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you really planning to sell the Fortune family home?” She continued to knit without looking at her work. She was staring at Teddy. He stroked the arms of his chair as if it were a friend from whom he would soon be parting.
    â€œWhat choice do we have?” he asked. He was haggard and I had never seen him look that way, except during the few months after my mother died.
    I couldn’t believe that Teddy would think of selling the house. It had been Euphemia’s house. It was a house that gave him status, that defined us as a family. It was the best of what we had.
    â€œYou could rent it out,” Littleton said.
    â€œOver time, you could rebuild your capital,” Priscilla added.
    â€œWhat would people think?” Teddy asked. He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on the top of his folded hands.
    â€œNo one would have to know that it wasn’t your choice. You could make it seem like it was your idea. After all, your girls are grown and this is such a big house. And there’s the place on the Vineyard. You could sell that,” Littleton said.
    â€œBut, Littleton, they always rent the Vineyard house out in the winter,” Priscilla said. “It pays for itself. I think they can only gain by keeping the Vineyard house. Besides, they’ll need somewhere to live in the summer,” Priscilla said.
    â€œWhat about the charitable trust?” Miranda asked.
    â€œWhat about it,” Priscilla said.
    â€œI don’t see how we can keep giving charity when we don’t have any money of our own. Can’t we break the trust?”
    â€œNo, dear.” Priscilla bit at the inside of her cheek. “There is no provision in the trust that says ‘If my progeny should be such spendthrifts that they run through all the family money in one generation, you can break the charitable trust.’”
    â€œYou don’t have to be nasty about it. It was just a question,” Miranda said. “Still, I don’t understand why it isn’t possible.” She raised her head and stuck out her chin in a combative way.
    I shifted in my seat. If the trust were breakable, what would that mean for the work I did? Would we just shut down our office in Kenmore Square and cease to be? Now that we were a known entity, maybe I could raise money. But I had never raised money for anything before, not even for a cup of coffee. Money had never been a problem. The foundation was well endowed and I had used the money carefully, making sure—with the help of the bankers—to continuously grow the capital.
    Littleton broke in. “Priscilla’s right,” he said. “There is no provision for breaking the trust. I checked. Besides, your family name is associated with it. You’ve done some good in the community through it. You wouldn’t want to jeopardize that.”
    He acted as if the Fortune Family Foundation did the work all by itself, as if the money jumped up and spread itself all over Boston. But there was someone behind it, making the choices and writing the checks, andthat someone was me. I couldn’t lose the foundation. I had taken it from near obscurity to a position of respect among the other great foundations for the arts.
    Miranda stood up. It looked like she was ready to have the kind of tantrum she so often had as a child, but before she could do anything other than stamp a foot, she sat back down. Tantrums don’t look good on anyone, and even she knew that they looked ridiculous on a woman who was almost forty.
    â€œNo Christmas party. I won’t be able to show my face,” she said.
    â€œIt will be easier if your face isn’t here,” Pris said.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œLittleton and I think that the best place for the family this winter is Palm Beach. You can get a lovely apartment there with the money you get for renting this house and you’ll still have plenty left over.”
    â€œThe Fortunes are