The Philanthropist's Danse by Paul Wornham Page B

took her elbow and steered her toward the dining room. “Why don’t we have lunch and a chat and perhaps we’ll find a way for those of us outside the family to help each other to a fair reward.” She smiled and allowed him to escort her, already calculating how best to take advantage of this sly man.
    Bethany hissed for Junior to join her. He looked even unhappier than he had during the voting. Bethany sent Philip to ask Camille to join them. Junior looked at his sister and muttered an apology. He realized his outburst had cost the family an important position of influence. Larry joined them, and Junior turned on the older man. “Well Larry, you greedy prick, you’ll at least earn your extorted fee now.”
    Bethany shot her older brother a look. “Junior, for God’s sake shut up. You did this to yourself. Your filthy mouth and rotten temper just cost us dearly, so don’t yell at Larry. He’s our best shot at getting what’s ours, you idiot.” MacLean raised his hands and petitioned for peace. “Its okay, Beth. I don’t blame Junior for being upset. I didn’t want the Chair, but I didn’t want Freddie to take it either. I’m happy to represent the family interest, but we do have an agreement, and I expect it to be honored.
    “Junior, I only volunteered after your blow-up. Before that, I was with you all the way. You lost everyone’s support with your outburst and I felt as if I had to step in to make sure you had someone to look out for your interests. What I get out of this does not change my love for this family, it’s that you can count on, not how much money I get out of it.”
    Junior glared at MacLean. “Fine, I get it. I fucked up, and you saved the day. Great, thank you. But let’s not pretend this is about anything other than money, Larry. You’re as greedy as the rest of them. You better make damned sure the family gets the lion’s share, or I’ll—”
    He trailed off, his voice quivering with anger. Larry raised an eyebrow but said nothing, Philip approached with Camille at his side and Maclean decided it was a bad time to start another confrontation with the mercurial Junior.
    Bethany suppressed a shudder as her half-sister approached. She couldn’t decide it was jealousy she felt, or something else. She had lost her lifelong status as her father’s only daughter and discovered her revered father had been ordinary enough to sire an illegitimate child. Bethany knew she would need to get over her emotions and concentrate on the big picture. To hold on to her inheritance.
    Camille had helped them by switching her support to Larry. If it were an attempt to build a bridge to the family, Bethany would accept the gesture. She knew future motions were a numbers game. Whoever controlled the most votes also controlled who got the money. She would reluctantly accept Camille for the benefit of gaining her valuable vote. Bethany figured she would never need to see the French girl once the negotiations were over, and she greeted her half-sister as warmly as she could manage.
    Camille saw Bethany’s smile but noticed how its warmth failed to touch her sister’s eyes. She had been instantly rewarded for her gamble to throw her lot in with the family, when Philip begged her to join them. She had been looking to be included from the moment Junior insisted they should take the largest portion of the fortune.
    The vote for Chair had been the perfect opportunity for her to demonstrate her value to them. She had voted for Freddie Hagood because she had accurately guessed no one would gain a super-majority in the first round. She had planned to change her vote in the second round to support the Thurwell’s candidate. She could explain her first vote for Hagood as logical support for the most experienced candidate for the job.
    Bethany fussed over Camille and took her by the arm as they walked to the dining room. The brothers crowded around their new sister, anxious to win her over. Larry followed alone as