respect for their father’s wishes, they managed to contain themselves.
When the show came to an end, a collective silence filled the room before Mr. Carlson realized it was time to shut off the DVD.
He turned to them. “Would thirty days give you girls enough time to vacate the house?”
“We’ve already moved to Mrs. Weyland’s basement apartment across the street from us,” Greer informed him.
The girls nodded. “We left our home spotless.”
“The keys are in this envelope along with a paper that lists our cell phone numbers and the address of our new apartment.” Greer pushed it toward him before she shot out of her chair, ready to go.
He rose more slowly and handed them their checks. “You’re as remarkable and self-sufficient as your father always told me you were. Yet I could hope for your sakes you’ll take your parents’ advice.” He stared pointedly at Greer. “Women weren’t meant to be on their own.”
The man’s sincerity couldn’t be doubted. But his comment happened to be one of the twelve comments appearing on the calendar she’d thought up last year featuring Men’s Most Notable Quotes About Women. The calendar had been an instant success.
Greer didn’t dare look at her sisters or she would have cracked up on the spot. Hilarity had been building inside her. She couldn’t stifle it any longer. They had to get out of there quick!
“Thank you for everything, Mr. Carlson.”
So saying, Greer made a beeline for the door, clutching the check in hand. Her sisters followed.
They hurried down the hall to the crowded elevator. By some miracle they reached their father’s old Pontiac parked around the corner before they exploded with laughter.
Since Olivia had a better sense of direction than the others, she always drove them when they were together.
“After the first close-up of Betty Grable, I thought we were going to have to call emergency for Mr. Carlson!”
“That generation’s hopeless.”
“The movie was dreadful!”
“But our mother loved it, bless her heart.”
“And Daddy loved her!”
“And we loved both of them, so what are we going to do about the—”
“No—” Greer blurted. “Don’t say the ‘H’ word.”
For the rest of the drive home they giggled like schoolgirls instead of twenty-seven-year-old women.
When they pulled to a stop at the curb across the street from their old house, Olivia looked over her shoulder at Greer who was seated in the back. “Let’s go get us a new car. This one already has 122,000 miles on it.”
That sounded like her impulsive sister. “Right this minute?”
“Why not?”
Before Greer could negate the suggestion, Piper, the romantic, shook her head. “With fifteen thousand dollars to put down, we could buy a new house. What do you think?”
Greer, the pragmatic one, said, “I think I’m too exhausted to think.” It came out sounding grumpy because the Husband Fund money was untouchable and they all knew it.
“Mrs. Weyland says we need a vacation,” Olivia muttered.
Piper rested her head against the window. “I’d love to visit the Caribbean.”
“Who wouldn’t, but we can’t go.”
Both sisters blinked. “Why not?”
Greer leaned forward. “Because it’s April. By the time we could get away from the business, it would be June. I think we could run into a hurricane.”
“How do you know that?”
“Our northeast distributor, Jan. She scuba dives there in February when the weather is perfect.”
“Then how about Hawaii?”
Olivia wrinkled her nose at Piper. “Everybody complains it’s too touristy. I’d rather go someplace more exotic, like Tahiti.”
“The airfare alone would be exorbitant.”
“So what’s your suggestion?” Both sisters were waiting for Greer’s answer.
“I don’t have one, and you guys know why.”
Olivia’s eyes resembled the blue in a match flame when she felt strongly about something. “Then we’ll go through the motions of husband hunting in some wonderful place like Australia where the beaches are reputed to be the most beautiful in the world. Mrs. Weyland’s right, you know? We haven’t had a break in several years.”
By now Piper’s irises were glowing an iridescent blue-green. “Daddy didn’t say we had to end up with a husband.”
Greer could acknowledge she had a point. “You’re right. All he said was, you can spend the money any way you want so long as it’s used in the pursuit of a spouse. With $5,000 apiece, we should be able to go someplace exciting for a couple of weeks. I’m all for visiting the Great Barrier Reef.”
“Or South America!” Olivia interjected. “Don’t forget Rio. Ipanema and Copacabana are supposed to be two of the most fabulous beaches on earth.”
“Wait a minute—” Piper spread her hands in front of her. “Wherever we decide to spend our vacation, I’ve got this delicious idea how we’ll provide the bait to bring the men on fast!”
Olivia smiled. “I bet I know what you’re thinking.”
So did Greer. They’d all watched that idiotic film and weren’t triplets for nothing. “You mean turn things around by pretending we’re the millionaires?”
“Why not?”
Why not indeed. Greer realized it was a stretch, but if her business projections held true, they’d be doing very well for themselves by the time they were thirty.
“Guys—” Piper broke in with dramatic flourish. “We have a lot more going for us than money. We’re titled! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Duchesses of Kingston!”
Brilliant.
So brilliant in fact, Greer was still staring at her talented sister in wonder when Olivia suddenly blurted, “The Duchesse pendant!”
No one’s mind could leap faster from A to Z than Olivia’s.
“Yes?” Greer prompted. “What about it?”
The pendant was a gold rectangle. It was encrusted with amethysts surrounding a pearl-studded pigeon with a red-orange eye of pyrope garnet.
According to the story their dad told them,
