“I would rather thePostfold than see you control it and Emil with puppet strings.”
Horace’s eyes narrowed. “You’re bluffing.”
“Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”
“Blackmail,” he spat. “The nerve! Alma, don’t look at me that way, or so help me God, I will tell you what antics your son was up to on his trip to Whidbey Island.”
A splash of coldness hit Mack’s core. What could Horace possibly know? Had someone followed him and Winnie? The odds were unlikely, but he would be damned before he let Horace sully Winnie’s reputation. Perhaps it was a ruse to make him give in.
“How dare you.” Alma was back on her feet, crowding Horace’s space until he backed up. “How dare you lecture my son when the evidence of your deplorable actions is at our very feet. If theRegistergets their hands on these, it’s not just the paper that will suffer. We’llallbe ruined.”
“It’s nothing a little money can’t take care of,” Horace scoffed as he attempted to sidestep his sister.
“For you, perhaps, but I’ll be cut from every social list worth being on.” Her voice was as shrill as a train whistle.
“Alma, I can fix this.”
“No.” She sliced a hand in the air. “The family name must be protected at all costs. You’ll rescind your verbal offer to Emil, and the newspaper will be in Mack’s name by Monday morning.”
“I won’t—” Horace began.
“You will, or I will sell my shares to the highest bidder.”
She stared him down until he broke eye contact with a muttered curse. He grabbed his hat, glared at Mack, and stormed from the room. The slam of the heavy oak door behind him rattled the glass figurines on the mantle.
“Thank you—” Mack began, but he paused at Alma’s accusatory expression. “Mother, I’m sorry it had to come to this, sorry you had to see those images. Trust me, I wish Horace had been more amenable.”
“Your apology is noted, yet I am disappointed in you,” she said, her chin lifting. Mack’s back teeth ground together. How quickly she mounted her high horse. “How could you be so cavalier with my reputation? I worked hard to re-climb the ranks of society after your father cost us everything, yet you are so willing to throw it all away.”
Mack sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. His mother was blessed with an uncanny ability to turn every conversation back to herself. Where was her concern forhim?
“And I don’t appreciate you playing games with my life.” It was a struggle to keep his tone even. “If you do so again, you will lose me forever.”
“Oh, my boy,” she said, crumbling against the back of the chaise. “I thought I was doing my best for you.”
“Manipulation and deceit is your best?”
“I don’t see it that way,” she insisted. “I was a mother guiding her son. I acknowledge, however, that you might interpret it differently. Mack, please, you know I care more for your success than anything else in this world. Is it so terrible I thought you needed a little reminder?”
“I take exception to your definition of what transpired.”
She paused, her throat working at a reply. “In the end, we both got what we wanted.”
Mack exhaled through his nose. There was no sense in continuing the conversation. As much as he might desire otherwise, Alma would never understand what she had done. He knelt on the floor and gathered the photographs. Once they were safely in his jacket, he faced his mother again.
“Once the papers are signed, I’ll dispose of these. Not one second before.”
“I’ll make sure of it.” She nodded, adding, “Now that I know our standing is safe, we should begin searching for a wife befitting of your stature.”
A helpless chuckle slipped out. “I’ve already found the woman I want to marry.”
Her eyes widened. “The stenographer? But she’s a working girl. That is—” Mack’s brow lowered in warning. His mother pursed her lips back into propriety, then said, “She’s a working girl, but I have all the right connections. We’ll get her up to snuff in no time.”
Change of plans. Shewouldunderstand the consequences of her actions before he left. “If you so much as change a hair on her head, I will sever all ties with you.”
Alma’s mouth gaped open. “But I’m your mother!”
Mack sighed. “I want you in my life, but we need to reevaluate our relationship. It’s not working for me anymore.”
