Anything Goes

suppose I am. And I’m interested. Does that offend you, sir?“
    “I’ve had the good fortune to know a number of very intelligent, competent women in my life,“ Mr. Prinney said. “I suspect you may be yet another.”
    Lily didn’t know if he was just being courtly or meant it, but she smiled and thanked him and said she hoped she could live up to his expectations.
    Lily sat down on the window seat and was silent for a moment before saying, “Mr. Prinney, I think it’s time you told me what you know about our uncle’s death. Robert and I are unwillingly and ignorantly involved in all this. It appears to me that Billy Smith’s death and my uncle’s are connected.”
    Mr. Prinney had drawn himself up with closemouthed dignity when she started speaking, just as he had when she mentioned this before. But this time, he slowly deflated. “Yes, I suppose you are right.”
    He sat down in front of the small desk where he sometimes finished up his work from his office in town and stayed quite still, gathering his thoughts.
    “What was the reason for the boat trip?“ Lily asked.
    “That’s a perceptive question... and the heart of the matter,“ he said. “Your uncle invited me along, knowing full well I’m uneasy and uncomfortable on boats, saying it was vitally important that I join the group.“
    “Why was it important?“
    “He was vague, but firm. He said he had something to reveal and especially wanted his attorney to be present as a witness. I had the feeling that he wanted a captive audience.“
    “And what did he ‘reveal’?”
    Mr. Prinney picked up a pile of untidy paperwork and tamped it on the desk to make it line up. “Nothing. I suppose he intended to moor the boat at the island and make his statement there. But the storm came up.“
    “That was all the information he gave you?“ Lily said, leaning forward.
    Prinney nodded. “He was angry. My feeling—and it’s only my feeling, not fact—is that his anger was that of an honorable, unforgiving man who had been cheated by someone he trusted or had helped. And he was preparing to take full revenge. He was that sort of man. He was an honest man and expected honesty from others and was prepared to be dramatic about it.”
    Lily was thinking about what Mimi told her earlier. “That’s why he left his Aunt Flora, wasn’t it? He had been honest and she hadn’t believed him.“
    “You know about that unfortunate incident?“
    “More than unfortunate, I’d say. Tragic. Mimi told me about it. Uncle Horatio and his aunt were very close and devoted, it seems, until Mimi’s mother came between them.“
    “It was nonsense, of course,“ Mr. Prinney said, gazing past her through the window. “Mimi is the image of her real father.“ He sighed and went on, “Horatio and I had been to school together. We were young, and good friends then. He came to me, terribly distraught over his aunt’s accusation and her refusal to believe him that he had made no improper advances toward Mimi’s mother. I was handling his legal affairs in those days. He said he was moving away and asked me to recommend another attorney. Later, when Flora was dead and he returned to Voorburg, he put his legal matters back in my hands. It had been so long that we were no longer friends, only mutually respected acquaintances.”
    Lily felt a wave of sadness for the elderly man. It was clearly unlike him to reveal his feelings and probably quite painful. They were both silent for a long moment, then Mr. Prinney went on more briskly, “We had a weekly meeting to discuss the legal ramifications of various properties and businesses he owned. It was he, in fact, who cleared this little den we’re in now for my convenience. So that I wouldn’t have to carry all the paperwork back and forth from town every week.”
    Was that why he was so eager to move to Grace and Favor? Lily wondered. Because it was already a home away from home?
    “Did you have the impression that this revelation he was preparing to make had to do with someone in the boating party?“ Lily asked.
    “Oh, almost certainly so. He wasn’t the sort to make accusations behind anyone’s back. Very forthright man, he was. When he had a complaint, he went straight to the source.“
    “Tell me about the people on the boat,“ Lily said.
    “I know who some of them were, but not others. There was a Mr. Winningham.“
    “He’s a banker in New York. Winningham’s father had advised Miss Flora on her