Read Online By The Sea, Book Four: The Heirs by Antoinette Stockenberg - Free Book Online Page A

She had taken
extreme care to hide the fading bruise on her chin under makeup,
not so much out of vanity as from a sense of embarrassment that
Delgado had landed such a clean punch. She was as nearly incognito
as a woman with dazzling skin who stands five feet nine inches tall
can be.
    The magnified thump of a finger being tapped
against a hot mike told Mavis that the press conference was about
to begin. Boisterous exchanges died to excited chatter and finally
faded to a subdued murmur as the Chairman of the U.S. Selection
Committee made a few introductory remarks. Mavis scanned the hall
and found six or seven of the Shadow crew gathered in a
small knot near the front, looking glum.
    Mavis knew what was coming, of course. So
did just about everyone else in the Armory, but that didn't stop
them—and her—from staring with unconcealed expectation at the
dark-haired skipper who sat stonily behind the podium, about to
read his statement.
    "Mr. Chairman, members of the press, ladies
and gentlemen," Alan Seton began in a voice resonant with
self-control. "It must be obvious to most of you why I've called
this press conference. Four days ago my wife, because of her
involvement in a tragic accident, chose to ... take her own life.
It came as a severe shock to me, and now I don't think I can summon
the intense, total concentration needed to compete seriously for
the right to defend the America's Cup."
    An electric murmur generated through the
crowd. Mavis couldn't see the crew any longer, but it took little
imagination to picture the bowed heads, the inevitable sadness.
    "I know that my superb crew, despite their
deep sympathy for my situation, could nonetheless rally and turn in
the flawless performance that has characterized their effort during
the last fourteen months of constant, grueling practice. I know they can, but I am sorry to say, I simply ... cannot. And—at
the risk of sounding arrogant—I'm the one who must steer the boat.
It would be counterproductive, not only for me but for my crew, to
continue on with a dispirited performance."
    He was arrogant, Mavis thought,
damned arrogant. But he was certainly right.
    "The distractions," Seton explained, "are
constant. There is the ongoing investigation into my wife's death,
questions about her victimization in a recent jewel theft—"
    Mavis winced and pulled the visor down
further over her face. Did he have to be so blessed forthcoming?
That was no one else's business.
    "—and of course, questions about the
terrible accident in which she has been proved to be involved. None
of these questions will end soon," he said wearily, "and of course
they should not, since the issues involved are great. In my own
life there had been, up until last week, only one issue: whether
the Shadow campaign would be successful in its attempt to
win the right to defend the world's most sought-after trophy. But
my life is not my own any longer," he added, and Mavis thought she
saw pained surprise in his face, as though, seeing the avidly
curious crowd before him, he was realizing it for the first
time.
    "I will now entertain questions from the
press, and then, after today, I shall have no further comment."
    Mavis was impressed. Questions from the
press! They'd tear him apart. How naive, she wondered, can one man
be?
    There was a wild scramble among the
reporters to be recognized. With a look of grim determination Seton
acknowledged a short, slightly built reporter who was notorious for
his aggressive questions.
    "Alan," the reporter began, "isn't it true
that your campaign was on its last legs financially? And that now
would be an opportune time to withdraw in any event?"
    For a moment Seton looked blank; if he had
been warned to expect the question, he showed no sign of it. "It
never occurred to me," he answered, "to withdraw for financial
reasons. If I'd run completely out of money—which I did not—I'd
simply expand the syndicate—which I saw no need to." He shifted his
attention to another