Anything Goes

being a fool,“ she said to herself out loud. Was this cheeseparing attitude to do with being poor? Did all poor people imagine people were stealing things from them? Certainly not. Rich people might have cause to worry, though Lily had never worried. In fact, when she was rich, she’d been terribly lax about taking care of her belongings because it seemed there would always be money to replace things that got lost.
    She went down to lunch, still upset as much with herself as the situation. She’d have to get together with Robert somewhere private this afternoon and talk to him about a lot of things.
     

Chapter 14
    Late in the afternoon, Lily and Robert had walked out onto the grounds behind the house where the long lawn sloped gently toward the river. It had clouded up and storms were threatening. She repeated, as best she could remember, the conversation between Billy and Mimi.
    “So they both have some Great Truth they’re concealing? And both have to do with Uncle Horatio’s death?”
    There was an old teak bench set under a maple tree and brother and sister sat down on it, staring at the river. Robert was jingling the car keys in his pocket.
    Lily said, “I’m not sure. Billy says Mimi should tell the truth and they’d both be rich. I can’t imagine what he means by that.“
    “What did Mimi say? Did she deny it?“
    “She didn’t have a chance to say anything. Billy went right on about how he could tell the truth and said he knew what happened to the old boy. He must have meant Uncle Horatio. Who else would he say that about?”
    Robert leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “But he didn’t use his name. Could he have been talking about someone else? We have no idea what other ‘old boy’ might have had something happen to him.“
    “It had to be something serious, because he was threatening to blackmail someone about it. A bank of clouds was moving in and a light breeze had sprung up, making Lily think maybe this hot summer wouldn’t last forever.
    “Did he use the word ‘blackmail’?“
    “Oh, Robert, don’t be so picky. Of course he didn’t. But when somebody says there’s a person he could talk to and then they’d be rich, that’s what it means. He wasn’t talking about applying for a job. Nobody in their right mind would hire him. And he said, ‘You know what I saw on that boat.“‘
    “You didn’t tell me that part before,“ Robert said, rubbing his hands together. “You’re going to have to pry some information out of Mimi. She adores you. She’ll spill the beans if you insist.”
    Lily thought for a long moment. Then said, “I know. But I hate it. Robert... there’s something else. I took ten dollars with us this morning in case we had car trouble. Now it’s missing. I put it in my handbag and never had reason to take it out.“
    “Have you checked the floor of the car? Maybe you took out a handkerchief or something and the money fell out.“
    “I haven’t, but I will. My best scarf is missing, too. Robert, I’m terribly afraid Mimi’s lifting things and I don’t want to believe that of her.“
    “Then don’t. You’re one of the greatest Leaver-behinders-of-things I know.“
    “Not money. Not since Daddy died. I’ve become a miser. Sometimes I dream about counting our money because I do it so often for real. I could have lost the scarf, but not a ten-dollar bill.”
    Robert stretched, then suddenly leaped from the bench and removed a splinter from the seat of his pants. He paced, jingling keys again. “These secrets Mimi and Billy have—is it the same secret or two different ones? Did Billy just tell Mimi what he saw happen on the boat and expects Mimi to blackmail the person or he will?”
    Lily ran through what she thought they’d both said again. “Two, I think. Because when Billy said the thing about blackmailing, she said he didn’t know anything.“ She sighed and stood up. “We’re going to have to dress for dinner, you know. I’ll get Mimi to press your tux and I’ll try on my old clothes until something fits.”
     
    Mimi’s eye didn’t look quite as bad as Lily had expected it to. And her spirits had improved as well. She was actually humming as she ran the carpet sweeper. Lily explained what she needed done. “I wouldn’t ask except that I have no idea how to iron without ruining things.”
    Mimi pressed the tux while Lily rummaged for a respectable dinner dress that might not look too out of date and fit besides.