"I've just ordered a new credenza, and my allowance check hasn't come. Would you mind, darling?"
And they never minded.
When Eve went out in public, she made sure she was escorted by men who were single. Married men she saw afternoons at her apartment. Eve was very discreet. She was careful to see that her name was kept out of gossip columns, not because she was any longer concerned about her allowance being stopped, but because she was determined that one day her grandmother was going to come crawling to her. Kate Blackwell needed an heir to take over Kruger-Brent. Alexandra is not equipped to be anything but a stupid housewife, Eve gloated.
One afternoon, leafing through a new issue of Town and Country, Eve came across a photograph of Alexandra dancing with an attractive man. Eve was not looking at Alexandra, she was looking at the man. And realizing that if Alexandra married and had a son, it would be a disaster for Eve and her plans.
She stared at the picture a long time.
Over a period of a year, Alexandra had called Eve regularly, for lunch or dinner, and Eve had always put her off with excuses. Now Eve decided it was time to have a talk with her sister. She invited Alexandra to her apartment.
Alexandra had not seen the apartment before, and Eve braced herself for pity. But all Alexandra said was, "It's charming, Eve. It's very cozy, isn't it?"
Eve smiled. "It suits me. I wanted something intime." She had pawned enough jewelry and paintings so that she could have moved into a beautiful apartment, but Kate would have learned of it and would have demanded to know where the money had come from. For the moment, the watchword was discretion.
"How is Gran?" Eve asked.
"She's fine." Alexandra hesitated. "Eve, I don't know what happened between you two, but you know if there's anything I can do to help, I'll - "
Eve sighed. "She didn't tell you?"
"No. She won't discuss it."
"I don't blame her. The poor dear probably feels as guilty as hell. I met a wonderful young doctor. We were going to be married. We went to bed together. Gran found out about it. She told me to get out of the house, that she never wanted to see me again. I'm afraid our grandmother is very old-fashioned, Alex."
She watched the look of dismay on Alexandra's face. "That's terrible! The two of you must go to Gran. I'm sure she would - "
"He was killed in an airplane accident."
"Oh, Eve! Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I was too ashamed to tell anyone, even you." She squeezed her sister's hand. "And you know I tell you everything."
"Let me talk to Gran. I'll explain - "
"No! I have too much pride. Promise me you'll never discuss this with her. Ever!"
"But I'm sure she would - "
"Promise!"
Alexandra sighed. "All right."
"Believe me, I'm very happy here. I come and go as I please. It's great!"
Alexandra looked at her sister and thought how much she had missed Eve.
Eve put her arm around Alexandra and began to tease. "Now, enough about me. Tell me what's going on in your life. Have you met Prince Charming yet? I'll bet you have!"
"No."
Eve studied her sister. It was a mirror image of herself, and she was determined to destroy it. "You will, darling."
"I'm in no hurry. I decided it's time I started earning a living. I talked to Gran about it. Next week I'm going to meet with the head of an advertising agency about a job."
They had lunch at a little bistro near Eve's apartment, and Eve insisted on paying. She wanted nothing from her sister.
When they were bidding each other good-bye, Alexandra said, "Eve, if you need any money - "
"Don't be silly, darling. I have more than enough."
Alexandra persisted. "Still, if you run short, you can have anything I've got."
Eve looked into Alexandra's eyes and said, "I'm counting on that." She smiled. "But I really don't need a thing, Alex." She did not need crumbs. She intended to have the whole cake. The question was: How was she going to get it?
There was a weekend party in Nassau.
"It wouldn't be the same without you, Eve. All your friends will be here."
The caller was Nita Ludwig, a girl whom Eve had known at school in Switzerland.
She would meet some new men. The present crop was tiresome.
"It sounds like fun," Eve said. "I'll be there."
That afternoon she pawned an emerald bracelet she had been given a week earlier by an infatuated insurance executive with a wife and three children, and bought some new summer outfits at Lord & Taylor and a round-trip ticket to Nassau. She was on the plane the following morning.
The Ludwig estate was a large, sprawling mansion on the beach. The main house had thirty rooms, and the smallest was larger than Eve's entire apartment. Eve was escorted to her room by a uniformed maid, who unpacked for her while Eve freshened up. Then she went down to meet her fellow guests.
There were sixteen people in the drawing room, and they had one thing in common: They were wealthy. Nita Ludwig was a firm believer in the "birds of a feather" philosophy. These people felt the same way about the same things; they were comfortable with one another because they spoke the same language. They shared the commonality of the best boarding schools and colleges, luxurious estates, yachts, private jets and tax problems. A columnist had dubbed them the "jet set," an appellation they derided publicly and enjoyed privately. They were the privileged, the chosen few, set apart from all others by a discriminating god. Let the rest of the world believe that money could not buy everything. These people knew better. Money bought them beauty and love and luxury and a place in heaven. And it was from all this that Eve had been excluded by the whim of a narrow-minded old lady. But not for long, Eve thought.