His father’s yacht would probably be part of the estate, but Tyler had no intention of sharing a ship with his brother and sister.
“Motor or sail?”
“I…er…I’m not sure. I want to be able to go around the world in it.”
“We’re probably talking motor.”
“It must be white.”
The sales manager looked at him strangely. “Yes, of course. How large a boat did you have in mind?”
Blue Skies is one hundred and eighty feet.
“Two hundred feet.”
The sales manager blinked. “Ah. I see. Of course, a yacht like that would be very expensive, Mr…er…”
“Judge Stanford. My father was Harry Stanford.”
The man’s face lit up.
“Money is no object,” Tyler said.
“Certainly not! Well, Judge Stanford, we’re going to find you a yacht that everyone will envy. White, of course. Meanwhile, here is a portfolio of some available yachts. Call me when you decide which ones you’re interested in.”
Woody Stanford was thinking about polo ponies. All his life he had had to ride his friends’ ponies, but now he could afford to buy the finest string in the world.
He was on the telephone, talking to Mimi Carson. “I want to buy your ponies,” Woody said. His voice was filled with excitement. He listened a moment. “That’s right, the whole stable. I’m very serious. Right…”
The conversation lasted half an hour, and when Woody replaced the receiver, he was grinning. He went to find Peggy.
She was seated alone on the veranda. Woody could still see the bruises on her face where he had hit her.
“Peggy…”
She looked up, warily. “Yes?”
“I have to talk to you. I…I don’t know where to begin.”
She sat there, waiting.
He took a deep breath. “I know I’ve been a rotten husband. Some of the things I’ve done are inexcusable. But, darling, all that is going to change now. Don’t you see? We’re rich. Really rich. I want to make everything up to you.” He took her hand. “I’m going to get off drugs this time. I really am. We’re going to have a whole different life.”
She looked into his eyes, and said tonelessly, “Are we, Woody?”
“Yes. I promise. I know I’ve said it before, but this time it’s really going to work. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to a clinic somewhere where they can cure me. I want to get out of this hell I’ve been in. Peggy…” There was desperation in his voice. “I can’t do it without you. You know I can’t…”
She looked at him a long time, then cradled him in her arms. “Poor baby. I know,” she whispered. “I know. I’ll help you…”
It was time for Margo Posner to leave.
Tyler found her in the study. He closed the door. “I just wanted to thank you again, Margo.”
She smiled. “It’s been fun. I really had a good time.” She looked up at him archly. “Maybe I should become an actress.”
He smiled. “You’d be good at it. You certainly fooled this audience.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
“Here’s the rest of your money.” He took an envelope out of his pocket. “And your plane ticket back to Chicago.”
“Thank you.”
He looked at his watch. “You’d better get going.”
“Right. I just want you to know that I appreciate everything. I mean, your getting me out of prison and all.”
He smiled. “That’s all right. Have a good trip.”
“Thanks.”
He watched her go upstairs to pack. The game was over.
Check and checkmate.
Margo Posner was in her bedroom finishing packing when Kendall walked in.
“Hi, Julia. I just wanted to—” She stopped. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going home.”
Kendall looked at her in surprise. “So soon? Why? I was hoping we might spend some time together and get acquainted. We have so many years to catch up on.”
“Sure. Well, some other time.”
Kendall sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s like a miracle, isn’t it? Finding each other after all these years?”
Margo went on with her packing. “Yeah. It’s a miracle, all right.”
“You must feel like Cinderella. I mean, one minute you’re living a perfectly average life and the next minute someone hands you a billion dollars.”