The Sugar Hill Collection Page 9

  “Reed, it’s very nice to meet you.” Reed had neat dark hair and surprising blue eyes. He was no male model, with an average build and height, but something about him was extremely attractive. He dressed smartly in a black suit, blue shirt and black tie. He’s my cousin. Get it together, Avery! The ring warmed again, and I rubbed at it.

  “Likewise, Avery. We are all so glad you came.”

  For the next thirty minutes, I greeted face after face. Most were Dufresnes, some were Grahams, and there were a few other names I wouldn’t remember. I felt honored to have had such a crowd waiting on my arrival, but it became increasingly uncomfortable. One older lady, much older-looking than Miss Anne, actually cried when she was introduced to me. I plastered a smile on my face and let them all wade past me. At least I didn’t have to stand on my sore feet. My family, for that’s who they were, walked through the house and out the back door. There were two huge white tents strung with lights and filled with tables of food. I’d stolen a few glances between meetings. Music played over a loudspeaker, and some of the younger folks danced around. Most people didn’t talk to me after the initial introductions, which I appreciated since I couldn’t remember their names at this point. When the intros were complete, Mitchell led me out to the Great Lawn. I stood awkwardly, smiling and nodding at my family while holding on to my purse like it was a life vest. It was getting heavier by the moment, but it had my gun in it.

  What was I going to do? Shoot a relative?

  “Would you like something to drink or eat?” Mitchell asked me after he led me to a small table set to itself away from the main dance floor.

  “Yes to both, and thank you, Mitchell.” He disappeared into the crowd, and I sat by myself. Summer lingered nearby.

  “Must seem overwhelming to someone not accustomed to a big family,” she said. I could tell she was measuring me, like a competitor would, but I had no idea what the competition was about. The most popular cousin? If she wanted that award, she could have it. I had a choice here. I could try to be friendly or tell her how I felt about sneaky games. I opted for the first one.

  “How do you feel about having one more relative?” I smiled at her politely as I stood, smoothed my skirt and reached for my purse.

  “You can leave that here. I promise no one will touch it.” She seemed amused by my city ways. I hesitated, but she insisted. “You could dump it out on the floor, and nobody would take a penny or even a Tic Tac.”

  Chuckling at her, I shook my head. “That’s hard to believe. I’m a news reporter, remember? No family is perfect. Each has its own criminal element, including cleptos and sometimes much worse.”

  Summer drew back from me and said in a low voice, “Not in this family. Not if you’re you.”

  Yep, I’d ticked her off. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I’ve not had the best month. I trust your judgment, Summer. If you say it will be okay, I believe you.”

  She shook her head as if she were dusting off the insult. “It’s no big deal. I guess I am somewhat protective of the Dufresnes. I know them, and you don’t. Sorry to be insensitive.”

  My stomach rumbled, and I staggered a bit on my feet. The fabric of my light pink dress rubbed on my new scar, but I was nowhere near being able to strip down and relax. So much for meeting a few people and scurrying off to take a nap.

  We made small talk as we strolled around the tent. I glanced up at the sparkling chandelier that hung from the center. That seemed odd, like something you’d see at a wedding.

  “I’ll take you on a tour of the house later. You can pick out a room. I bet I know which one you’ll like.”

  “Tell me. Which one would you recommend, Summer?”

  “I am partial to the Lilac Room; it’s at the top of the stairs on the right. But I have a feeling you’ll feel most at home in the Yellow Rose Room.” Then she added playfully, as if it were an inside joke, “Or the Mirror Room.”

  “Mirror Room? Sounds like a Vegas bar.” I snorted, but once again, my humor fell flat. I followed that up with, “I suppose it has a ton of mirrors in it.”

  “Something like that,” she said cryptically. “I will be staying for a few days, if that’s okay with the new matrone?”

  “Oh…that’s me, isn’t it? Um…yes, of course you can stay. This is a family house. Not just for me.”

  “Wonderful. If you need anything, I’ll be here.”

  “Thanks,” I called to her back as she walked toward a group of nearby Dufresnes.

  Mitchell walked toward me with a pink plate and a cup of some kind of green punch. “Here you go, cousin. I hope I found something you’d like.”

  I accepted the plate and cup. Mitchell looked nervous, as if I were a taste tester here to sample his award-winning recipe. I sipped the punch and said, “Delicious. Tastes like lime. Thank you.”

  With a happy nod he left me standing by myself outside the tent. I juggled the cup and plate for a few moments, wondering what to do with myself. Return to the house? Walk around and mingle?

  Here I was with a family of at least a hundred people, and I was still alone.

  Chapter Ten – Avery

  After pushing my fruit kabob around the sagging plate and chitchatting with an older relative named Fred or Ned, I couldn’t remember which, I was left alone again. People pointed in my direction occasionally and nodded politely, but nobody seemed overly eager to get to know me. Just when I was ready to chuck it in, Reed spotted me and made his excuses to a pretty young woman wearing a neat updo, kind of like Miss Anne’s. She was tall and slender, like Reed, and dressed like she’d stepped out of Vogue’s “picnic” edition. The family attorney had shed his suit coat at some point and rolled up his sleeves. Some people just looked like a celebrity—and I knew celebrities. I’d interviewed enough of them. Reed Dufresne had all the charisma and attractiveness that celebs desire. If he weren’t my cousin, I might have found him attractive with his carefully clipped dark hair and blue eyes. Oh, here we go again. He’s your cousin, idiot.

  He walked up to me and gave me a big smile. “It must be lonely being in the middle of a crowd and not knowing a soul.” I laughed nervously and raised my cup of punch to him in agreement before taking one last sip. He was completely right. “When you finish your snack, may I have a few moments? I need to give you a few things and get your signature on a couple of documents.”

  “I’m actually not all that hungry right now.” I discreetly tossed the plate in the garbage can. “Getting out of this heat sounds like a plan. I didn’t expect it to be so…hot.”

  His eyes expressed sympathy. I was glad he could read between the lines. “It will get easier, Avery. The Dufresnes are a friendly group of people, but you’re something of a novelty. A celebrity. But you really are among family here.” He gave me his arm and said, “Let’s go inside and cool off. I have everything prepared in the downstairs study, and it shouldn’t take long.”

  Tossing the cup in the garbage can, I walked with Reed into the house. The pretty young woman with the neat hairdo watched me every step of the way. The doors to the house had been closed for the past half hour, and I could feel the air conditioning working. Thank God the old home had air conditioning!

  “Right this way, Avery.” We made the first left turn, and I caught my breath as I took in the view. Rich-looking light yellow curtains with ivory and gold fringed pullbacks hung from the box windows, keeping the room cool and somewhat shady. Each of the three windows along the longest wall had padded benches beneath them, perfect for reading or staring out over the grounds. How long had it been since I’d read anything besides news copy and research books? Positioned in the center of the room was a large cherrywood table, beautifully polished with neat stacks of papers and a white cardboard box. Reed flipped on a lamp and waved at one of the empty seats.

  He sat in the opposite chair and gave me a pleasant smile. “How are you feeling?”

  “To be honest with you, Reed, I’m still not sure what I’m doing here. This is so unlike me.
I never imagined leaving News Quarter—I’m not even the kind of girl who takes vacations—but here I am. Of course, I never thought I was the kind of girl to get stabbed, either.”

  “Are you having second thoughts? Has someone here offended you?” His expressive face took on a protective surliness that I hadn’t expected.

  “No, that’s not what I mean. I’m not having second thoughts, and I understand the genealogy. But what comes next? What is expected of me?” With a nervous laugh I added, “I guess I should have asked these questions before I left Atlanta, but my life has been kind of a whirlwind lately. I didn’t expect any of this.”

  With a sympathetic nod, Reed said, “By the way, I’ve been in touch with the district attorney in Atlanta, Charles Latham. He’s a reputable man and a good attorney. I’m sure he’ll get justice for you. Now if there’s anything I can do in regards to News Quarter, all you have to do is ask. Despite what Miss Anne says, there’s no reason why you couldn’t go back to work in some capacity and be the matrone here. I’ll be happy to represent you in any legal proceedings; we are family, after all. As far as your role as matrone, it’s not complicated, and it needn’t be full time. You act as a guardian over the family finances, host a few family gatherings, things like that.”

  Reed was working hard to make it all sound simple, but I wasn’t quite buying it. Nothing was for nothing. Another Vertie saying. “I’m glad to know I have options, but I’m done with News Quarter for the moment. I’m going to use every bit of the time off getting to know you all.” And I can’t face what’s waiting for me back there. “As far as handling the family finances, I fail to see why I am more qualified than anyone else to do that. There must have been at least a hundred people here. Are there no finance majors available?”

  He didn’t immediately answer me. He put his blue enamel pen down and leaned back in his chair. “Did you know that our family has been here in Belle Fontaine since its inception? We can trace our genealogy back to a Jacques Dufresne, son of Napoleon Bonaparte’s chief of police. He came with his father to the New World, but of his family, only he and his wife survived the trip.”

  “The history is interesting, but you haven’t answered my question, counselor. Why me?”

  “Please call me Reed. That’s a question only Miss Anne can answer, and unfortunately, she is unable to be here at the moment. However, I can tell you that she has put a great deal of trust in you. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s for two reasons. First, she chose you because you are a Dufresne. The second reason might be because you have wealth of your own and understand what it means to manage the kind of wealth I am talking about here.”

  “Not to be crude, but how much wealth are we talking about?”

  “Let’s just say that we are far wealthier than you, Avery, at least according to Fortune Magazine. About fifty times wealthier, if you count businesses and holdings.”

  “I see.” I felt a knot clench up in my stomach. And how again was I in any way qualified to manage this kind of wealth?

  “As matrone, you are given legal authority to distribute the family’s wealth as you see fit. Now, you should know this. We take care of our own. The family fund provides for our widows, orphans, the disabled. People without immediate needs can apply for special loans or grants through our foundation. For example, Miss Anne spent a great deal of money buying several of the local plantations, including the twin to this house, a place called Thorn Hill.”

  “Thorn Hill? Where is that?”

  “It’s at the end of Laurendine Road, about two miles away. It’s in the midst of a remodel right now, but we can go see it whenever you like. One of our ancestors, Chase Dufresne, built it for one of his wives, Susanna.” As he spoke, the temperature in the study dropped. It was cold in here, so cold that a few more degrees and I was convinced I would be able to see my breath.

  “Boy, the air conditioning works great in here. I never knew these old houses had air conditioning.”

  “Um, most of the house doesn’t, but you’ll find many of the rooms stay cool no matter how hot it is outside. They built these old houses like that. For example, doors are always placed directly across from one another, when possible. The rooms used for gatherings are long and narrow, including the formal dining room and the ballroom. Keeps the air moving. There are many details from the original house here. Now in the dining room we have what’s called a shoofly fan. It doesn’t do much for keeping the room cool, and we don’t really use it anymore, but it is a reminder of the past. I’ll show it to you when we take the tour.”

  “Sounds interesting.” Despite the cordial conversation, I felt like something was wrong. And the wrongness was growing more intense by the minute. “You said something about Chase Dufresne?” The lamp on the table flickered, but Reed appeared to have missed it. He continued to flip through papers. He touched the lamp absently as if he could calm it down with his mere touch.

  “The bottom line is that Miss Anne is dying. And she has named you as her successor. There were other names considered, but the old girl was determined to have you. ‘She’s the one. I know it, Reed,’ she’d said to me after watching you night after night. Like I said, there were others in the running, but she wanted you. And it is her right to choose who she wants.”

  “What about Summer—or you, for heaven’s sake? Were either of you in the running? I get the feeling that Summer doesn’t approve of me for some reason or another. Am I wrong?”

  “Men aren’t matrones, Avery. That’s a responsibility given only to women. As for our cousin, I do not know how Summer might or might not feel. We aren’t that close, I’m afraid. She and my fiancée, Ina, do not get on well. I have found Summer to be an intelligent woman; she’s a professional chef, with her own product line of cookware, and she hosts a weekly web show. She’s a family favorite, and there has been a lot of speculation about who she’d marry. I guess that doesn’t matter as much now. She’s not going to be the matrone. Unless…”

  “Unless?” I waited for the other shoe to drop.

  “Well, I was going to say unless you die, but that seemed wildly inappropriate after your incident.”

  Yes, it was freezing in here now.

  “So I’m in this role until I die? What does that mean? What am I expected to do? Invest the money? Treat it like a trust or something?”

  “Every matrone is different. The board of trustees has to approve the plans beyond a certain dollar amount, but to be honest, the board prefers to work on the matrone’s projects without too much fuss. I am going to leave you this paperwork; it has those figures included here. You can review the numbers in private later. I know it is a lot to take in at first, but you will get a handle on it, I swear.”

  Could this be possible? Maybe I could speak to the board about the Starlight Foundation. Talk about making my dreams come true! The images of our wounded veterans blinded by their injuries still haunted me. But that nagging suspicion lingered. “What if I say no, Reed? What happens if I don’t want to do this after all? Will everyone hate me?” I tried to laugh, but it sounded nervous and awkward.

  He stared at my hand, at the ring. Without hesitation he said, “I’m not sure, Avery. I’ve never heard of anyone refusing. I suppose I could find out if you’d like me to. In modern terms, you haven’t signed anything yet beyond a few preliminary agreements. Are you saying no now?”

  “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I wouldn’t like to disappoint anyone. I really came because I wanted…well, it sounds stupid, but I wanted…”

  “A family?”

  “Yes.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Reed wasn’t mocking me. He understood.

  He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “We are your family, Avery. I don’t know why Vertie wanted to keep you from us. From what I remember and what I hear, she always had her own mind, her own way of doing things, but the important thing is you are here now. And I can assure you, nobody here will hurt you. In fact, if you need anything, all you have to do is a
sk. I’ll make it happen.”

  “I am grateful for that.” I wiped a tear away. My hands shook at the thought of being alone again. Alone without Grandma Vertie. Without Jonah. Without my new family. No, I wasn’t going to give this up. I’d find a way to do this. I’d figure it out. I was Avery Dufresne, America’s Newscaster.

  “One more thing. The matrone status doesn’t go into effect until Miss Anne has passed away, but she felt that it was important for you to understand how things work before she was gone. I think you should try to go see her when you can. And soon.”

  “It’s on my list,” I said, smiling at him.

  He smiled back and read from a few notes he had. “As I said, the matrone is our matriarch, and she hosts family events, usually just a few times a year. Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July and Halloween events are all held here. They are closed to the public, but Dufresnes from all over come to see the matrone and the family home. Our summer gathering is only a few weeks away. Since Miss Anne isn’t up to it, maybe you could fill in for her, get to know the family members. Let them get to know you.”

  “If you think that’s wise. I wouldn’t want to interfere with Miss Anne’s leadership at all.”

  “It was her idea, Avery. Also, some of that weekend will include listening to a few ideas. We’ve got some bright thinkers graduating from college this year, and they are all eager to leave their mark on the world. Including my brother, Levi. He couldn’t be here today, but he’s anxious to meet the great Avery Dufresne.”

  “I’m not a great anything, Reed, but I’d love to meet him.”

  He smiled and said, “Almost forgot, I have to give you this. Miss Anne insisted that you receive this box tonight She wants you to watch these videos as soon as possible, preferably before the weekend of the Fourth of July. You won’t be given a test or anything, but she wants you to ‘know what you’re in for,’ I think was how she put it.” Reed shook his head. It must have been challenging dealing with Miss Anne on a regular basis. I wondered if it would be any easier with me. “These are tapes of her grandmother, Margaret Marie, your great-great-grandmother, the matrone before Miss Anne. These are her recordings. She tells the story of the old house and the people who lived in it. Might be helpful to know moving forward, but I’ll have to insist that you sign this nondisclosure agreement. Naturally, any family matters discussed should remain private and not find their way to a television screen.”