“For now, that is out of the question. Only men fluent in corporate finance and the leveraging of investments can attain a position on the board.”
“Gwen said the trust awards bank shares to the oldest male heir.”
“It does,” Frederick said. “And if that male heir was an infant, do you think we would invite him to the table? Of course not. It won’t happen until he has a college education and years of tutelage in the banking industry. Right now you are something of an embarrassment to the family.”
She stood. “That’s not fair.”
“But it’s the truth. Look at him, Gwen! His entire life has been spent working with his hands, not his brain. He has no understanding of the banking industry, no connections in the world of finance, and he speaks like a vulgarian.”
Liam sat motionless in his chair, appearing to shrink beneath the barrage of insults, and her grandfather’s tone softened a bit.
“I’ll hire a tutor for you. Go to San Francisco or Toronto or London . . . anywhere but here. I’ll find you a position in a West Coast bank where you can learn the ropes in anonymity. In five or ten years, you might be ready to join the board at Blackstone.”
“And will the U.S. Steel vote wait five or ten years until I’m on the board?”
Frederick shook his head. “That deal is going to be finalized in July.”
“Then I want to be on the board in July. I don’t want Oscar Blackstone having control over what’s rightfully mine. The fate of twenty thousand workers hangs in the balance, and I want the power to vote in their best interests.”
Frederick began pacing the floor, his face drawn in concentration, but with a hint of secret delight too. “Your arrival will put a burr under Oscar’s saddle, but that might be a good thing. Nothing inspires a man to fight more than a little competition, and I think you can give it to him, but you’ll need to control it. Funnel your passion toward the workers if you want. Perhaps in a few years we can put you on the board.”
Gwen stood. “But for today, will you welcome Liam into the family as your grandson?”
“I will. Some of the others might not.”
Relief trickled through her. Frederick’s acknowledgment was Liam’s best protection against a future attack. Few people paid attention if an anonymous steelworker met with foul play, but such wouldn’t be the case for a Blackstone.
“Liam is frail,” she said to her grandfather. “Three weeks ago, a trio of men showed up at his house and stabbed him in the belly. If Patrick hadn’t been there, they would have killed him.”
She watched her grandfather carefully. She wasn’t skilled at sniffing out deception, but Frederick’s complexion turned pale, and he seemed genuinely shocked. He stopped pacing to take a seat.
“Last week someone tried to frame Liam and Patrick for theft from a church,” she continued. “We suspect someone knows who Liam is, and they are trying to eliminate him before he gets any closer to our family.”
“And if they can’t kill Liam, they will ruin his reputation,” Patrick said. “They can take me down in the process. I can’t be a lawyer if I’m convicted of theft.”
“There’s a warrant out for our arrest,” Liam added. “Whoever sent those thugs after me hasn’t given up, and the odds are that person’s last name is Blackstone.”
Gwen cringed at the blunt accusation, but Frederick was impassive as he digested the news. His gaze flitted between Patrick and Liam, sizing up each man in his cold, methodical way.
“We saw the resemblance between Liam and Theodore when we were in the courtroom,” Frederick said. “We commissioned private detectives to look into his past. I know about his history of brawling.” He turned his attention to Liam. “I know you were arrested for a fistfight with the son of a mill owner.”
“The guy insulted my mother,” Liam said with a shrug.
Frederick continued. “I know you bet on baseball games and that you once got rough with someone who failed to pay what he owed. You are not a man without enemies.”
“There’s a big difference between swinging a fist and swinging a knife,” Liam said. “Oscar Blackstone is the person who stands to lose the most if I show up on the scene.”
Frederick shook his head. “Oscar doesn’t need your shares to control the bank. I’ve got thirty percent, and he has twenty percent. Even if you take half of that, the other partners are loyal to Oscar. They move in lockstep behind him. He has more influence than anyone else, including me. If someone in our family tried to take Liam out of succession, it wasn’t Oscar.”
Frederick stood. “We mustn’t get overly concerned about something that is probably rooted in old Pittsburgh rivalries. We are well protected on this island, and I won’t permit anyone I don’t personally know onto the estate. Everyone will be gathering next week for the annual reunion and lobster bake, and I will use the gathering to welcome my grandson back into the family.”
Gwen beamed at her grandfather, then at Patrick.
“You see?” she said. Maybe it wouldn’t be easy, but in time, the rest of her family would be as welcoming to Liam and Patrick as her grandfather had been.
27
Dinner was a casual affair on the flagstone patio of Frederick Blackstone’s island mansion, but Patrick didn’t think any meal served by uniformed servants was casual. At least Frederick had shed his formal vest and coat in favor of a simple white shirt as they dined. The old man seemed relaxed as he asked Liam a series of congenial questions, nodding in warm approval and allowing Liam plenty of time to answer.
