“Oh, I assure you, I’m very much alive,” Georgette said before she stepped closer to the man and slapped him smartly across the face.
For the briefest of seconds, Eunice found herself at a loss for what to do, because even though her mother possessed a temperamental nature, she normally refrained from accosting men, even when she was provoked.
“You should intervene,” Uncle Raymond said, drawing Eunice’s attention away from where her mother and the gentleman were now glaring at each other, neither of them saying a word.
She set aside the ice and rose from the fainting couch. “You’re the one who decided to assume the role of head of the Mason household. That means this type of business falls under your jurisdiction.”
“I have no idea how to intervene since I have no idea what could have possessed your mother to slap Mr. Loring. He’s a distinguished man of business, and as such, he certainly shouldn’t be treated in such a deplorable fashion.”
“I’m sure Mother has her reasons, and I’m not comfortable intervening in whatever is occurring between Mother and Mr. Loring unless I feel the situation is turning concerning.”
“That’s not Mr. Loring,” Lloyd said, moving closer to her.
“What do you mean, it’s not Mr. Loring?” Uncle Raymond demanded. “I met the man less than a month ago when he stopped to tour the mines.”
Lloyd darted a look to the man still glaring at Georgette, then settled a concerned eye on Eunice. “Do you remember me asking Georgette about Mrs. Edward Howland, one of my widow friends?”
“She didn’t seem to be acquainted with her.”
Lloyd rubbed a hand over his face. “Indeed, although because she just gave Mr. Douglas Howland, Mrs. Howland’s son, a bit of a wallop, I’m beginning to believe she may not have been exactly truthful with me.”
Eunice retook her seat on the fainting couch. “I’m sorry, did you say that man isDouglasHowland?”
Lloyd nodded. “Are you familiar with the name?”
She drew in a breath, released it, drew in another, then closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds as she realized what had been a well-kept family secret had most unexpectedly come to light.
She opened her eyes as temper began to simmer. “I am familiar with the name, and concerningly enough, Douglas Howland is my father, although the story I was told about his having died before I was born doesn’t seem to be true, seeing as how he looks very alive to me.”
She got to her feet again and took a step toward the door but found her path blocked when Aunt Hazel stepped in front of her.
“You’re going to have to give them a few minutes without interruption,” Aunt Hazel said.
“Do you know who that is?”
“I’ve never personally met the man, but I believe it’s Douglas. I always knew this secret was going to come out someday.”
“So thatismy father?”
“If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say yes.”
“You knew he was alive?”
Aunt Hazel released a sigh. “I did, and it’s why I got you out of the house that day your mother disappeared. Georgette and your grandfather were having the most horrific argument, and I knew it was only a matter of time until your father was brought into the conversation because he always seemed to come into playwhenever your mother and grandfather were arguing.” She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and mopped at a forehead that was beginning to perspire. “Now is not the time to get into the full details of what happened, but the short of it was this—your father, I’m sad to disclose, reallywasa fortune hunter. He left your mother without a backward glance after your grandfather gave him ten thousand dollars to remove himself from Georgette’s life and made him promise he would never contact her again. Your father took that money and ran.”
Lloyd’s brows drew together. “That makes absolutely no sense. Douglas Howland is from one of the wealthiest families in New York. Granted, he’s a third son, but his father and oldest brother died years ago, and the second son, Stanley, was deemed unfit to run the family real estate business because he’s an opium addict. I believe he’s now attended to by a private nurse, his mind permanently affected by the opium he consumed in his younger days. That means Douglas is now in charge of the family’s many investments as well as possessed of a fortune he amassed on his own before his oldest brother and father died. He would have never been a fortune hunter.”
Aunt Hazel frowned. “Then why would he have taken that ten thousand dollars from James and abandoned his wife?”
“I’m sure I have no idea. But given what I’ve seen thus far of the Mason family,” Lloyd began, “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there’s more to the story than what you’ve disclosed.”
Dread settled in Eunice’s stomach. “I suppose the only way to get to the bottom of this is to go speak to my parents, of which I apparently have two who are actually alive.” She reached out and took hold of Arthur’s arm. “You’ll come with me?”
“Of course.”
Thankful for Arthur’s support, Eunice began walking across the room, trying to control emotions that wanted to splinter every which way. Stopping a few feet from her mother, she turned her gaze on a man she’d never expected to see.
Breath suddenly became difficult to come by because there was no question she bore a distinct resemblance to the man.
