“You, my dear, I will have painted by a very talented artist whom I’ve worked well with over the years. As for Mr. Russo here, as I said, I hold no hope now of bringing him into my fold. He is much too inflexible in his moral code. It is not worth the risk. Also, he seems taken with you, and I can’t have that. Isn’t that interesting? You’ve known each other for such a short time.”
“He just wants to be my consultant,” Lily said.
Simon smiled.
“He wants you in bed,” Ian said. “Or maybe you’re already lovers and that’s why he’s helping you.”
“Don’t be crude,” Olaf said, frowning toward his son, then added, “Yes, I fear that Mr. Russo must take a nice, long boat ride with Alpo and Nikki here. We still have two lovely canals left from those built back in the early seventeenth century by our magnificent Gustav. Yes, Mr. Russo, you and my men here will visit one of the canals this very night. It’s getting cold now, not many people will be about at midnight.”
Simon said, “I can’t say I find that an appealing way to spend the evening. What do you intend to do with the Frasiers?”
Olaf Jorgenson said to Lily, not to Simon, “At the moment they are my honored guests. They accompanied you here since they knew they could not remain in California. Your law enforcement, and so on. They expect to receive a lot of money from me. In addition, Mr. Frasier already has very nice bank accounts in Switzerland. They are prepared to spend the rest of their lives living very nicely in the south of France, I believe they said.”
Lily said, “After you’ve painted me, then what will happen?”
He smiled then, showing her his very beautiful white teeth, likely false. “Yes, yes, I know I am an old man, but I do not have much longer to live. I want you with me until it is my time. I was hoping, perhaps, that you would see some advantage in marrying me.”
“Oh, is that why I’m wearing white? To put me in the mood?”
“You want manners,” Ian said. He was angry, she could see it as he stepped toward her only to stop when he felt his father’s hand on his forearm. Ian shook off his father’s hand and said, “She is disrespectful. She needs to see what an honor it would be to be your wife!”
Olaf only shook his head. He even smiled again as he said to Lily, “No, my dear, you are wearing white because that is a copy of the dress I last saw your grandmother wearing in Paris. It was the day she left with Emerson Elliott. The day I believed my world had collapsed.”
“You are good at copies, aren’t you?” Lily said. “I am not my grandmother, you foolish old man.”
Ian struck her across the face. Simon didn’t say a word, just hurled himself at Ian Jorgenson, slamming his fist into his jaw, then whirled back and kicked him in the kidney.
“Stop!” It was Nikki and he’d pulled a gun that was aimed at Simon.
Simon gave him a brief bow, straightened his shirt, and walked away.
Ian slowly raised himself to his feet, grimacing in pain. “I will go with Nikki and Alpo this evening. I will be the one to kill you.”
“All this,” Simon said, marveling as he turned to Olaf Jorgenson, “and you raised a coward, too.”
Lily lightly placed her hand on Simon’s arm. She was terrified.
She said to Olaf, “Even if I found you remotely acceptable in matrimonial terms, sir, I couldn’t marry you. I’m married to Tennyson Frasier.”
The old man was silent.
“I don’t ever wish to marry again, at least until I’ve seriously reconsidered my criteria. I don’t think there’s any way in the world that you would ever fit them. I’m married anyway, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”
Still the old man was silent, thoughtfully looking at her. Then he slowly nodded. He said, “I will be back shortly.”
“What are you going to do, Father?”
“I do not believe in bigamy. It is immoral. I’m going to make Lily a widow. Nikki, take me to my library.” As Nikki wheeled him out of the huge room, Lily and Simon saw him pull a small, thick black book from his sweater pocket. They watched him thumb through it as he disappeared from their view.
“He’s completely mad,” Lily whispered.
Washington, D.C.
Savich walked through the front door of his home, hugged his wife, kissed her, and said, “Where’s Sean?”
“At your mom’s house—babbling, gumming everything in sight, and happy. I left your mom a two-box supply of graham crackers.”