A Moment in Time (26 page)

He looked over at Teddy and smiled warmly. "I
think you're perfect for Val, by the way, Teddy," he said. "And I'm
so glad the two of you are going to get married. She needs somebody
practical, with two feet planted firmly on the ground. Marguerite
can tell you that I love Val dearly, but Val's never had any
respect for her heritage or family, and she's always dillydallied
with . . . well,
outsiders
, if you know what I mean."

"Never was a truer word spoken," Marguerite
said, "and that's one reason I'm delighted that the two of you
could meet. I think that the three of us together can make certain
that everything of Armand's and mine will be taken care of
properly. I don't have to tell you that I've become increasingly
concerned about Val's behavior lately. She's getting more
independent, as you so aptly put it, Jamie. She's even become
somewhat distant and headstrong. Quite frankly, I'm worried that
when I'm gone, she'll take everything that Armand and I worked so
hard to keep and auction it all off, then give the proceeds to an
animal shelter or something."

"I don't think you have to worry about that
now," Teddy said, his square chin jutting out authoritatively.
"Between Jamie and myself, we can handle whatever might come up.
And don't forget, Marguerite," he added, "I will be her
husband."

Jamie laughed. "You can whip her into shape,"
he said.

"Easier said than done, I'm afraid,"
Marguerite said seriously. "This eccentric streak of hers runs
awfully deep. I don't know where it came from, but it's there, and
it's powerful." She looked over at Teddy. "You'll draw up the
paperwork soon, Teddy?" she asked.

"I'll have it done tomorrow," he said. "When
I go home, I'll get my secretary on it right away. I'll give you a
call tomorrow when it's all ready. If you like, I can run it over
here, or you and Jamie can come over to my place for a drink and
sign everything while you're there. Whichever you prefer."

"Wonderful," Marguerite said
enthusiastically. "Why don't we do the signing at Apple Hill? I
would love for Jamie to see what you've done with it, Teddy."

She turned to her cousin. "He's done an
absolutely marvelous job of renovating the place. It's in perfect
taste, and I think you would love it."

"I'm game," Jamie said.

"Good," Teddy said. "Why don't you plan on
coming over about five o'clock? I'll make sure everything's ready
by then. There will be loose ends to tie up with Dock Wainwright,
but we can get most everything done right away. In the meantime, I
hate to eat and run, Marguerite, but I'd better get back there so
all the paperwork can get started." He picked up the folder of
papers to the right of his place setting.

"That's fine," Marguerite said. "The sooner,
the better." She rose to her feet, and the men followed suit.
"We'll see you promptly at five, Teddy."

She turned to lead them out to the parking
area. Jamie held the door for her and Teddy, then followed them
out.

Teddy got into his Jaguar and started the
engine.

"You didn't leave all the papers, did you,
Teddy?" Marguerite asked.

Teddy lifted the folder off the seat next to
him. "I've got everything, Marguerite," he said, "so don't worry
about a thing."

"Good," she said.

Teddy roared off, and Marguerite turned to
Jamie and took his arm. "Let's stroll for a moment in the garden,
Jamie," she said.

They went through the nearby gate and down
the path, summer blooms spilling out of their beds onto it from
both sides. The warm air was filled with butterflies and sweet
scents.

"What do you think of him, Jamie?" Marguerite
asked.

"He's absolutely appropriate," Jamie replied
without hesitation. "He's one of us. Our kind."

"Yes," Marguerite agreed. "He is indeed."

They strolled on in silence for a while,
admiring the garden.

"Are they in love?" Jamie asked.

"Love!" Marguerite exclaimed. Her green eyes
widened, and she shrugged her thin shoulders. "What a silly
question, Jamie."

He laughed lightly. "I was just curious," he
said. "It's been known to happen, you know. Mostly among the lower
orders."

"Oh, I think there's been an attraction of
sorts," Marguerite conceded. "In the beginning anyway, as there so
often is, but I think that initial attraction has worn off for both
of them. For Val more so than Teddy, surprisingly."

"Oh?" Jamie said. "Do you think she's
interested in someone else?"

"No, no, no! It's nothing like that at all. I
don't think she has much interest in men. Just animals."

"What about him?" Jamie asked. "You say he's
still attracted to her."

"I think he's more interested in marriage
than she is," Marguerite said. "I don't know that he's particularly
interested in her physically. Oh, they spend a lot of weekends
together, but neither of them seems all that. . . sexually charged,
shall we say . . . over the other."

"Well, it sounds ideal," Jamie said. "If she
gets bored, she has her animals."

"Exactly," Marguerite said, squeezing his
arm. "I'm so glad you feel that way. I only wish Val knew how
fortunate she is to have us taking care of her this way, but she
can't know anything about our plans. It's too bad really that she
doesn't know all the trouble we go to on her behalf." She looked up
at him, her expression almost wistful. "It's really too bad that
she doesn't know how much we love her."

Lydia was typing at the computer when Teddy
came through the office door. She paused and looked up at him
severely. "You've got several messages," she said, "and some of
them need to be answered ASAP, Teddy. And I do mean ASAP. Like a
couple of banks and a couple of brokers in New York City?"

"Don't worry about it, Lydia," he replied,
smiling. "I'll get to them."

She was surprised by his nonchalant response
to her urgent message. "You look like the cat that caught the
canary," she finally said, a speculative smile hovering at the
edges of her lips. "Must've been some lunch with that hateful old
bitch, Mrs. de la Rochelle."

She was fishing for information, and Teddy
knew it. He decided to let her suffer a few minutes. "I've got to
make some telephone calls, Lydia," he said. "Then we'll get to
those messages of yours."

She scowled. He wasn't going to be
forthcoming about lunch. "Sure, Teddy," she said, her voice
clipped. "Whatever you say." She looked back down at the keyboard
and began typing very quickly, hitting the keys with an extra punch
to try to irritate him.

Teddy ignored her and sat down at his desk.
He flipped through the Rolodex until he saw the number he wanted,
then picked up the telephone and dialed it. He waited for someone
to answer, feeling especially self-satisfied. On the third ring, a
secretary picked up.

"Dockering Wainwright's office," she
said.

"Hi," he said jauntily. "This is Teddy de
Mornay. I need to speak to Dock Wainwright right away."

"I'll see if he's in," the secretary
said.

"It concerns Marguerite de la Rochelle,"
Teddy added.

"Yes, sir," the secretary said. "Just a
moment."

Teddy waited patiently, although he was
anxious to speak with Dock Wainwright. He could hardly wait to hear
what the old man would have to say.

"Dockering Wainwright here," the older man's
voice intoned. "How are you, Teddy?"

"I'm fine," Teddy replied. "And you?"

"At my age," Wainwright said, "I have no
reason to complain."

"That's great," Teddy said.

"What can I do for you, Teddy?" the older man
asked. "You say this has something to do with Marguerite de la
Rochelle?"

"Yes," Teddy said. "I've just come from a
luncheon meeting with her and her cousin, James de Biron."

"Ah, yes," Wainwright said. "I see."

"Marguerite, and Jamie, and I," Teddy went on
slowly, drawing out his news, "had a long discussion at lunch about
the de la Rochelle estate."

"That so?" Wainwright replied, clearly
wishing that Teddy would get to the point.

"Marguerite," Teddy said, "has decided to
give me control of all of her investment accounts." There, he'd
dropped his bomb on the old man.

"I see," Dockering Wainwright replied calmly.
He cleared his throat. "Her entire portfolio?"

"Yes," Teddy replied almost gleefully. "All
of it."

"I see," Wainwright repeated.

"I've got the paperwork here," Teddy said,
"powers of attorney and such, and I'll have it sent over to you
just as soon as everything is ready."

"Yes," Wainwright said. "I'll have to have a
signed statement from Mrs. de la Rochelle to that effect, of
course."

"I've got it right here," Teddy said smugly.
"It'll be with the paperwork I send over." He paused, then added:
"She wants you to send a check over to me as soon as possible, with
any commissions due you deducted, of course."

"Certainly," Wainwright said stiffly. "I'll
get on it as soon as I receive the necessary paperwork."

"Thanks a lot," Teddy said. "You can expect a
messenger in the morning."

"Yes, well, . . . good luck with it, Teddy,"
Wainwright said, forcing cheer into his voice.

"Thanks," Teddy said. He wanted to tell the
old man he didn't need his good wishes and started to hang up, but
thought better of it
. Never burn bridges
, he told himself.
You never know when you might need them, and Dock Wainwright,
old as he was, might be very useful in the future. The near future,
anyway.

"I hope there'll be no animosity on your
part," Teddy said. "I think the only reason Marguerite's doing this
is because Val and I are going to get married."

"Well, that's wonderful news," Wainwright
said. "I hope you're both very happy."

"Thanks," Teddy responded. "I'll be talking
to you."

"Good-bye, then," Wainwright said. "And
please give my regards to Val."

"I will," Teddy replied. "Bye." He replaced
the receiver in its cradle, then looked up. Lydia had stopped
typing and was looking at him with a curious expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We're just full of news today, aren't we?"
she said.

"Yes," he answered. Then he opened the file
of paperwork he'd brought back with him from Marguerite's. He
withdrew an envelope and opened it, staring down at the papers in
his hand. "Tomorrow morning," he said, "stop on your way in and
deposit these in the bank." He got up and handed the checks over to
Lydia.

She looked down at them, and her eyes lit up
brightly. "Je-sus!" she said. "I thought old Dock Wainwright had
all their money."

"These are just quarterly dividend checks,"
he said. "They'll be coming straight to me in the future."

"My God," Lydia cried, "I didn't know they
had that much money. De Mornay Investments is going to have a lot
to play with."

"No," Teddy said. "Deposit them in my
personal account."

"But-but these—" she began.

"Never mind, Lydia," he said firmly. "Deposit
them in my personal account for the time being."

"If you say so," Lydia said with a frown.

"I say so," Teddy said.

"But how am I supposed to enter these on the
books, Teddy?" she asked.

"I'll handle that," he said.
And I will,
too
, he thought.
Marguerite de la Rochelle and Jamie de
Biron aren't going to miss a dividend check right away. Especially
not with the switch over from Dock. Besides, he thought, I'll be
replacing them before they even receive statements from my
investment company. There's nothing wrong with my making use of
them for my personal needs for a short time, is there? It wasn't my
fault if the technology stocks bottomed out, was it? In the
meantime, this money will more than take care of my margin calls.
It'll shut up the banks and the brokers.

"Now then," he said, looking at Lydia. "What
are these so-called urgent messages you've got for me?"

Chapter Nineteen

Mrs. McDougall," Valerie said, "I don't think
you have anything to worry about. Lexi is doing very well."

"I don't know that I agree with you," Mrs.
McDougall said, "but we shall see." She picked up the tiny
mixed-breed dog and held him in her arms.

"If you have any problems, let me know,"
Valerie said.

"Of course," Mrs. McDougall said.

Valerie held the door open for her, then
followed the tall, thin woman out into the reception area. She
waved good-bye to her and went on into her office to fill out
Lexi's record.
There's really nothing wrong with Lexi
, she
thought as she scribbled her examination notes.
It's Mrs.
McDougall who needs the doctor. And a good and patient psychiatrist
at that.
The woman had been bringing the dog in for three
years, together with a laundry list of ailments that no one at the
clinic had been able to discern. Lexi was perfectly healthy, if a
bit neurotic, but that was to be expected in an animal that was
smothered with so much attention.

Valerie finished her notes, then went out to
the reception area to give them to Tami to file.

"Here you go, Tami," she said. "Lexi's
file."

"Thank you," Tami said, taking the file from
her. "The dog with all the phantom ailments, right? What is it this
week?"

"It's a limp," Valerie said. "For about the
twentieth time."

Tami rolled her eyes and laughed.

The telephone rang, and Annie picked it up.
"Hold on a moment," Valerie heard her say. Then Annie looked up at
her. "Val, it's for you. Mr. Conrad at Stonelair on line
three."

"I'll take it in my office," Valerie said.
She turned and went back to her office, unaware of the curious eyes
that followed her.

She sat down at her desk, pushed the button,
and picked up the receiver. "Hi, Wyn," she said. "What can I do for
you?"