Hidden Talents

a Clarewood,” Phyllis chimed in with obvious satisfaction. “One of the New England Clarewoods, you know. Old money. Ancestors back to the Mayflower . Gordon met her when he went back East to visit friends from college. After the scandal broke, she returned to her family. She remarried. A senator, I believe.”
    “We never heard from her again after she left Ventress Valley,” Franklin said in a distant voice.
    Caleb paid no heed to Phyllis and Franklin. His entire attention was on his grandfather. “My father claimed Patricia was having an affair?”
    “It was a lie,” Roland said bluntly. “He made up the accusation to justify his own actions.”
    “Lies, nothing but shameful lies,” Franklin echoed fiercely.
    Serenity tilted her head to one side and considered that. “Are you sure?”
    “Of course I'm sure,” Roland insisted. “Good lord, Ventress Valley is small now, but it was even smaller thirty-four years ago. It would have been impossible for the wife of Gordon Ventress to have an affair for long without someone in the family knowing about it.”
    “And even if it was true, even if Patricia had an affair, it changes nothing, nothing !” Franklin roared. “That's the important thing here. Gordon had no right to subject this family to the shame and humiliation he brought upon it, no matter what the provocation. There was no excuse for it.”
    Roland peered at Caleb. “Franklin is right. I don't for one moment believe that Patricia was having an affair, but even if she was, it does not excuse Gordon's irresponsibility.”
    Franklin gave Caleb a seething look. “Your father was spoiled and overindulged from the day he was born. Gordon could do no wrong in Roland's eyes. Roland insisted on giving him everything. All the while I was growing up I had to watch my cousin being raised as if he were someone special, a young prince just waiting to be crowned king of the Ventress clan. All I got were the leavings.”
    “That's enough, Franklin,” Phyllis said firmly. “What's past is past. We all know what came of overindulging Gordon. The important thing here is that nothing excuses his actions.” She glowered at Caleb. “Nor yours, you ungrateful wretch. When I think of all we've done for you, I could just weep.”
    A sense of desperation welled up in Serenity. She met Caleb's eyes. “We'll never know the truth,” she said. “In a way, it's really none of our business, is it? Whatever happened between your father and Patricia is in the past, and it will have to stay there. All we're concerned with here is the future.”
    “What about the future of this family?” Roland demanded.
    Franklin's mouth was a thin line. “It's obvious your grandson doesn't care about that.”
    “I always knew it would come to this,” Phyllis muttered. “From the earliest days I could see that Caleb was never really a part of this family. I knew he only tolerated us so that he could take advantage of Roland's money and position. I sensed he never cared about any of us no matter how much we did for him.”
    Roland's jaw was rigid. “This has gone far enough, Caleb. You're acting the way Gordon acted that day when he told me that he was going to marry Crystal Brooke. And I'll tell you now exactly what I told him then.”
    “What's that?” Caleb asked.
    “If you go through with this shameful marriage, I'll cut you out of my will. I swear to God, I will. You'll never get one penny of the Ventress money.”
    Serenity noticed that Phyllis and Franklin looked stunned by the threat.
    Caleb smiled wearily. “Do you really think I give a damn about being disinherited? Want to know the truth? It will be one hell of a relief.”
    “Relief?” Franklin's mouth fell open.
    “It will set me free,” Caleb said.
    “How can you say that?” Phyllis gasped. “Think of what you'll be losing.”
    Caleb flicked her a brief, disinterested glance. “I don't need my grandfather's money. My private income from Ventress Ventures last year nearly equaled that of the family's total income. If I choose, it can go even higher next year.” His mouth was a bleak line. “Trust me, Aunt Phyllis, money is the least of my problems.”
    “I don't believe this,” Franklin whispered. “You can't possibly mean it. After all Roland has done for you? After what this family has done for you? You'd walk away from a fortune without a backward glance?”
    “As I see it, the only thing I'm walking away from is thirty-four years of blackmail