Willow (DeBeers 1)

"Who's Grace Montgomery'?" I asked as casually as I could.

"Our landlord," Asher Eaton replied, and smiled at his wife. She widened her smile. "It's a mutually beneficial arrangement," he continued.

"I'll say,," Bunny said. "If it weren't for us, she'd be living in Boca or, worse yet, Delray Beach in one of those retirement communities. You know," she continued, sitting up with some energy, "Florida is not, contrary to what everyone thinks. God's waiting room. There are people living here who are still very young and vigorous, and our social life compares with the social life anywhere. including Monte Carlo. Why, half my friends spend their summers in Monte Carlo.'

"You're doing it again, Bunny," Asher said after sipping from his glass of champagne. "You're not giving the girl a chance to say anything, to explain."

"I'm tired," she moaned. "I didn't realize how tired I was."

"Perhaps I could speak with Mrs.

Montgomery." I suggested. "Do you know where she is living?"

The two of them seemed to freeze for a moment. Then Bunny burst into laughter. "Where she's living? Why, dear, she's living in what was once the help's quarters down by the beach. Where else could she be living? We should be charging her rent." she told Asher.

"We've got a pretty good arrangement here. Bunny. You know that."

"I know, but it's still a bit of an embarrassment from time to time, especially when I have an outdoor party and worry that either she or that depressing son of hers will somehow come in contact with my guests." she said.

"Son?"

I remembered reading in the folder that she had been pregnant by her stepfather. but I wanted them to think I knew absolutely nothing about the

Montgomery family.

"Yes," Bunny said, "She had a son with her stepfather, Kirby Scott. That's the truth, no matter what fiction she might tell you or anyone else, for that matter."

"What sort of fiction?" I asked.

"That Linden, that's her son, was really her mother's, Jackie Lee Houston Montgomery's, child." Asher said.

"Yes, poor dear Jackie Lee. She was childless with Winston, of course. The man was twenty-five years her senior, but a woman with a sixteen-year-old daughter from a previous marriage didn't have all that much choice, and besides, he was old money, one of the core families. Her first husband was a naval officer. Roland Houston. When he was killed in a helicopter accident, she came to Palm Beach with her daughter to start over, and even though Winston was twenty-five years older. he..."

"Twenty-seven," Asher interrupted.

"What?"

"Winston Montgomery was twenty-seven years older than Jackie Lee Houston." Asher corrected.

"Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, what's the difference? He died five or six years into their marriage, and she took up with Kirby, who seduced Grace, who was a dark, depressing girl to begin with. She actually ended up in a mental clinic for years. vou know"

"Leaving Jackie Lee Houston Montgomery Scott to bring up Linden as if he were her own child and not her grandchild, by the way." Asher added. "Kirby ran her money out and deserted her and his child." Asher followed this with a very big and long yawn. "Got to get to bed. We have the Alzheimer Ball tonight, remember?"

He laughed. "Get it? Remember?"

"I got it, I got it," Bunny said, sitting up again.

"Then this Grace Montgomery and her son live in the beach house on this property?" I asked.

"Yes. Linden can be found down at the beach most of the time. painting. He fancies himself something of an artist, but you'd have to be in a deep depression to want to buy one of his pictures. They all look like nightmares, the ones you get after eating too much spicy food," Bunny said.

'So let me understand this." Asher said. "You're here to study Palm Beach society the same way a sociologist might study some primitive tribe or something?"

"Something like that," I said. smiling,

"Interesting."

"Yes, very," we heard, and all turned toward the entryway, where stood the arrogant but handsome man I had told off back at the Breakers. I couldn't imagine what he was doing here. Had he followed me?