No Greater Love (32 page)

“She’s damn lucky. Most of the time there are no
heroes when you’re dealing with people like Malcolm Stone. I swear, I’ll kill him if he ever comes near her.”

“He won’t. We’ll be back in San Francisco by tomorrow, and by the time we come back again, he’ll be gone, or he’ll have forgotten all about her. This is quite a town you live in.” She grinned, and he laughed. It had all ended well at least, there was no harm done, and he was happy they had found her. “Actually,” Edwina grinned mischievously, “old as I am, I rather like it.”

“Stick around, Win.” He laughed at the look in her eyes. If anything, she looked prettier in the excitement. Her eyes were shining and her bobbed hair framed her face, and he was reminded again, as he often was, of how lovely she was, and what a waste it was that she had never gotten married. “Hell, if you stick around, maybe we’ll find you a husband.”

“Terrific,” she laughed at him, it was not a high priority on her list of concerns. She was only interested in finding husbands for Fannie and Alexis, and at the moment, marrying him off to Helen. “You mean like Malcolm Stone? What an incentive.”

“I’m sure there must be someone else around.”

“Great. Let me know if you find him. Meanwhile, my love …” She stood up and stretched. It had been a long night and they were both tired. “I’m going home to San Francisco where the only excitement is a dinner party at the Templeton Crockers, and the only scandal is who bought a new car, and who winked at someone’s wife at the opening night of the opera.”

“Christ,” he groaned, “no wonder I moved down here.”

“But at least up there,” she said, walking him to the door with a grin and a yawn, “no one has ever abducted your sister.”

“There’s a point in its favor. Good night, Win.”

“Good night, love … thanks for saving the day.”

“Anytime.” He kissed her on the cheek then, and walked back to his car. His beloved Lincoln was covered with dust from their wild ride, and he drove slowly home, thinking about how much he missed Helen, and how fond he was of his older sister.

IT WAS TWO MONTHS LATER WHEN GEORGE CAME TO SAN
Francisco to visit them, and Edwina wondered why he had come. He hadn’t called her in a while, and she had just assumed that he was busy. But he had come, it turned out, to tell her that he had proposed to Helen and she had accepted. He beamed when he told her, and she cried when she heard the news. She was happy for them, and he looked as though he had the world on a string.

“And the partnership with Sam?” She looked suddenly worried and he grinned boyishly. She knew how much his association with Sam Horowitz meant to him too, and she wanted him to have both. He deserved it.

“Helen said the same thing you did, and so did Sam. I talked it out with both of them, and Sam said I was crazy. He knew I was marrying Helen because I loved her, and he still wants me to be his partner.” He beamed and Edwina shouted with glee.

“Hurray! When are you two getting married?” It was June then, and Helen had insisted that she needed time to plan the wedding.

“September. Helen says she couldn’t put it together any sooner than that. It’s being directed by Cecil B. De Mille,” he laughed, “we’re hiring four thousand extras.” It was going to be a grand wedding in true Hollywood style, but he had never looked as happy. “And the truth is, I came up here to talk to you about something else. I think I’m probably crazy to even consider it, but I want your advice.” She was flattered, and excited about his news.

“What is it?”

“We have a movie we’ve been saving for two years. We wanted just the right person to do it, and no one has turned up. And then Sam had a crazy idea. I don’t know, Edwina.” He looked deeply worried and she frowned, not understanding what he was getting to as she watched him.

“What do you think about Alexis trying out for our movie?” She was stunned for a moment as he looked at her, they had laughed at the idea of the Fox Productions scout wanting her, and now he wanted the same thing. But at least with her brother in control, Edwina knew that no harm could come to Alexis.

“I know I’m crazy to even consider it. But she’s so perfect for the part, and she’s been driving me crazy, sending me letters, telling me she wants to be in the movies. And what do I know? Maybe she’s right. Maybe she does have talent.” He felt torn, but also extremely tempted. And he knew she was perfect for his movie.

“I don’t know.” Edwina hesitated, thinking about it. “I’ve been wondering too. She’s so desperate to be an actress. But when we were in Los Angeles two months ago, I asked what you thought about Alexis making movies one day and you didn’t seem to like the idea
then. What’s different?” She wanted to be cautious, but she also trusted George.

“I know,” he said thoughtfully. “I didn’t want her exploited, and I still don’t. But maybe if she signs an exclusive with us, we can control it. If,” he added, looking ominously at his oldest sister, “we can control her. Do you think she’ll behave herself down there?” He was still smarting from the experience of rescuing her from the clutches of Malcolm Stone, and he had no desire to do it again. The drive to Mexico with Edwina was one he would always remember.

“She would if we kept an eye on her. She needs to feel that someone’s taking care of her and then she’s fine.”

He laughed at his sister’s words. “She sounds like every other star I’ve ever met. She’ll be perfect.”

“When would you want her to start?”

“In a few weeks, by the end of June. And she’d be through by the end of the summer.” It was perfect for the children’s schedules, Edwina knew, because Alexis had just graduated and the others had already started their summer vacation. And Alexis had no desire to go on to college, few girls did, and she knew Fannie wouldn’t either. But if Alexis was finished by the end of August, she could come home in time to get the others back into school in September. Teddy would be starting eighth grade and Fannie still had two more years of high school to finish at Miss Sarah Dix Hamlin’s. “It would screw up your plans for Tahoe this year, but you could all go to the Del Coronado for a few days and get some sea air, or Catalina. And you’ll have to come down for the wedding anyway.” She smiled at the thought. “What do you think? The real question, of course, is not where to spend the summer with the kids, it’s whether or not we should expose Alexis to the demands and pressures of making a movie.”

Edwina was nodding, thinking about it, as she slowly circled the room and then looked out the window, into the garden. Her mother’s rosebushes were still blossoming there, along with all the newer things she herself had planted. And then, slowly, she turned to face her brother.

“I think we ought to let her do it.”

“Why?” He wasn’t sure himself, which was why he had come to San Francisco to discuss it with Edwina.

“Because she’ll never forgive us if we don’t.”

“She doesn’t have to know. We don’t have to tell her.”

“No,” Edwina agreed as she sat down again. “But I think she’d be good at it, and I think she deserves more than San Francisco has to give her. Look how beautiful she is.” She smiled proudly at George and he grinned. Edwina sounded like a proud mother hen, but he felt the same way about all of them. “I don’t know, George, maybe we’ll be sorry one day, but I think we should give her a chance. If she misbehaves, we’ll bring her back and lock her up forever.” They both laughed at the thought, but then Edwina looked seriously at him. “I think everyone deserves their chance. You did.” She smiled.

“And you?” He looked gently at her and she smiled again.

“I’ve been happy with my life … let’s give her a chance.” George watched her and nodded slowly.

And just before dinnertime, they called her in. Alexis had just come in from a trip downtown, shopping with a friend from Miss Hamlin’s. Neither she nor her younger sister was an avid student. Edwina, Phillip, and Teddy were the family “brains,” according to their father years before, and George had certainly done well in Los Angeles, there was no denying that. With his quick mind and his easy ways, he had fallen into just the right thing,
and not for a moment had he ever regretted leaving Harvard.

“Is something wrong?” Alexis looked at them nervously, when they called her in, and all George could think of was how beautiful she was and how perfect she was going to be for their picture.

“Noooo.” Edwina smiled gently at her. “George has something to tell you, and I think you’re going to like it.”

That made it more interesting, and a little less ominous to be called into the front parlor by her older siblings. “You’re getting married?” She had guessed, and he nodded and grinned happily at her.

“But that’s not what this is all about. Helen and I are getting married in September. But Edwina and I have some plans for you before then.” For a moment her face fell, she was sure they were going to send her to some kind of finishing school, and she couldn’t think of anything less amusing. “How would you like to come to Los Angeles,” he began, and she looked a little more hopeful “… and be in a movie?” She stared at him for a long moment and then she sprang off the couch and ran to put her arms around him.

“Do you mean it?… do you mean it?…” She turned quickly to Edwina then. “… Can I?… can I really?… Oh, will you let me?” She was wild with joy, and George and Edwina were laughing, as she almost strangled him when she hugged and kissed him.

“Alright, alright …” He pulled himself free of her embrace and then wagged a finger at her. “But I want to tell you something. If it weren’t for Edwina, you wouldn’t be doing this. I’m not entirely sure I would have let you after your little performance two months ago.” Her eyes dropped, as he reminded her of her near disgrace with Malcolm Stone, she was still embarrassed about it, although she defended it to Edwina. “If you
pull anything like that again,” he went on, “I will lock you up and throw away the key, so you’d better behave yourself this time.”

She threw her arms around his neck and attempted to strangle him with gratitude again as he laughed at her. “I promise, George … I promise I’ll be good. And after the movie, will we live in Hollywood?” It was something they hadn’t even thought of.

“I think your sister will want to come back here to put Fannie and Teddy back in school.”

“Why can’t they go to school there?” Alexis asked matter-of-factly, but none of them was prepared to think about all of that yet, and then Alexis had an even better idea, much to George’s chagrin. “Why can’t I live with you and Helen?”

He groaned at the thought, as Edwina laughed at him. “Because I’d wind up divorced or in jail by Christmas. I don’t know how Edwina puts up with all of you. No, you may not live with me and Helen.” She looked crestfallen for an instant, and then came up with an even better suggestion.

“If I’m a big star, can I have my own house? Like Pola Negri?… I could have lots of maids, and a butler … and my own car, just like yours … and two Irish wolfhounds …” She had the entire scene set in her mind, and she drifted out of the parlor again as though in a dream, as George smiled and looked ruefully at Edwina.

“We may come to regret this, you know. I told Sam I’d sue him if this picture ruined my sister.”

“And what did he say?” Edwina grinned. She didn’t know him well, but she liked everything she had heard about George’s partner.

“He said that he’d already given to God and country, and now my sister and his daughter were my problem.” But George didn’t look as though he minded.

“He sounds like a sensible man.” She stood up and got ready to go into dinner.

“He is. He wants to take us all out to dinner when you come to L.A. to celebrate our engagement.”

“Now that,” she said, kissing him on the cheek as she took his arm, “I approve of.”

The children were heartily pleased when she told them at dinner that George and Helen were getting married. And they were all excited at the prospect of another trip to Los Angeles, and they were fascinated at the thought of Alexis’s making a movie. Edwina had wondered briefly if Fannie would be jealous in any way, but her sunny little face lit up with delight and she ran around to hug Alexis and ask if she could watch, and then she looked at Edwina worriedly.

“We are coming back here, aren’t we? I mean home, to San Francisco.” It was all she wanted, all that she loved, the home she had lived in all her life, and her comfortable pursuits there.

“I certainly plan to, Fannie,” Edwina said honestly. She thought it a far better plan than Alexis’s idea of moving to Hollywood and acquiring Irish wolfhounds.

“Good.” She settled down happily in her seat again with a happy smile, as Edwina wondered how children born of the same parents could all be so different.

THEY WENT TO LOS
ANGELES TWO WEEKS AFTER GEORGE
had visited them, and this time they stayed with him. He didn’t want Alexis going wild in the hotel again, and he thought that being in his large, rambling house would be easier for Edwina. He rented a car for her use while she was there, and Teddy immediately busied himself riding George’s horses. Edwina was watching him ride the
next
afternoon, when a limousine drove up, and stopped very near her. It was a long black British Rolls, and for a moment, Edwina couldn’t tell who was in it. She assumed it was one of George’s friends, perhaps even a lady. But as the liveried chauffeur opened the door and stood back, she saw quickly that it was a huge man. He was tall, with broad shoulders, she saw that he was powerfully built as he stood to his full height in the summer sunshine. He had a mane of white hair, and he had an expectant look as he turned and studied Edwina. Her dark hair was cut short, and she stood looking very slim
and tall in a navy blue silk dress that was elegant and discreetly set off her figure. She had been smoking a cigarette while she watched, and now suddenly she felt silly. The man appeared to be studying everything about her, and then suddenly she smiled, realizing who he was. She dropped the cigarette and held out her hand with an apologetic look.