The Prodigal Daughter (38 page)

“The Baron Group
should donate two million dollars a year to the foundation,” she said.

“Spending only
the income, never the capital,” he interjected.

Fiorentyna
closed the bathroom door, which gave Richard a few moments to consider her
proposal. He could still be surprised by hor bold, sweeping approach to any new
venture, even if, as he suspected, she had not thought through who would handle
the day-to-day administration of such a vast enterprise once it had taken off.
He smiled to himself when the bathroom dooi reopened.

“We could spend
the income derived from such a trust on first-generation immigrants who are not
getting the chance of a decent education.”

“And also create
scholarships for exceptionally gifted children whatever their background,” said
Richard, getting out of bed.

“Brilliant, Mr.
Kane, and let us hope that occasionally the same person will qualify for both.”

“You father
would have,” said Richard as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Thaddeus Cohen
insisted on coming out of retirement to draw up the deeds of the foundation to
cover the wishes of both Kanes. It took him over a month. When the trust fund
was launched, the national press welcomed the financial commitment as another
example of how Richard and Florentyna Kane were ablu to combine bold
originality with common sense.

A reporter from
the Chicago Sun-Times phoned Thaddeus Cohen to inquire why the foundation was
so named. Cohen explained that the choice of “Remagen” arose because it was the
battlefield on which Colonel Rosnovski had unknowingly saved the life of
Captain Kane.

“I had no idea
they had met on a battlefield,” said a young voice.

“Neither did
they
,” said Thaddeus Cohen. “It was only discovered aftt
,~
r their deaths.”

“Fascinating.
Tell me, Mr.
Cohen, who is going to be the first director of the Remagen Foundation?”

“Professor Luigi
Ferpozzi.”

Both Lester’s
Bank and the Baron Group set new records the following year as Richard
established himself as a force on Wall Street and Florentyna visited her hotels
in the Middle East and Africa. King Erobo held a banquet in Florentyna’s honor
when she arrived in Nambawe, and although she promised to build a hotel in the
capital city she wouldn’t be drawn into an explanation of why Lester’s had not
been among the banks involved with the king’s latest international loan.

William had a
good first year at St. Paul’s, showing the same flair for math which his father
had before him. As they had been taught by the same master, both father and son
avoided asking for any comparison. Annabel did not progress as quickly as
William, ~lthough her teacher had to admit she had improved even if she had
fallen in love with Bob Dylan.

“Who’s he’?”
asked Florentyna.

“I don’t know,”
said Richard, “but I’m told he’s doing for Annabel what Sinatra did for you
twenty-five years ago.”

When Florentyna
started her sixth year as chairman of the Group she found she was beginning to
repeat herself. Richard seemed to find new challenges
a the
time, while Gianni di Ferranti appeared to be well in control of the chain of
shops without bothering to ask her anything other than where to send the
checks. The Baron Group was now so efficient, and her management team so
competent, that no one showed a great deal of concern one morning when
Florentyna didn’t come into the office.

That evening,
when Richard was sitting in the crimson leather chair by the fire reading The
Billion Dollar Sure Thing, she expressed her thoughts out loud.

I’ll m bored.”

Richard made no
comment.

“It’s time I did
something with my life other than build on my father’s achievements,” she
added.

Richard smiled but
didn’t look up from his book.

25

“YOU’RE ALLOWED
-I HREE GUESSES who this is.”

“Am I given any
clues?” asked Florentyna, annoyed that she knew the voice but couldn’t quite
place it.

“Good-looking,
intelligent and a national idol.”

“Paul
NeA
man.”

“Feeble.
J ry again.”

“Robert
Redford. “

“Worse
still.
One more chance.”

“I need another
clue.”

“Appalli%,
at French, not much better at English and still in love with you.”

“Edward. Edward
Winchester. A voice from the past-only you don’t sound as if you’ve changed a
bit.”

“Wishful
thinking.
I’m over forty, and by the way, so will you be next year.”

“How can I be
when I’m only twenty-four this year?”

“What,
again?”

“No, I have been
on ice for the last fifteen years.”

“Not from what
I’ve read about you. You go from strength to strength. “

“And
how about you?”

“I’m a partner
in a law firm in Chicago, Winston and Strawn.”

“Married’?”

“No, I’ve
decided to wait for you.”

Florentyna
laughed. “If you’ve taken this long to phone and propose, I should warn you
that I’ve been married for fifteen years and I have a son of fourteen and a
daughter of twelve.”

“All right then,
I won’t propose, but I would like to see you. It’s a private matter.”

237

238 THE NODIGAL
DAUCHnR

“A
private matter?
Sounds intriguing,” “If I were to fly to New York one day next week, would you
have lunch with me?”

“I’d enjoy
that.” Florentyna flicked over the pages of her calendar.
“How
about next Tuesday?”

“Suits me
Shall
we say the Four Seasons, one o’clock?”

“I’ll be there.”

Florentyna put down
the phone and sat back in her chair. Other than Christmas cards and the odd
letter, she hadn’t had much contact with Edward for sixteen years. She walked
across to the mirror and studied herself. A few small lines were beginning to
appear around the eyes and mouth. She turned sideways to confirm that she had
kept her slim figure.

She didn’t feel
old. There was no denying that she had a daughter who could already make young
men stop in the street for a second glance, and a teenage son she now had to
look up to. It wasn’t fair; Richard didn’t look forty: a few white tufts
appearing at the sides of the temples and the hair perhaps a shade thinner than
it had been, but he was every bit as slim and vigorotts as the day they had
met. She admired the fact that he still found time to play squash at the
Harvard Club twice a week and practice the cello most weekends. Edward’s phone
call made her think of middle age for the first time; how morbid. She would be
thinking of death next. Thaddeus Cohen had died the previous year~ only Kate
Kane and Zaphia remained of that generation.

Florentyna tried
to touch her toes and couldn’t, so she returned to the monthly statements of
the Baron Group for reassurance. London was still not paying its way, even
though the hotel occupied one of the finest sites in Mayfair. Somehow the
English seemed to combine impossible wage demands with high unemployment and
staff shortages all at the same time.

In Riyadh they
had had to clear out almost the entire management because of theft, and in
Poland the government would still not allow the Group to take any exchangeable
currency out of the country. But despite these minor problems, all of which
could be ironed out by her management team, the company was in good shape.

Florentyna had
confidently assured Richard that the Baron Group profits would be over
forty-one million for 1974, whereas Lester’s would be lucky to touch eighteen
million. Richard, however, had predicted that Lester’s profits would pass the
Baron Group’s by 1974. She feigned disdain but knew that when it came to
financial forecasts he was rarely wrong.

The Present:
1968-1982 239

Her thoughts
floated back to Edward when the phone rang. Gianni di Ferranti wondered if she
would like to see his new collection for the Paris show, which put her old
classmate out of her mind uivil one o’clock the following Tuesday.

Florentyna
arrived at the Four Seasons a few minutes after one, wearing one of Gianni’s
new dresses in midi-length bottlegreen silk with a sleeveless jacket over it.
She wondered if she would still recognize Edward. She walked up the wide
staircase to find him waiting for her on the top step. She privately hoped she
had aged as well as he had.

“Edward,” she
cried, “you haven’t changed a bit.” He laughed. “No, no,” mocked Florentyna,
“I’ve always liked gray hair and the ex1ra weight suits you. I wouldn’t expect
anything less of a distinguished lawyer from my home town.”

He kissed her on
both cheeks like a French general and then she put her ann through his and they
followed the maitre d’ through to their table.

A bottle of
champagne awaited them.

“Champagnt~.
How lovely.
What are we celebrating?”

“Just being with
you again, my dear.” Edward noticed that Florentyna secined to he lost in
th~
ught. “Is something wrong?” he inquired.

“No. I was just
remembefing myself sitting on the floor at Girls Latin, crying, while you tore
the arm off Franklin D. Roosevelt and then poured royal-blue ink over his
head.”

“You deson
,ed
it-you were a dreadful little show-off. FDR didn’t. Poor
little bear, is he still around?”

“Oh, yes. He’s
taken up residence in my daughter’s bedroom and as he has managed to keep his
remaining arm and both legs I can only reluctantly conclude that Annabel
handles young men better than I did.”

Edward laughed.
“Shall we order’? I have so much to talk to you about.

It’s been fun
following your career on the television and in the papers, but I wanted to see
if you’ve changed.”

Florentyna
ordered sairrion and a salad while Edward chose the prime fib with asparagus.

“I’m intrigued.”

“By what?” asked
Edward.

“Why a Chicago
lawyer would fly all the way to New York just to see an hotelier.”

“I do not come
as a Chicago lawyer and I have no interest in taWng to an hotelier. I come as
treasurer of the Cook County Democratic Party. “

“I gave one
hundred thousand dollars to the Chicago Democrats last year,” said Florentyna.
“Mind you, Richard donated one hundred thousand to the New York Republicans.”

“I don’t want
your money,
Florentyna,
although I know you have
supported the Ninth District at every election. It’s you I want.”

“That’s a new
line,” she said, grinning. “Men have stopped saying that to me lately. You
know, Edward,” she continued, her tone changing, “I’ve been so overworked
during the last few
years,
I’ve barely had time to vote,
let alone become personally involved. What’s more, since Watergate I found
Nixon detestable, Agnew worse, and with Muskie a nonrunner, I was only left
with George McGovern, who didn’t exactly inspire me.”

“But surely-”

“I also have a husband,
two young children and a five hundred million dollar company to run.”

“And what are
you going to do for the next.twenty years?”

She smiled to
herself. “Turn it into a billion dollar company.”

“In other words,
just repeat yourself. I agree with you that McGovern and Nixon-one was too good
and the other too bad-and I don’t see anyone on the horizon
who
excites me.”

“So now you want
me to run for President in ‘seventy-six?”

“No,
I Aant you to run for Congress as the representative of the Ninth District of
Illinois.”

Florentyna
dropped her fork. “If I remember the job specification coiTectly, it’s an
eighteen-hour day, forty-two thousand five hundred dollars a year, no family
life, and your constituents are allowed to be as rude to you as they like, Worst
of all, you are required to live in the Ninth District of Illinois.”

“That wouldn’t
be so bad. The Baron is in the Ninth District, and besides, it’s just a
stepping-stone,” “To what?”

“To
the Senate.”

“When
the whole state can be rude to you.”

“And
then the Presidency.”

“When
the rest of the world can join in.
Edward, this is not Girls Latin and I
don’t have two lives, one which can run my hotels and one-”

“And one in
which you can give back some of what you have taken from others.”

“That was a bit
rough, Edward.”