The Philanthropist's Danse by Paul Wornham Page A

everyone.
    William broke the silence and tried to gloss over the incident. “Philip has a valid point, but the choice of Chair is yours. We have three volunteers for the job so far, Mr. Hagood, Ms. Smith and Junior. Are any others interested?”
    MacLean raised his hand after a glance at Bethany, who nodded quickly. Junior had blown his chance to gain the position and had tainted the rest of the family too. If anyone was going to watch over the interests of the philanthropist’s family, it would be have to be Larry MacLean.
    William acknowledged MacLean’s raised hand. “Okay, we have four candidates. We’ll settle this by voting, but we can make do with a show of hands as you are not deciding any monetary shares. If we need more than one round, the candidate with the lowest number of votes will be dropped until we have a candidate with a super-majority.”
    The group agreed, and more than a few of them wished William could lead the group with his efficient organization and no-nonsense manner. He called them to order. “Let’s begin. All in favor of Mr. Thurwell raise your hands.” Junior raised his hand and looked at the others. Not one other hand was raised in support. Even his siblings could not look at him. He felt anger rise, but bit his lip. It was his temper that caused his humiliation in the first place.
    William noted the sole vote for Junior and called the next name. “Those in favor of Mr. Hagood, raise your hands.” Freddie raised his, the Judge followed suit and Camille joined them. Three votes. William noted the count and moved on to Caroline Smith. Like Junior, she received only her own vote. She looked embarrassed but had the sense to say nothing.
    William called Larry MacLean’s name, and seven hands went up. Bethany, Philip, the Elliots, Betty Freah and Winnie Tremethick added their votes to MacLean’s own. He recorded the votes. “Mr. Thurwell and Ms. Smith are eliminated. The choice is between Mr. Hagood and Mr. MacLean. You’ll need to vote again. Those in favor of Mr. Hagood, raise your hands.”
    Freddie saw the Judge and Camille vote for him again, joined this time by Caroline Smith. Four votes. William called for a show of hands for Larry who received the same seven votes as before, plus the unhappy addition of Junior. MacLean took eight votes. “The tally is eight votes to four in favor of Mr. MacLean, so you have no winner. I recommend you break to allow candidates to lobby for support. It’s almost noon, we’ll break for lunch and resume this afternoon.”
    The lawyer stood to leave, but was stopped in his tracks by Camille Jolivet’s unmistakable accented voice. “There is no need for such a delay, Monsieur Bird. I am happy to change my vote in favor of Monsieur MacLean. If my dear sister is so confident in him, then so am I.”
    Freddie Hagood was frustrated but did not object. He realized his chance to lead the group was over, but that would not stop his bid for control of the voting. He looked at Bird and smiled his most agreeable smile. “I don’t object to Ms. Jolivet changing her vote, but I think we should formalize it, don’t you, William?”
    Bird nodded. “I agree, please vote again. Those in favor of Mr. MacLean, please show your hands.” Ten hands rose. No-one was surprised to see Camille vote for MacLean, but everyone was taken aback to see Freddie’s hand rise. The lawyer announced the winner. “Ten votes. A super-majority means you have a Chairman. Congratulations Larry, I hand it over to you.”
    MacLean thanked the lawyer and immediately proposed a lunch break, suggesting the afternoon would progress more agreeably after a good meal.
    $
    As the group rose for lunch, Caroline marched to Freddie and challenged him. “Why did you switch your vote Freddie, not even supporting yourself?” He smiled slyly. A potential ally had come to him. “I decided it was a hill I didn’t need to die on. Let’s face it, the influence of the Chair goes only so far.”
    He