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domestic accounts. If you don’t
believe me, you can ask Colin. Or better yet, ask darling David.”
    He paused, then chuckled. “Speaking of David, I read in one
of those cheap society columns that you and he are no longer an item. What a
pity!”
    I felt my cheeks burn and before he could say any more, I
stumbled from the room.
    * * * * *
    “I see he’s told you.”
    Giles was waiting at the bottom of the steps that led to the
beach. He was dressed in running shorts and a warm-up jacket and looked as if
he’d already done his workout. The sun was sunk deep into the lake, so only a
sliver remained glowing like a red ruby chip over blue velvet. The air was
already cooler and I shivered.
    “He’s told me,” I said, my voice dull.
    “Let’s talk.”
    He took my elbow and steered me down the beach. We were both
silent for a long time. I knew he was waiting for me to speak.
    “How is it that I’m the last to know?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “I don’t think anyone meant to exclude you. You
were away and Colin found out from some source connected with the law firm
holding Leo’s will. We all thought it was heartless of him to check on such a
thing right after finding Leo dead but well…you know Colin.
    “Grant followed it up and I’d say he wasn’t too pleased with
what he found. I think he wanted to make sure it was all valid before putting
any additional burden on you.”
    I added one more resentment to the list I was accumulating
against Grant Fenton. Giles rubbed his chin.
    “You know, Suzanna, your father was my very good friend. I’ve
known him since long before you were born. I’m sure you must be feeling a great
deal of anger toward him right now but I think I can almost understand why he
did what he did.”
    I listened, feeling little more than apathy.
    “He wasn’t always so ruthless. You must appreciate what it
did to him to watch his whole family die of an influenza epidemic just because
they couldn’t afford a doctor. He was very young then and grew up blaming
himself and the society he lived in—the rich getting richer and the poor… Well…”
    I knew the story already. Leo’s family had migrated from
Greece for a better life when Leo was only a baby. After their tragic death,
Leo worked hard as a manual laborer on the Chicago docks for a small company
owned by a fellow Greek immigrant named Dimitri Agropolis. Using his wits and
charm, he was able to manipulate his way up the ladder and eventually managed
to snatch the ultimate prize, Agropolis’ only daughter, Carmen. Colin was born
a short nine months after their wedding. Six months later, Dimitri died of a
stroke, leaving Leo the business.
    There were rumors Leo engaged in dealings with the mob in
those early years. No one knew for sure but the company certainly prospered
under his boundless ambition and soon he took over three other struggling
shipping firms and combined them all to create Dirkston Shipping. Later, when
the company grew and sprouted subsidiaries, the conglomerate was renamed
Dirkston Enterprises.
    Carmen turned a blind eye to most of Leo’s dealings. I
suspected this was out of self-preservation. She realized her marriage was a
mistake but pride and a certain amount of greed kept her from abandoning it.
Instead, she turned her frustrated affections on Colin, smothering him with
attention.
    Beacon was a dream long before it became a reality. Colin
was two years old before the architects were hired and construction begun. The
construction took almost three years.
    It was assumed Leo fell in love with my mother, Anna Kempton,
Colin’s governess, right under Carmen’s nose. I still find it hard to believe
my father could be capable of such cruelty to his wife but Giles assured me
Carmen was indiscreet in her own illicit affairs long before Leo strayed.
    The day they were to move to Beacon, there was a vicious
argument. At the end of it, Carmen lay at the bottom of the stairs, her neck
broken. There was speculation Leo