see you in an hour.’
‘Thank you.’
Davis pressed the END button and turned to Tager. ‘I was wrong about her. I thought she was smarter than that. She should have asked me for money before Jan and Oliver got married.’ He was thoughtful for a moment, then his face broke into a slow grin. ‘I’ll be a son of a bitch.’
‘What is it, Senator?’
‘I just figured out what this urgency is all about. Miss Stewart has discovered that she’s pregnant with Oliver’s baby and she’s going to need a little financial help. It’s the oldest con game in the world.’
One hour later, Leslie was driving onto the grounds of Dutch Hill, the senator’s farm. A guard was waiting outside the main house. ‘Miss Stewart?’
‘Yes.’
‘Senator Davis is expecting you. This way, please.’
He showed Leslie inside, along a wide corridor that led to a large paneled library crammed with books. Senator Davis was at his desk, thumbing through a volume. He looked up and rose as Leslie entered.
‘It’s good to see you, my dear. Sit down, please.’
Leslie took a seat.
The senator held up his book. ‘This is fascinating. It lists the name of every Kentucky Derby winner from the first derby to the latest. Do you know who the first Kentucky Derby winner was?’
‘No.’
‘Aristides, in 1875. But I’m sure you didn’t come here to discuss horses.’ He put the book down. ‘You said you wanted a favor.’
He wondered how she was going to phrase it. I just found out I’m going to have Oliver’s baby, and I don’t know what to do … I don’t want to cause a scandal, but … I’m willing to raise the baby, but I don’t have enough money …
‘Do you know Henry Chambers?’ Leslie asked.
Senator Davis blinked, caught completely off guard. ‘Do I – Henry? Yes, I do. Why?’
‘I would appreciate it very much if you would give me an introduction to him.’
Senator Davis looked at her, hastily reorganizing his thoughts. ‘Is that the favor? You want to meet Henry Chambers?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m afraid he’s not here anymore, Miss Stewart. He’s living in Phoenix, Arizona.’
‘I know. I’m leaving for Phoenix in the morning. I thought it would be nice if I knew someone there.’
Senator Davis studied her a moment. His instinct told him that there was something going on that he did not understand.
He phrased his next question cautiously. ‘Do you know anything about Henry Chambers?’
‘No. Only that he comes from Kentucky.’
He sat there, making up his mind. She’s a beautiful lady, he thought. Henry will owe me a favor. ‘I’ll make a call.’
Five minutes later, he was speaking to Henry Chambers.
‘Henry, it’s Todd. You’ll be sorry to know that I bought Sail Away this morning. I know you had your eye on her.’ He listened a moment, then laughed. ‘I’ll bet you did. I hear you just got another divorce. Too bad. I liked Jessica.’
Leslie listened as the conversation went on for a few more minutes. Then Senator Davis said, ‘Henry, I’m going to do you a good turn. A friend of mine is arriving in Phoenix tomorrow, and she doesn’t know a soul there. I would appreciate it if you would keep an eye on her … What does she look like?’ He looked over at Leslie and smiled. ‘She’s not too bad-looking. Just don’t get any ideas.’
He listened a moment, then turned back to Leslie. ‘What time does your plane get in?’
‘At two-fifty. Delta flight 159.’
The senator repeated the information into the phone. ‘Her name is Leslie Stewart. You’ll thank me for this. You take care now, Henry. I’ll be in touch.’ He replaced the receiver.
‘Thank you,’ Leslie said.
‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’
‘No. That’s all I need.’
Why? What the hell does Leslie Stewart want with Henry Chambers?
The public fiasco with Oliver Russell had been a hundred times worse than anything Leslie could have imagined. It was a never-ending nightmare. Everywhere Leslie went there were the whispers:
‘She’s the one. He practically jilted her at the altar …’
‘I’m saving my wedding invitation as a souvenir …’
‘I wonder what she’s going to do with her wedding gown? …’
The public gossip fueled Leslie’s pain, and the humiliation was unbearable. She would never trust a man again. Never. Her only consolation was that somehow, someday, she was going to make Oliver Russell pay for the unforgivable thing he had done to her. She had no idea how. With Senator Davis behind him, Oliver would have money and power. Then I have to find a way to have more money and more power, Leslie thought. But how? How?
The inauguration took place in the garden of the state capitol in Frankfort, near the exquisite thirty-four-foot floral clock.
Jan stood at Oliver’s side, proudly watching her handsome husband being sworn in as governor of Kentucky.
If Oliver behaved himself, the next stop was the White House, her father had assured her. And Jan intended to do everything in her power to see that nothing went wrong. Nothing.
After the ceremony, Oliver and his father-in-law were seated in the palatial library of the Executive Mansion, a beautiful building modeled after the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s villa near the palace of Versailles.
Senator Todd Davis looked around the luxurious room and nodded in satisfaction. ‘You’re going to do fine here, son. Just fine.’
‘I owe it all to you,’ Oliver said warmly. ‘I won’t forget that.’
Senator Davis waved a hand in dismissal. ‘Don’t give it a thought, Oliver. You’re here because you deserve to be. Oh, maybe I helped push things along a wee bit. But this is just the beginning. I’ve been in politics a long time, son, and there are a few things I’ve learned.’
He looked over at Oliver, waiting, and Oliver said dutifully, ‘I’d love to hear them, Todd.’
‘You see, people have got it wrong. It’s not who you know,’ Senator Davis explained, ‘it’s what you know about who you know. Everybody’s got a little skeleton buried somewhere. All you have to do is dig it up, and you’ll be surprised how glad they’ll be to help
