surreptitious squeeze.
The Chicago League Club was an institution, a hundred- | year-old bastion of political incorrectness whose unofficial motto had until recently been “No Democrats, no reporters, and no women.” Two years ago the rules were finally changed to allow the great-granddaughter of one of the founding members and a black U.S. Circuit Court judge to become members. Unfortunately, less progress I has been made in the quality of the food.
“Jack called me at home last night,” replied Babbage. “He told me that you were there with Dagny when she found her.”
I explained briefly how Dagny and I had discovered Cecilia Dobson’s body. I felt vaguely uncomfortable talking about death in Babbage’s company, but he did not seem in the least bit disconcerted. Cecilia Dobson’s passing was nothing to any of us—an unsettling episode, a gruesome lunchtime anecdote, nothing more.
“So tell me, what did you think of Dagny?” he asked when I’d finished.
“I really like her. She’s very impressive.”
“I’m sure you realize that no matter what it says on the organizational chart, Dagny’s the one who’ll be running Superior Plating after Jack steps down.”
“That’s not what she says.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Yesterday she told me that she’s had an offer from Monarch Metals to head their coatings division in Boston. She says that if her father doesn’t agree to buy out Lydia, she’s going to take it.”
Daniel’s face was lit up by an enormous grin. “I told you she’s as tough as her old man.”
“Philip came to see me this morning.”
“And?”
“I don’t think he likes me.”
“Don’t take it personally. Philip doesn’t like anybody. You impressed the hell out of Jack, though. He said that you drank bourbon with him in the middle of the day. He said it showed that you had balls.”
“Just what I’ve always wanted.”
“So what did you make of Peaches?”
“I’m not sure. I only spoke to her for a minute. But I guess I expected Jack to be married to someone closer to his own age. What do his children think of her?”
“They hate her, naturally.”
“Why naturally?”
“Don’t be naive, Kate. Second wives are like dynamite—an inherently explosive commodity. None of the Cavanaugh children can stand her. Philip thinks that she’s a gold digger and is terrified that Jack’s going to die and leave her all his money.”
“Is he?”
“No. Peaches comes from a very wealthy family herself. I don’t think Jack feels any pressure to provide for her after he’s gone. Besides, he’s obsessed with the idea of his children running the company together after he dies. I can’t imagine him not leaving them at least the Superior Plating shares.” _
“Doesn’t Philip realize that?”
“He should. It’s obvious to a boob. But not to be too hard on Philip, I don’t think that Jack’s ever been explicit ! about his testamentary plans. Every couple of years ' Philip manages to get up the nerve to ask his father about it and Jack always tells him the same thing: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.’ ”
“What about Dagny? Does she hate Peaches, too?”
“Not exactly. She just dismisses her as a frivolous 1 twit—which really is not the case.”
“And Eugene? What does he think of his stepmother?”
“First of all, he’d be furious to hear you call Peaches his stepmother. All the Cavanaugh children are very careful to refer to her as their father’s wife. And to answer your question, Eugene in particular doesn’t approve of Peaches. He and his wife are part of a very conservative, almost fundamentalist movement in the Catholic church. Eugene believes that the Bible is explicit in spelling out women’s proper role in the world. Suffice it to say, Peaches doesn’t exactly fit in with that.”
“He and the dead secretary didn’t get along, I’ll tell you that,” I said, describing the scene between them by the plating
The Chicago League Club was an institution, a hundred- | year-old bastion of political incorrectness whose unofficial motto had until recently been “No Democrats, no reporters, and no women.” Two years ago the rules were finally changed to allow the great-granddaughter of one of the founding members and a black U.S. Circuit Court judge to become members. Unfortunately, less progress I has been made in the quality of the food.
“Jack called me at home last night,” replied Babbage. “He told me that you were there with Dagny when she found her.”
I explained briefly how Dagny and I had discovered Cecilia Dobson’s body. I felt vaguely uncomfortable talking about death in Babbage’s company, but he did not seem in the least bit disconcerted. Cecilia Dobson’s passing was nothing to any of us—an unsettling episode, a gruesome lunchtime anecdote, nothing more.
“So tell me, what did you think of Dagny?” he asked when I’d finished.
“I really like her. She’s very impressive.”
“I’m sure you realize that no matter what it says on the organizational chart, Dagny’s the one who’ll be running Superior Plating after Jack steps down.”
“That’s not what she says.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Yesterday she told me that she’s had an offer from Monarch Metals to head their coatings division in Boston. She says that if her father doesn’t agree to buy out Lydia, she’s going to take it.”
Daniel’s face was lit up by an enormous grin. “I told you she’s as tough as her old man.”
“Philip came to see me this morning.”
“And?”
“I don’t think he likes me.”
“Don’t take it personally. Philip doesn’t like anybody. You impressed the hell out of Jack, though. He said that you drank bourbon with him in the middle of the day. He said it showed that you had balls.”
“Just what I’ve always wanted.”
“So what did you make of Peaches?”
“I’m not sure. I only spoke to her for a minute. But I guess I expected Jack to be married to someone closer to his own age. What do his children think of her?”
“They hate her, naturally.”
“Why naturally?”
“Don’t be naive, Kate. Second wives are like dynamite—an inherently explosive commodity. None of the Cavanaugh children can stand her. Philip thinks that she’s a gold digger and is terrified that Jack’s going to die and leave her all his money.”
“Is he?”
“No. Peaches comes from a very wealthy family herself. I don’t think Jack feels any pressure to provide for her after he’s gone. Besides, he’s obsessed with the idea of his children running the company together after he dies. I can’t imagine him not leaving them at least the Superior Plating shares.” _
“Doesn’t Philip realize that?”
“He should. It’s obvious to a boob. But not to be too hard on Philip, I don’t think that Jack’s ever been explicit ! about his testamentary plans. Every couple of years ' Philip manages to get up the nerve to ask his father about it and Jack always tells him the same thing: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.’ ”
“What about Dagny? Does she hate Peaches, too?”
“Not exactly. She just dismisses her as a frivolous 1 twit—which really is not the case.”
“And Eugene? What does he think of his stepmother?”
“First of all, he’d be furious to hear you call Peaches his stepmother. All the Cavanaugh children are very careful to refer to her as their father’s wife. And to answer your question, Eugene in particular doesn’t approve of Peaches. He and his wife are part of a very conservative, almost fundamentalist movement in the Catholic church. Eugene believes that the Bible is explicit in spelling out women’s proper role in the world. Suffice it to say, Peaches doesn’t exactly fit in with that.”
“He and the dead secretary didn’t get along, I’ll tell you that,” I said, describing the scene between them by the plating
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