Perfect Scoundrels

She wished she’d created a cover, a purpose. Because the role of uninvited girlfriend absolutely didn’t suit her.



“Well, you look…nervous.”



“No, I’m not nervous. I’m just…looking for someone.”



If possible, the girl studied her even more closely. She cocked her hip and eyed Kat from head to toe, and in her presence, Kat had never felt more like an outsider, a party crasher, the proverbial thief in the night.



She was just beginning to plan her escape, when the girl said, “You’re cute. Who are you?”



“Kat.”



“Cool.” The girl wrapped her arm through Kat’s. “Come on, Cute Kat, we can look together. I’ll give you the tour.”



Walking arm and arm through the big living room, Kat expected to hear about the history of the house, maybe the story of the Ming vase by the window. She was surprised to see the girl gesture to a woman and three children sitting near the fireplace, then say, “On our left we have the West Coast Hales.”



Kat glanced at the foursome. The woman was too thin—her face too tight. Kat was about to ask what was wrong with her when the girl shrugged and said, “Hazel’s baby girl thought she’d be a movie star, but instead she married some struggling producer who did nothing but try to get his wife to bankroll movies.” She sighed. “She hadn’t seen her mother in six years, but she’s here now.”



They walked through the foyer, and Kat’s guide jerked her head in the direction of a short man standing on the bottom step.



“Ezekiel Hale,” the girl whispered. “He’s part of the European branch; tells everyone he races Formula One cars, but really he’s just a gambler. A bad one.”



There was a distant cousin who had bought (and lost) a sheep ranch in Australia, a son-in-law who had served time for crimes no one ever mentioned (insider trading), and a son who had shamed everyone by choosing Cambridge over Oxford.



By Kat’s count, there were five branches, six divorces, and nine pending lawsuits.



Uncle Joseph didn’t speak to Cousin Isabel. Great-great-uncle George’s descendants adamantly refused to be in the same room as the children of Aunt Margaret. And everyone thought Alfonzo Hale (a cousin whose mother was an Italian heiress) really needed to get a new toupee.



“And I thought my family was crazy,” Kat whispered.



“What?”



“Oh, nothing.” Kat squeezed against the wall to let a woman pass (Georgette, granddaughter of George). “How do you know all this?”



“Maybe I’m a spy.”



Kat smiled but didn’t reply, so the girl shrugged. “Let’s just say, if you’re young enough and female enough, you wouldn’t believe what people will say around you.”



“Yeah. I think I would,” Kat said just as they returned to the room where the tour had begun.



The people still ate and drank and clamored on about things like dividends and capital reinvestment, and something about the day felt off—almost like Hazel’s Monet was not the only forgery in the room.



“Nobody seems…sad,” Kat finally realized.



“Oh, they aren’t sad. They’re freaked.”



“Why?”



“Hazel was a nice old lady, don’t get me wrong, but word at the dessert tray is that the company isn’t doing so hot.”



“It’s not?” Kat asked.



“We’ll find Scooter; he’ll know all the gossip.”



“Who’s Scooter?” Kat said just as the girl stopped. And pointed.



“He is.”



Kat followed her stare.



And whispered, “Hale.”



Chapter 5



Hale stood alone in the crowded room, gazing up at the painting that hung above the fireplace. Kat remembered the look in his eyes when she’d told him it was a fake, the way he had come alive. She tried to compare the boy in the Superman pajamas to the young man in the dark suit, but whatever spark had been lit the night they’d met had gone out. She tried not to think that his rightful owners had somehow tracked him down and stolen him back.



“Hey, Scoot.”



The redheaded girl stepped toward him.



“Nat!”



Hale smiled and threw his arms around her, and it was like he didn’t notice Kat at all. And maybe he didn’t, because he just asked the other girl, “What are you doing here?”



“What do you think?” she challenged. “Dad told me about Hazel.”



“But…I thought you were in Switzerland.”



Kat watched the girl tilt her head and choose her words. “Switzerland didn’t exactly work out. Neither did France. Or Norway.”



“Three schools?” Hale asked.



“Well, technically, five schools—three countries.”



“Impressive,” Hale said with a nod, and Kat honestly thought he meant it.



The girl reached to straighten Hale’s tie. “It’s good to see you, Scoot.”



“You too,” Hale told her, and Kat didn’t know what to make of this girl who was calling him Scoot and straightening his tie and making him smile.



“Sorry! I’m so rude,” the girl said. “I have to introduce you to my new friend, Kat. Kat is—”



“Oh, I know who Kat is,” he said.



Kat just whispered, “Scooter?”



“So you two do know each other.” Natalie crossed her arms and eyed Kat with new interest.



“Natalie’s an old friend,” Hale explained. “And, Nat, Kat is…”



“New,” Kat said. “I guess I’m the new friend.”



“I didn’t know you were coming,” he told her.



“Surprise,” Kat tried, but Hale didn’t look amused. “So, how do you two know each other?” she asked.



“My dad’s the family lawyer,” Natalie explained. “Before him, my grandfather was the family lawyer. And before him…well…you get the picture. So I was kind of always around. Scooter here took pity on me, made friends with the help. He always was the family rebel.” She intertwined her arm into his and pulled him closer.



“You say rebel. They say massive disappointment.…”



“You know, I was just thinking about the time with the good china and—”



“Aunt Olivia’s Pekingese,” Hale said, then broke into laughter. Natalie joined in. And Kat kept on standing there watching, utterly on the outside of the joke.



“So, Natalie,” Kat said, “are you back in the States for good?”



“I don’t know. Maybe.” Natalie shrugged and changed the subject. “What about you two? How’d you meet?”



Kat couldn’t help herself. She glanced at the painting above the fireplace, but Hale seemed immune to nostalgia.



“Oh, you know,” he said. “Around.”



“Cool.” Natalie shifted on her heels. Then her eyes locked on a point over Hale’s shoulder as a voice rang out. “Scooter!”



“And that’s my cue,” Natalie said, her eyes wide. “Scoot, I’ll see you around. Kat, it’s been rad.” The girl turned and disappeared into the mourners and out into the garden, before Kat even had a chance to say good-bye.



“Scooter, there you are.” A woman was pushing her way through the crowd and toward Hale. She flicked a piece of lint off of his shoulder and told him, “You’re as bad as Marianne. Where is she, by the way?”



“I imagine she’s taking the afternoon off.” Hale’s voice was cold. “To mourn.”



If the woman had noticed Hale’s pointed tone, she didn’t show it. Instead, she shifted her attention off of Hale and his nonexistent lint and onto the girl beside him. She looked at Kat’s hair, her dress, her shoes, all within a span of a second, deftly taking in everything about her.



“Scooter…” the woman said, drawing out the word, “aren’t you going to introduce me?”



“Hello,” Kat said, extending her hand. “I’m Hale’s—”



“Friend,” Hale said. “A friend of mine. From Knightsbury.”



“Oh. How nice.” But the woman didn’t sound like she thought it was nice. She kept eyeing Kat, looking her up and down. “Where do you call home, dear?”



“Oh.” Kat looked nervously at Hale.



“Kat was raised in Europe,” he told the woman. “But she lives here now.”



“I see,” the woman said. “And how do you find Knightsbury?”



“It’s better than Colgan,” Kat said, knowing that all good lies have their roots in the truth.



“That’s what Scooter says.” The woman looked at Hale. “Scooter, your father needs us in the study. It’s almost time. Say good-bye to your friend.”



“Yes, Mother,” Hale said, and the woman walked away. He watched her go, and seemed utterly lost in thought until Kat slapped his arm.



“Mother?” Kat gasped. “That was your mother!”



He took her arm and whispered, “You’ve got to go, Kat.”



“I just got here. I thought that I should…you know…be here for you.”



“They’re going to read the will.”



“They do that at the memorial service?”



“When control of Hale Industries hangs in the balance they do. The business is…complicated.”



“I see.”



“You don’t want to be here when all these vultures start circling.” He looked out at the people in the room—at his family. “Go on, Kat. I’ll be fine,” Hale said, but something in his words rang false to Kat; she wondered exactly who he was trying to con.



“It sounds like your grandmother was an amazing woman, Hale.” She thought about Silas Foster and Hazel’s fake Monet. “I wish I’d known her. I’m sure everyone just really wants to say good-bye. Hale”—she took his hand—“it’s not about the money.”



Then for the first time Kat could remember, Hale looked at her like she was a fool.



“It’s always about the money.”



Even before he moved, Kat could feel him slipping away. “Why didn’t you tell me she was sick, Hale? I could have—”



“What, Kat?” Hale snapped, then lowered his voice. “What could we have done? Stolen something? Conned someone? Trust me, there was nothing anyone could do. She didn’t even want to live anymore.”



“I’m sure that’s not true.”



“Of course it’s true. The doctors said she could have recovered, but she had a Do Not Resuscitate order. She could have hung on for years, but she wanted to…leave.”



“Hey, Scooter,” Natalie said, reappearing. “Dad told me to find you. They’re getting ready to start.”



“Okay,” Hale said. “Thanks again for coming, Kat,” he told her.



“Hale,” Kat said, stopping him. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”



She meant it. She really did. But watching him walk away, Kat felt like maybe she was the person who had lost something. Hale was always well groomed and well dressed, but that day his hair was parted just so. His cuff links bore the family crest. He didn’t look like the Hale who helped himself to heaping bowls of soup in Uncle Eddie’s kitchen. He looked like the Hale who belonged to that room, that house.