Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Give Them What They Want Part Two-May 1921

"Miss Clara Thompson is here to see you," Mary announced as Leander Whitlock sat down at his desk.

Leander stared at his maid. What could Thompson's daughter possibly be doing here? Thompson's daughter, he remembered, but she and Darmody considered themselves siblings. Couldn't be a coincidence the girl was here now, after the morning he'd had.

"Show her in," he instructed.

Clara looked around the house as she was shown in. Very Victorian, she thought, and she'd love to take down the velvet curtains and apply white paint throughout. But it was the home of a cultivated and civilized man, she decided, looking at the paintings and books.The lack of horrific decor choices already made him the best of the Yacht Club men in her mind.

"Clara, what an unexpected surprise," he said, taking her hand. "What brings you here?"

"I find myself in need of a lawyer."

What an unexpected answer, Leander thought. What an unexpected morning.

"Your father has attorneys."

Clara smoothed her skirt. "My best interest, my priorities, and my father's don't always align."

He stood and moved to the bar cart. "What's your pleasure?"

"Oh, I..."

"If you are grown-up enough to hire a lawyer, you are grown-up enough to have a drink with him."

She nodded. "Whiskey and water, please." Clara pulled her checkbook from her bag. "How much is the retainer?"

Leander pushed down a laugh at the idea of little Clara Thompson ready to write him a check. "Twenty dollars."

After she finished writing the check she laid it on his desk and accepted the drink.

"Does this mean we have attorney-client privilege?" Clara asked.

"It does. Here's to a prosperous relationship," he said as they clinked glasses.

"Did you know that Jackson Parkhurst was scalped last night?" he asked. Parkhurst wasn't one of the girl's favorites, he knew. He remembered the Easter dinner where Clara looked like she was going attack him across the table.

"I know from my own grandfather how sometimes the elderly can have the most unlikely accidents. It's amazing the damage a fall can do," Clara said levelly, wondering if she was going to have to discuss it with every man in Atlantic City.

"A fall pulled off his scalp?"

Clara looked up at him with large, innocent eyes. "Is that not what happened?"

Leander sighed. "That's what almost everyone will think, yes. After we pay off Jackson's manservant, who has a story about two young men, one with a distinctive face..."

It was slight, but he saw her wince. How interesting.

"We are going to be honest with each other?" he asked, and Clara nodded.

"The relationship between Jimmy and his mother..."

"If Gillian wasn't whispering in his ear I'd sleep better at night," Clara said. "Jimmy is smart, and brave. One day he's going to be a great leader. But he needs good advice, sound advice, and Gillian's own...desires interfere."

"And what are your goals that don't align with your father's?" he asked.

"Well, I want to be successful. On my own. I have a new contract from the Stratemeyer Syndicate for my next books and I thought it would be a good idea to have a lawyer look at it before I signed it. I also think I'll have to file taxes next year, and I'm not sure I'm keeping my records correctly." Clara retrieved her papers from her bag.