tea?” Ms. Miller motioned for them to sit. Once they were seated, Ms. Miller looked Merry right in the eye. “Would you pour, dear. I’m a bit clumsy in my old age.”
“It would be my pleasure, Ms. Miller.”
“Please call me Kathryn. Ms. Miller was never my real name anyway. The studios just handed out new names like candy in those days.” Her hands may have been a bit shaky as she accepted the cup from Merry, but her eyes looked quite sharp as she assessed the two girls.
“So Charles informs me that you have a bit of a situation.”
“Yes. I just want the best for my baby.”
“Without a whole lot of hassle from the IRS, I imagine.”
“I’m not usually the kind of person to do this kind of thing, but I find my new sense of maternal instincts have thrown a wrench into my usually moral behavior. I just graduated from university, and I can’t expect any help from Polly’s father.”
“Not even with a good lawyer?”
“He might as well be dead,” Merry added, “and if he knew, he’d just try to claim his eighty percent.”
“What attracted you to him in the first place?” Kathryn eyed her curiously. She was smart enough to know there was something else going on. Time to go with something closer to the truth.
“He is a good father, and a good man. That’s why he left us, because he knew if he stayed, trouble would follow him, and he was unwilling to risk our lives. He gave me these because he wanted me to be able to support myself. The gems have been in his family for years, possibly centuries. That’s why no one’s seen them before.”
“Finally an answer that sounds like the truth.”
“I was born in a small little town in Idaho. My father didn’t just run off when he found out my mother was pregnant. He married someone else. Now back then, single girls didn’t just have a baby by themselves, and her father managed to scrounge up some neighbor boy and promised him part of the farm to take on a pregnant wife.” Merry poured Kathryn another cup of tea.
“But my mother, she was still in love with my father, and rather than marry hat other boy, she took off for Los Angeles. That was before Hollywood was Hollywood. A few little silent picture studios here and there, but my mother found a job at one of them. Just a secretary, but with some scrimping and saving we got by. I’m not sure, but I think she might have had a generous male friend or two as well.”
“When I got old enough, she sent me straight to the biggest studio there was. She knew I had the talent and spark that they were looking for. She died of nothing more than weariness after the first big check that I received.”
“Charles knows that I have a soft spot for single mothers. As long as you’re up for a little creative financing. And I must warn you, I will place most of the money in a trust account for when your little girl turns 18. I find it removes temptation.”
Betsy smiled and nodded.
“So let’s see what you’ve brought.”
Betsy handed the four stones to Kathryn, and she let the light play over them in her hand.
“I trust Charles estimate of their value, so how much debt have you incurred gaining your education?”
“Nearly fifty thousand.”
“That, I think, will be easier dealt with if I pay off the school directly. And regarding the trust fund and the escalating costs, I believe two million should be sufficient.”
Betsy tried to suck in her breath, but for a moment her lungs refused to work. Kathryn threw around numbers like tissue.
“The largest problem will be the remaining two million, nine hundred fifty thousand. Is there perhaps a piece of property you’d like to purchase?”
Betsy added all the numbers in her head, but Merry blurted out what she was thinking.
“The estimate was five million?”
“At a private auction they might draw between five to eight million, but if I take on the liability of resell, I’ll give you the lower price. I think it’s fair, but if you wish to find another offer.”
“It sounds reasonable to me,” Merry said. Betsy agreed. If those four stones were worth five million, Betsy would be sitting on a cool twenty million or so… if the other stones were as valuable.
“And I think I know of a property that I might be interested in.”
“Excellent. My last and final stipulation, which I think you will also agree with, is that you must keep our association quiet. Most people don’t know who I am anymore… and I think I’d like to keep it that way.”
“As far as anyone will know, I received a bank loan for the property, and by the time that Polly turns 18, no one will question the trust account.”
“I’ll have my solicitor call you in the morning, to review the details. I wish you the best of luck.”
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