“That you’re who you say you are, and Paul was who you say he was, and you’re very rich, that’s all. You could easily afford the four hundred grand.”
“I hope you didn’t find out anything bad about me,” she said, resuming her dinner.
“No, I didn’t. Is there something bad about you I should know?”
“Only in my own mind, I guess.”
“You been thinking bad thoughts about yourself?”
“Well, I seduced you, when I knew perfectly well that you had a girl.”
“I wouldn’t feel too badly about that; I knew what I was doing. I was mad at Arrington for not showing up down here and even madder at her for running off to California.”
“With Vance Calder.”
“Yeah, with Vance Calder. I have to admit, that didn’t sit too well.”
“So I just got lucky and caught you in a weak moment?”
“There wasn’t all that much luck involved,” Stone said ruefully. “I have a lot of weak moments.”
“You mean you weren’t faithful to Arrington, even before you met me?”
“Oh, yes, I was faithful to her, but not out of trying to be; we were just together all the time, and I was content, and I didn’t give much thought to other women.”
“Were you living together?”
“Yes.”
“I sometimes wish I’d lived with somebody before Paul. Maybe I would have had a better idea of what it was like to be married.” She was uncharacteristically quiet as she took her dishes to the galley.
“Is something else bothering you?” he asked.
“I guess I’ve been feeling a little guilty about how much fun we’ve been having. The sex, I mean; that’s the only fun I’ve had lately. I mean, Paul’s only been dead for a short time, and I confess, I’ve already been looking forward to a new kind of life.” She smiled at him. “In addition to inordinately enjoying your body.” She sat down beside him and held his hand.
“And I yours,” he said, smiling. “And I don’t think you have anything to feel guilty about. What happened at sea wasn’t your fault; you did the best you could in the circumstances. You go right ahead and look forward to that new life.” If you have one, he thought. If I can somehow pull off an acquittal.
“Are you going to be in this new life of mine?” she asked.
“That remains to be seen,” he said. “I do have some unresolved issues to take care of.”
“When they’re resolved, I’d like to know about it.”
“I think I can promise you that. But you’re going to be a very popular lady, you know. Men are going to come out of the woodwork. They’ll all want your money; you’ll have to be careful.”
“I will be. You want to go to bed?”
“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll sleep on my boat tonight.”
“Going off me?” she asked, pouting.
“Not in the least.” He kissed her lightly. “I’m awfully tired, though; the negotiation with Libby seems to have taken a lot out of me, and I ought to write to Arrington. She probably thinks I’m sulking.”
“Okay, you do that; I’ll see you in the morning.”
He got up. “By the way, you should fax the Libby document to your lawyer and have him let your banker know that check is coming through. It’s a very large amount, and it will make him nervous if he’s not expecting it. And whatever you do, don’t have second thoughts and stop payment. All hell would break loose.”
“I’ll write him a note and take it over to Thomas tonight,” she said.