The Wager

“Katherine already has her hands full running the Regent. And before you suggest Alison, it’s out of the question. She has enough on her plate taking care of her daughter and helping her sister.”

“And Mitch isn’t an option,” Josh added, referring to Olivia’s grandson.

“Mitchell made it clear years ago that he wasn’t interested in the hotel business. Besides, it appears his security business is doing quite nicely.”

“That leaves Adrienne.”

“My daughter-in-law would be the first one to tell you that she’s far too busy with her charities and social functions to even consider working at the hotel, let alone trying to manage it,” Olivia informed him.

“The only other Jardine left is you,” Josh pointed out.

She sighed. “And as much as I hate to admit it, I’m getting too old to deal with the daily demands of running the hotel.”

“Which brings us back to my suggestion—bring in an outside manager to get the hotel back on its feet before you sell it to me. It’s your only option.”

“Not necessarily,” Olivia told him. “There is another alternative—one that would keep operation of the Princess in Jardine hands.”

His curiosity piqued, Josh couldn’t shake the feeling that the old gal was up to something that he wasn’t going to like. “Do you intend to tell me who this mysterious Jardine relative is, or am I supposed to guess?”

“My granddaughter. Or I suppose I should say, my other granddaughter.”

“All right. You’ve got my attention, Duchess,” Josh said. “You care to explain that?”

“It’s quite simple. I have a fourth grandchild.”

Before Josh had time to recover from the shock of that statement, Olivia continued, “Recently I learned that Andrew has another child. A daughter, the result of a…a liaison that Andrew had with a young nurse in San Diego before his marriage to Adrienne.”

Speechless, Josh could only stare at her. A Jardine with a child out of wedlock? While the rest of the world might have entered the new millennium, in this tight-knit corner of the South the moral climate remained stalled in another century—particularly when it concerned a member of one of the city’s most prominent families. The social mores simply didn’t allow for an admission to anything as potentially scandalous as the existence of a love child. And while, personally, he didn’t give a damn what the city’s holier-than-thou upper-crust members thought or wrote about him in their gossip columns, Olivia Jardine did care. She always had. A member of the city’s old guard, she lived by a different set of rules. So did most people in her circle. And Olivia had always insisted her family toe the line of responsibility that came with their good name. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t expect you to say anything. For now, I’d just like you to listen.”

But as he listened, Josh couldn’t figure out why on earth Olivia had decided to tell him about what must surely be a great embarrassment for her. Nor could he believe that she could seriously be considering bringing this supposed granddaughter into the family fold.

“The girl’s name is Laura Harte. She’s twenty-eight and lives in San Francisco. She works for a hotel there as an assistant general manager.”

“She’s in the hotel business?” Josh asked, and wondered at the odds of Olivia’s illegitimate grandchild being in the same field of business. More than likely, the girl had been steered into that particular career direction by a clever mother with eyes on the Jardine fortune, he decided. Otherwise, he’d have to chalk up the ironic twist of fate as a coincidence. And he didn’t believe in coincidences.

“I understand your reaction. I had a similar one when I first heard,” she explained, evidently detecting his skepticism. “That’s why I hired a private investigator and had her checked out. Here’s a copy of the report.”

Intrigued and still unsure why Olivia was telling him all this, Josh picked up the file she’d slid across the table. Opening it, he shuffled through the paperwork. Quickly he scanned the detective reports, birth certificate, old school and employment records. But when he came to the photograph, he paused. With four beautiful sisters and a healthy appreciation for the feminine gender in general, he was no stranger to striking women and had been involved with more than a few.

Laura Harte was definitely a striking woman.

It was her hair, he reasoned. The color of a summer sunset—dark flame shot with gold. The wild color seemed at odds with the no-nonsense style she’d chosen. And there was something about the angle of that stubborn chin that reminded him of Olivia. So did that in-your-face confidence he read in her blue eyes. Then there was her mouth. It was too wide for her narrow face, he reasoned. But her smile…her smile was part siren, part angel, he decided, and felt the inexplicable tug of desire. This was crazy, he told himself, whooshing out a breath as he dropped the folder back onto the table top. Definitely not his type. He liked petite blondes with curves—not tall, skinny redheads.

“The girl lost her mother a couple of months ago,” Olivia told him. “According to the information I received, she’s only recently learned the truth about who her father was.”

“It’s an interesting story and I’m glad that you felt you could share it with me. You have my word that I won’t say anything.”

“I never thought you would. But sooner or later, the word will get out.”

“Not from me,” Josh assured her. “But what I don’t understand is why you told me? You’ve apparently already made up your mind to have this Laura Harte take over operation of the Princess.”

“I told you because I need you,” Olivia informed him, an odd note in her voice. “In fact, my entire plan hinges on you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I need you to go to San Francisco and meet with my granddaughter and convince her to come to New Orleans to meet her father’s family.”

Caught off guard by the request, Josh asked, “But why me? I mean, it would seem more appropriate to send a family member. Maybe Mitch or Katie or even Alison? After all, this woman is their sister.”

“Half sister,” Olivia corrected him. “They don’t even know the girl exists yet. And when they find out, I’m not sure they’ll welcome the news.”

She was probably right, Josh realized. As Olivia’s heirs, the Jardine siblings stood to inherit a fortune. Regardless of how sizable the inheritance, the sudden appearance of another sister would mean a cut in the others’ shares. Josh took another swallow of his brandy, felt the smooth heat at the back of his throat and tried to imagine how he would feel if he were Mitch, Katie or Alison. How would he feel if he were to learn that he had another sister who was the result of an affair his father had had years before with another woman? Try as he might, the idea refused to compute. Probably because he still had both of his parents, and they were clearly in love with each other. On the other hand, the Jardine trio had lost their father years ago. Knowing how much they had all worshiped the man, Josh suspected the news that their father had had feet of clay would not be welcome—especially not by Katie. Of Andrew’s three children, Katie had been the one closest to her father. “When do you plan to tell them?”

“When the time is right. In the meantime, I need you to go to San Francisco and convince Laura to come to New Orleans.”

Josh shook his head. “You don’t need me, Duchess. Considering the state’s forced heirship laws, this Laura Harte stands to inherit a fortune as your granddaughter someday, as well as a portion of her father’s estate. My guess is one phone call from you telling her that will be all the convincing that she’ll need.”

“I did call her, and the girl informed me that she’d been well provided for in her mother’s will and that she had no need or interest in the Jardine money. She also said she had no interest in meeting me or in establishing any type of relationship with her father’s other children.”

“Obviously she’s not nearly as bright as those reports indicated.”

“Or perhaps she’s smart enough to realize that material wealth isn’t nearly as important as most people believe.”

For a moment Josh thought he saw pain flicker in Olivia’s eyes. Despite the headaches this woman’s refusal to sell the Princess had caused him over the years, he couldn’t help but feel sad for her. Growing up in a family far less reserved than the Jardines, Josh didn’t stop to consider his action. He simply reached across the desk and squeezed Olivia’s fingers. “Whatever her reasons for refusing, the loss is hers, Duchess. She could have learned a great deal from you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, and withdrew her hand. She straightened her shoulders, her expression as stern as her voice, then said, “But I have no intention of accepting her refusal. That’s why I’m sending you to San Francisco, so you can convince her to come.”

Josh shook his head. “Count me out, Duchess. This is a family matter. I’m not about to get involved. Maybe you can send one of your attorneys and let him or her explain to Miss Harte exactly what it is she’s saying no to.”

“I want you to go, Joshua.”

“Duchess—”

“I want your opinion of the girl.”

“Why? It looks to me like you’ve already checked her out thoroughly,” he told her, motioning to the file folder.

She dismissed the report with a wave of her hand. “I’m not interested in the opinion of some overpriced detective or lawyer who will candy-coat things and tell me what they think I want to hear.” She leaned forward. “I want your opinion.”

“I appreciate your confidence in me,” he said, and meant it. “But I don’t see what my meeting her could possibly tell you that you don’t already know.”

“Modesty doesn’t suit you any better than it did your grandfather, Joshua. I’ve heard you have very good instincts when it comes to people. I want to know if my granddaughter has inherited more than the Jardine eyes. I want to know if she’s got the grit of a Jardine and can be trusted with the Princess.”

Because he didn’t know what to say, Josh remained silent.

“Will you do it? Will you go to San Francisco and convince Laura to come to New Orleans?”