Adam's Daughter (55 page)

She realized suddenly she had forgotten to ask Clark if Stephen
had seen the item yet. She had to talk to him now. It couldn’t wait.

She took the elevator down to the newsroom.
Stephen’s door was open and he looked up in surprise when she walked in. It was rare for her to venture down to the newsroom. Then he noticed her expression.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She shut the door behind her, sat down and took a deep breath. “Garrett’s coming back,” she said.

A quick look of apprehension flashed across his face and was gone. “How do you know?” he asked.

She told him about Clark’s tip. "You know how Ian’s been talking about selling,” she said. “I think Garrett’s coming back to make another run at the newspapers.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“That’s all it can be, Stephen.” She paused, knowing what he was thinking. “It’s not me,” she said. “That was over a long time ago.”

“And Sara?” he asked.

“He doesn’t know about her,” Kellen said.

“Will you tell him?”

“No,” she said. “Sara has nothing to do with Garrett. She’s our daughter.”

The silence that followed was br
oken only by the muted noises of the newsroom. Stephen rose and, hands in pockets, walked slowly around his office. He paused before the window, looking out over the newsroom.

She watched him then rose and went over to him. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll fight them both, Stephen. There’s no way Garrett will get the newspapers.”

When she took his hand he looked at her. There was no way he could tell her that it wasn’t the newspapers he was most worried about.

CHAPTER SIXTY-
FIVE

Sara reached out and touched Kellen’s hair. Kellen sat still, watching the reflection of her own face next to her daughter’s in the dressing table mirror.

“You have such pretty hair, Mama,” Sara said.

Kellen smiled. “So do you.”

Sara made a face and watched as Kellen twisted her red hair into a heavy plait and pinned it up.

“I like it better down,” Sara said. “Wear it down tonight.”

Kellen looked at her own reflection. “All right,” she said, removing the pins. She shook her head, and her hair fell loose about her shoulders. She picked up a brush.

“Let me do it,” Sara said, taking the brush. “Where are you and Daddy going tonight?” she asked.

“A ball.”

“Like in
Cinderella
?”

“Yes, just like that.”

“You should wear a crown.”

Kellen laughed. “Would you bring me that black box over there on the bed?
”

S
ara brought her the black velvet case. Kellen opened it, and Sara’s eyes grew wide.

“Will this do instead?” Kellen asked, holding up a necklace. It was a string of small diamonds, dominated by four large stones in the middle
—- a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. They were all emerald cuts, each about five carats. The sapphire was midnight blue, the emerald the color of a pine forest. The ruby was an intense blood red, and the diamond was as colorless and clear as water.

It had been ten years ago that she had finally taken out the little key that had been
in the old cigar box Josh had given her after her father’s funeral. She had gone to the bank and there, in the safety deposit box she had found the stones. Josh told her the story about how the stones represented the first newspapers, the ones her mother had bought for Adam. Kellen had the stones made into the necklace but had rarely worn it.

“Oh, Mommy
, it’s beautiful,” Sara whispered.

“Turn around,” Kellen said. Sara faced the mirror, and Kellen held the necklace around her neck. It rested against the blue flannel of Sara’s nightgown, the colors dancing in the light.

“This is a very special necklace,” Kellen said softly. “Your Grandfather Adam bought these stones for your Grandmother Elizabeth. And then he gave them to me.” She paused. “Someday, when you’re older I’ll tell you all about it. And someday, the necklace will belong to you.”

Sara looked up at Kellen. “I wish I could have met them. I mean, I love Grandpa Josh and Grandma Anna, but it would’ve been nice having another Grandpa and Grandma.”

Kellen gathered her into her arms. “I know, baby,” she said. “They would have loved having you, too.”

Sara turned back in the mirror. “Nanny Katie says I look like the pictures she’s seen of Grandpa Adam. Is that true?”

“Yes, you do,” Kellen said.

She saw Stephen’s reflection in the mirror and removed the necklace from Sara’s shoulders.

When Sara saw Stephen, she spun around. “Daddy! You look so handsome!” she said.

Ben toddled into the room and climbed up on the bed, the nanny following a moment later.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hillman,” she said. “He just got away from me, been running me ragged all day. Too much energy, this one has.”

Kellen stood and picked Ben up. “That’s all right, Katie. He’s just overexcited because I let him stay up to see his father.” She kissed Ben’s cheek. “Now, don’t give Katie a hard time tonight, okay?” She turned the boy over to the nanny.

“He’ll probably fall asleep soon. If not, just read him that story I started today. The book’s by the bed.”

She bent down to kiss Sara good night. “Sleep tight...”

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” Sara finished.

Stephen kissed the children good night, and Katie led them away. As Kellen walked back to the dressing table she could feel Stephen’s eyes on her back.

“Where did you get that dress?” he asked.

Kellen turned. “I found it in a trunk in the attic last week when it was being cleared out. It must have belonged to my mother.”

She faced the mirror. The Vionnet gown was forty years old, and its white satin had deepened to ivory. But its ingeniously pure design looked more modern than anything Kellen had in her closet.

Kellen ran her hands over her hips, smoothing the satin. “I decided at the last minute to wear it tonight instead of that black thing,” she said, gesturing toward a demure crepe dress hanging on a closet door. She turned around slowly. “What do you think?”

Stephen stared at her. “It’s...provocative,” he said.

“Well, coming from a husband, that’s a compliment, I suppose,” she said lightly. She picked up the necklace. “Would you help me with this?” She held her hair off her neck as Stephen fastened the clasp.

“You haven’t worn this in a long time,” Stephen said.

Her fingers lightly touched the jewels. “I know. But for some reason, I wanted to tonight.”

Her eyes met Stephen’s in the mirror. “Thank you, Stephen,” she said softly.

“For what?”

“Letting me keep this.”

“I couldn’t let you sell your necklace just so I could get my plant. Though the offer was greatly appreciated.” He lifted up her hair to kiss her neck.

Kellen shut her eyes.

“We’d better get going,” she said.

As they drove, Stephen talked about the newspaper but Kellen was barely listening. She was a thousand miles away, in Paris, reliving the first night she had spent with Garrett, the feel of his lips on her neck in the cool
dark catacombs. 

She glanced over at Stephen and felt sick with guilt. She had been thinking about Garrett constantly in the last week, ever since Clark had told her that he was returning. Stephen hadn’t mentioned Garrett at all outside their one discussion. But she sensed an unease in him, as if he, too, were waiting to see what would happen.

The car pulled up to the opera house, and the valets helped Kellen out. The Black and White Ball was a mammoth affair, a fund-raiser started in 1956 to commemorate the 1906 earthquake, and it always attracted a diverse crowd. Everyone dressed in some variation of the black-and-white dress code.

The scene in the lobby took on the bizarre look of an old movie. Black-and-white balloons hovered in the air, anchored by
white ribbons. Everywhere were huge sprays of white flowers. And on each table was a candelabrum with white tapers and a stunning arrangement of irises, so dark purple that they appeared black. The orchestra was playing “Moonlight and Shadows.”

Stephen and Kellen made their way through the crowd, stopping to make small talk with acquaintances. Finally, they found their table. Clark Able was already seated, absorbed in jotting
notes in his gold notebook. He looked up and his face creased into a smile as his eyes traveled over Kellen’s gown.

“Why Kel, you look absolutely ravishing...ten years younger
,” he said.

“Why do your compliments always sound so suspect?” she said, but she was visibly pleased. She scanned the room.

“There’s Tyler!” She waved, and he headed their way.

“God, what a zoo,” Tyler said, sliding into his chair. He nodded to Stephen. “How’ve you been, Stephen?”

“Busy, as usual. How’s the refurbishing going?”

Tyler smiled. “Great. Kitchen remodeling starts Monday.”

“I still don’t see what in the world you’re going to do up there all alone,” Kellen said.

Tyler shrugged. “I’ve
been thinking about trying my hand at winemaking. Some of the equipment is salvageable, and the vineyards have some prime cabernet sauvignon grapes.”

Kellen frowned slightly. “But you don’t know anything about growing grapes or making
—-”

“I can learn,” Tyler said. “I’ve bought some books.”

Kellen and Stephen exchanged glances. A waiter filled their glasses with red wine. “Besides,” Tyler said, picking up his glass. “When you sell wine you sell two things. The liquid in the bottle and the mystique that surrounds it.”

“Well, there’s no mystique to this stuff,” Clark said, holding up his glass. He rose. “I’m going to find a martini.”

Kellen listened as Tyler began to lecture Stephen on the virtues of California wines. Her attention wandered back to the crowd. Most of the men wore tails but the women had taken the black and white theme to extravagant heights. White diamonds were the jewels of choice, rings the size of golf balls, earrings handing like crystal stalactites, and necklaces dripping down décolletage like icicles.

A woman appeared, her face
powdered white as death, her lips blackened, and hair dyed pitch black and coiled like a flame rising from her head. Another wore white bird feathers over her ears, looking like a ballerina who had wandered away from
Swan Lake
. Suddenly, the crowd parted and a woman walked through dressed in a nun’s habit.

“Look at that,” Kellen said, poking
Tyler.

“That’s Grace Slick,”
he said.

Kellen noticed a man coming toward their table
. Stephen rose to greet him then turned to introduce him. “J.D. Waverly, this is my wife Kellen and her brother Tyler.”

The man was about thirty, with a pleasing face and an engaging smile. Kellen sudd
enly recognized his name. J.D. Waverly had just been elected to the board of supervisors, the youngest person ever to hold the office. His father had also served on the board for years and had been a powerful political force in the city for decades until his death nine years ago. The Waverly family was well-known around town for its political and social involvement.

“It’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you, Mrs. Hillman,”
J.D. Waverly said. “My father knew your father. He told me many stories about the battles they had.”

She smiled at him. “My father had his share of enemies. I’m sorry your father had to be one of them.”

“To the contrary,” J.D. said. “My father might have been a Republican, but he was one of Adam Bryant’s greatest admirers. He always said Adam Bryant was the only man in town with guts enough to stand up for what he believed in. The fact that your father was a Democrat...” J.D. smiled. “Well, my father forgave him for that lapse.”

“But you’re a Democrat, aren’t you?” Tyler
said.