Hester raised a hand to her chest. “Goodness, being involved with philanthropy like that could cement the Mason family as the reigning society family for years.”
“Which is why I know you’ll throw yourself into selecting the perfect charities to sponsor as well as choosing cultural improvements that could very well see Butte considered one of the most progressive cities in the West.”
Hester smiled. “I’ve long thought a pavilion would be nice to hold outdoor concerts in the summer, and an art gallery would lend an air of sophistication to Main Street.” She glanced to Georgette, who didn’t notice the glance because she was staring at Douglas again. Hester returned her attention to Eunice. “We could hold a show featuring your mother’s work, but apparently I’ll need to speak with her later about that because she seems to be preoccupied right now.” She turned to Doris and Alice. “You two can assist me as well.”
Alice’s eyes began to gleam. “Doris and I don’t know much about art, which means we should probably schedule a trip to New York to view the galleries there before we’re capable of lending much assistance.” She caught Eunice’s eyes. “Do you think there’s any possibility that you could arrange for us to attend a society event while we’re there, one that might include dashing society gentlemen?”
“I don’t actually travel in society, but...” She glanced to Lloyd, who was already nodding. “Lloyd is a member of the New York Four Hundred. I’m sure he’d be able to secure a few invitations to some society events held this Season.”
“Or better yet, perhaps I’ll need to host a ball to introduce you to society,” Lloyd offered, earning grins of pure delight from Doris and Alice as well as from Hester, who immediately pronounced that she’d adore seeing the big city too.
Switching her attention to Aunt Hazel, Eunice moved to join her on the couch, taking hold of her aunt’s hand. “You, out ofanyone,” Eunice began, “were always the kindest to me. You also kept your brother’s secrets, not that I’m sure he realized that, but he should have rewarded you for your loyalty instead of leaving you a pittance of what he left Uncle Raymond. That, and the fact that you’ve taken it upon yourself to improve the Mason name through philanthropic measures, is why I’ve decided to give you ten percent of Mason Mines, along with the ten million dollars your brother should have left you when he died. And because I’m certain you’re wondering why I asked Howard to be in charge of the Mason philanthropy efforts in Butte when you’re the one to have taken the initiative with that, I thought you might not want to take on such a responsibility and instead take time to simply enjoy yourself for a change.”
Aunt Hazel settled a smile on Howard. “Howard is the best choice for that position, dear. He’s far younger than I am, and I must admit the thought of no responsibility is vastly appealing.” Her smile dimmed as she returned her attention to Eunice. “I’m curious, though, why you’re giving me a percentage in Mason Mines when you didn’t offer that to Raymond.”
Eunice chanced a glance to Uncle Raymond and found him watching her warily. “He tried to have me declared dead, and while I’m certainly not going to hold a grudge about that, I’m also not going to reward him for his actions.”
“I am sorry for that,” Uncle Raymond began. “It wasn’t well done of me.”
“No, it wasn’t, and I hope you realize that if you’d been successful, Mrs. Wagner would have plagued you for the rest of your life with blackmail demands. But since she’s now going to be spending time behind bars, along with Vincent, who will be spending even more time behind bars for the murder of Grandfather, I’m going to put your duplicity behind me. But I’m not quite charitable enough to give you a percentage in the mines.”
“But you’re charitable enough to give Raymond this house and an additional five million dollars, which is nothing to sneeze at,” Aunt Hazel pointed out. “And you’re giving me more money thanI’ll ever be able to spend, although I believe I might spend just a bit of it in New York City.” She smiled. “I’ve always wanted to shop on the Ladies’ Mile, and I’m really interested in meeting that Monsieur Phillip Villard. I’m hopeful he’ll agree to design a few gowns for me.”
“I can make arrangements for all of you to meet Phillip, and I assure you he’ll be more than happy to have you attired in his latest masterpieces.”
As all the ladies began exchanging smiles, Eunice rose to her feet and made her way over to stand in front of Douglas, who’d stopped staring into Georgette’s eyes, but was now holding her hand while Georgette kept smiling, something Eunice had never seen her mother do so much before in her life.
“And now we’re up to you,” Eunice began, “the father I had no idea was alive.”
“There’s no need for you to give me anything,” Douglas said. “I have no need of money since I have a remarkable fortune of my own.”
“True, but you suffered because of the actions of my grandfather. He was mistaken about you, misjudged you, and proclaimed you a fortune hunter without learning the facts. He tore you and Mother apart, which was reprehensible of him. If he had not done that, you would have been capable of being the son he never had—the son he always wanted—but he didn’t allow you an opportunity to prove yourself to him.” She inclined her head. “I’m giving you twenty-five percent of the shares in Mason Mines, which means, given that you’re still married to my mother, you now own fifty percent of the company.” She glanced to Arthur. “I do have one condition, though. Arthur gets to be president of Mason Mines.”
She walked across the room and took hold of Arthur’s hand. “I know you were hoping at one time to have ownership of Mason Mines, but I think it would be fair if you were allowed to take as your compensation forty percent of any profits the company sees in the future. With the development of the old Green farm, profitabilityshould be impressive, which will allow you to achieve that goal of yours of being one of the leading copper moguls in the country. It’ll also allow you to return to society with an impressive fortune.”
When Arthur opened his mouth, Eunice shook her head, stopping him before he could utter a single word. “I realize that we still have matters left to discuss between us, but I’d prefer to discuss those matters without an audience and after I get my life somewhat settled again.”
Something interesting flickered through Arthur’s eyes before he inclined his head. “That’s fair, but allow me to say that I have much I need to discuss with you, so don’t keep me waiting too long.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said before she moved to the center of the room, finding herself in front of a captive audience again, a circumstance that left her smiling.
“To end the family meeting, I’d like to reiterate the point I made regarding the Mason family moving ahead in truth. I’m intending to do exactly that from this point forward because I believe truth really can set you free and my truth is this:
“I’m going to retain some of my shares of Mason Mines, along with the rest of the fortune Grandfather left me, not because I have any great need of that fortune, but because even though Grandfather was clearly a conflicted man, and rather reprehensible to boot, I loved him, and I know he would expect me to honor his wishes and keep some of the fortune he spent his entire life acquiring. He probably wouldn’t expect me to use his fortune to improve the plight of others, but that’s what I’ve decided to do. I’m going to set up the Howland Philanthropic Foundation when I return to New York. One of my first orders of business will be to begin making plans to build an insane asylum, one where patients will be treated with the respect and care they deserve. I’ll also devote funds to improving the conditions at Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum, along with other asylums in and around New York.”
“What about your inquiry agency?” Georgette asked. “Are you going to abandon that and devote all your efforts to philanthropy?”
Eunice shook her head. “There’s a need for the agency in the city. I intend to expand it as well, although I believe recent events have shown me that I probably shouldn’t spend too much time out in the field. I may, as Ivan has suggested, be far too direct to successfully immerse myself in covert operations.”
She drew in a breath and slowly released it. “I’ve also decided that it’s time for me to live the full truth of who I am. I’m not fearless, but that doesn’t mean I’m content to continue to live my life in the shadows. That’s why I’m going to return to New York as Eunice Howland—no longer a widow and no longer hiding my identity from the world.” She turned to her parents. “I’m not sure if the two of you want me to claim you as my parents since I’m not actually sure how you’re going to go about handling a marriage that has been anything but usual for the past twenty-eight years or so.”
“Of course we’ll claim you as our daughter,” Georgette said, dabbing a tear that was trailing down her check. “And don’t you worry about how we’re going to explain our estrangement. We certainly don’t want to draw too much attention to how reprehensibly your grandfather treated us, but you let me and your father worry about that. We’ll come up with something.”
“Then it’s settled,” Eunice said, exchanging a smile with her mother. “I’m now Miss Eunice Howland, philanthropist and partner in the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency.” She turned to Arthur. “As was mentioned earlier, we still have much to discuss, but you, as the new president of Mason Mines, have matters you need to attend to here, while I need to get back to New York because I have a business to run. Before I leave, though, I need to make it clear that even though I’m now one of the wealthiest heiresses in the country, I have no intention of setting aside my work to become a part of the New York Four Hundred. Since you divulged your life plan to me, a plan that includes an incomparable and a place within society, you’ll need to take that into consideration before we have any future discussions between us. Once you’ve settled things here and have decided what life you truly want to pursue,you’ll know where to find me—behind my desk at the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency.”
Her heart did a bit of a lurch when Arthur stepped up beside her and took her hand, pressing a kiss on it.
“You may be sure that I’ll be sitting on the other side of your desk from you soon, but for now, you should pack. I’ll see to the business, but then, know this, Eunice—I’ll be coming to have that discussion with you because I already know what I want from life.”
