“I’ll telephone you,” Maurier said.
He did not plan ever to see this woman again. There was something about her that was frightening—almost evil. She was what the Americans so appropriately called bad news, and he had no intention of becoming involved further with her.
The matter would have ended there, had they not been seen coming out of the hotel together by Alicia Vanderlake, who had served on a charity committee with Kate Blackwell the previous year. Mrs. Vanderlake was a social climber, and this was a heaven-sent ladder. She had seen newspaper photographs of Count Maurier and his wife, and she had seen photographs of the Blackwell twins. She was not sure which twin this was, but that was not important. Mrs. Vanderlake knew where her duty lay. She looked in her private telephone book and found Kate Blackwell’s number.
The butler answered the telephone. “Bonjour.”
“I would like to speak with Mrs. Blackwell, please.”
“May I tell her who is calling?”
“Mrs. Vanderlake. It’s a personal matter.”
A minute later, Kate Blackwell was on the phone. “Who is this?”
“This is Alicia Vanderlake, Mrs. Blackwell. I’m sure you’ll remember me. We served on a committee together last year and—”
“If it’s for a donation, call my—”
“No, no,” Mrs. Vanderlake said hastily. “It’s personal. It’s about your granddaughter.”
Kate Blackwell would invite her over to tea, and they would discuss it, woman to woman. It would be the beginning of a warm friendship.
Kate Blackwell said, “What about her?”
Mrs. Vanderlake had had no intention of discussing the matter over the telephone, but Kate Blackwell’s unfriendly tone left her no choice. “Well, I thought it my duty to tell you that a few minutes ago I saw her sneaking out of a hotel with Count Alfred Maurier. It was an obvious assignation.”
Kate’s voice was icy. “I find this difficult to believe. Which one of my granddaughters?”
Mrs. Vanderlake gave an uncertain laugh. “I—I don’t know. I can’t tell them apart. But then, no one can, can they? It—”
“Thank you for the information.” And Kate hung up.
She stood there digesting the information she had just heard. Only the evening before they had dined together. Kate had known Alfred Maurier for fifteen years, and what she had just been told was entirely out of character for him, unthinkable. And yet, men were susceptible. If Alexandra had set out to lure Alfred into bed…
Kate picked up the telephone and said to the operator, “I wish to place a call to Switzerland. L’Institut Fernwood at Lausanne.”
When Eve returned home late that afternoon, she was flushed with satisfaction, not because she had enjoyed sex with Count Maurier, but because of her victory over him. If I can have him so easily Eve thought, I can have anyone. I can own the world. She walked into the library and found Kate there.
“Hello, Gran. Did you have a lovely day?”
Kate stood there studying her lovely young granddaughter. “Not a very good one, I’m afraid. What about you?”
“Oh, I did a little shopping. I didn’t see anything more I really wanted. You bought me everything. You always—”
“Close the door, Eve.”
Something in Kate’s voice sent out a warning signal. Eve closed the large oak door.
“Sit down.”
“Is something wrong, Gran?”
“That’s what you’re going to tell me. I was going to invite Alfred Maurier here, but I decided to spare us all that humiliation.”
Eve’s brain began to spin. This was impossible! There was no way anyone could have found out about her and Alfred Maurier. She had left him only an hour earlier. “I—I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Then let me put it bluntly. You were in bed this afternoon with Count Maurier.”
Tears sprang to Eve’s eyes. “I—I was hoping you’d never find out what he did to me, because he’s your friend.” She fought to keep her voice steady. “It was terrible. He telephoned and invited me to lunch and got me drunk and—”
“Shut up!” Kate’s voice was like a whiplash. Her eyes were filled with loathing. “You’re despicable.”
Kate had spent the most painful hour of her life, coming to a realization of the truth about her granddaughter. She could hear again the voice of the headmistress saying, Mrs. Blackwell, young women will be young women, and if one of them has a discreet affair, it is none of my business. But Eve was so blatantly promiscuous that for the good of the school…