"And the partnership with Sam?" She looked suddenly worried and he grinned boyishly. She knew how much his a.s.sociation with Sam Horowitz meant to him too, and she wanted him to have both. He deserved it.

"Helen said the same thing you did, and so did Sam. I talked it out with both of them, and Sam said I was crazy. He knew I was marrying Helen because I loved her, and he still wants me to be his partner." He beamed and Edwina shouted with glee.

"Hurray! When are you two getting married?" It was June then, and Helen had insisted that she needed time to plan the wedding.

"September. Helen says she couldn't put it together any sooner than that. It's being directed by Cecil B. De Mille," he laughed, "we're hiring four thousand extras." It was going to be a grand wedding in true Hollywood style, but he had never looked as happy. "And the truth is, I came up here to talk to you about something else. I think I'm probably crazy to even consider it, but I want your advice." She was flattered, and excited about his news.

"What is it?"

"We have a movie we've been saving for two years. We wanted just the right person to do it, and no one has turned up. And then Sam had a crazy idea. I don't know, Edwina." He looked deeply worried and she frowned, not understanding what he was getting to as she watched him.

"What do you think about Alexis trying out for our movie?" She was stunned for a moment as he looked at her, they had laughed at the idea of the Fox Productions scout wanting her, and now he wanted the same thing. But at least with her brother in control, Edwina knew that no harm could come to Alexis.

"I know I'm crazy to even consider it. But she's so perfect for the part, and she's been driving me crazy, sending me letters, telling me she wants to be in the movies. And what do I know? Maybe she's right. Maybe she does have talent." He felt torn, but also extremely tempted. And he knew she was perfect for his movie.

"I don't know." Edwina hesitated, thinking about it. "I've been wondering too. She's so desperate to be an actress. But when we were in Los Angeles two months ago, I asked what you thought about Alexis making movies one day and you didn't seem to like the idea then. What's different?" She wanted to be cautious, but she also trusted George.

"I know," he said thoughtfully. "I didn't want her exploited, and I still don't. But maybe if she signs an exclusive with us, we can control it. If," he added, looking ominously at his oldest sister, "we can control her. Do you think she'll behave herself down there?" He was still smarting from the experience of rescuing her from the clutches of Malcolm Stone, and he had no desire to do it again. The drive to Mexico with Edwina was one he would always remember.

"She would if we kept an eye on her. She needs to feel that someone's taking care of her and then she's fine."

He laughed at his sister's words. "She sounds like every other star I've ever met. She'll be perfect."

"When would you want her to start?"

"In a few weeks, by the end of June. And she'd be through by the end of the summer." It was perfect for the children's schedules, Edwina knew, because Alexis had just graduated and the others had already started their summer vacation. And Alexis had no desire to go on to college, few girls did, and she knew Fannie wouldn't either. But if Alexis was finished by the end of August, she could come home in time to get the others back into school in September. Teddy would be starting eighth grade and Fannie still had two more years of high school to finish at Miss Sarah Dix Hamlin's. "It would screw up your plans for Tahoe this year, but you could all go to the Del Coronado for a few days and get some sea air, or Catalina. And you'll have to come down for the wedding anyway." She smiled at the thought. "What do you think? The real question, of course, is not where to spend the summer with the kids, it's whether or not we should expose Alexis to the demands and pressures of making a movie."

Edwina was nodding, thinking about it, as she slowly circled the room and then looked out the window, into the garden. Her mother's rosebushes were still blossoming there, along with all the newer things she herself had planted. And then, slowly, she turned to face her brother.

"I think we ought to let her do it."

"Why?" He wasn't sure himself, which was why he had come to San Francisco to discuss it with Edwina.

"Because she'll never forgive us if we don't."

"She doesn't have to know. We don't have to tell her."

"No," Edwina agreed as she sat down again. "But I think she'd be good at it, and I think she deserves more than San Francisco has to give her. Look how beautiful she is." She smiled proudly at George and he grinned. Edwina sounded like a proud mother hen, but he felt the same way about all of them. "I don't know, George, maybe we'll be sorry one day, but I think we should give her a chance. If she misbehaves, we'll bring her back and lock her up forever." They both laughed at the thought, but then Edwina looked seriously at him. "I think everyone deserves their chance. You did." She smiled.

"And you?" He looked gently at her and she smiled again.

"I've been happy with my life ... let's give her a chance." George watched her and nodded slowly.

And just before dinnertime, they called her in. Alexis had just come in from a trip downtown, shopping with a friend from Miss Hamlin's. Neither she nor her younger sister was an avid student. Edwina, Phillip, and Teddy were the family "brains," according to their father years before, and George had certainly done well in Los Angeles, there was no denying that. With his quick mind and his easy ways, he had fallen into just the right thing, and not for a moment had he ever regretted leaving Harvard.

"Is something wrong?" Alexis looked at them nervously, when they called her in, and all George could think of was how beautiful she was and how perfect she was going to be for their picture.

"Noooo." Edwina smiled gently at her. "George has something to tell you, and I think you're going to like it."

That made it more interesting, and a little less ominous to be called into the front parlor by her older siblings. "You're getting married?" She had guessed, and he nodded and grinned happily at her.

"But that's not what this is all about. Helen and I are getting married in September. But Edwina and I have some plans for you before then." For a moment her face fell, she was sure they were going to send her to some kind of finishing school, and she couldn't think of anything less amusing. "How would you like to come to Los Angeles," he began, and she looked a little more hopeful "... and be in a movie?" She stared at him for a long moment and then she sprang off the couch and ran to put her arms around him.

"Do you mean it?... do you mean it?..." She turned quickly to Edwina then. "... Can I?... can I really?... Oh, will you let me?" She was wild with joy, and George and Edwina were laughing, as she almost strangled him when she hugged and kissed him.

"Alright, alright ..." He pulled himself free of her embrace and then wagged a finger at her. "But I want to tell you something. If it weren't for Edwina, you wouldn't be doing this. I'm not entirely sure I would have let you after your little performance two months ago." Her eyes dropped, as he reminded her of her near disgrace with Malcolm Stone, she was still embarra.s.sed about it, although she defended it to Edwina. "If you pull anything like that again," he went on, "I will lock you up and throw away the key, so you'd better behave yourself this time."

She threw her arms around his neck and attempted to strangle him with grat.i.tude again as he laughed at her. "I promise, George ... I promise I'll be good. And after the movie, will we live in Hollywood?" It was something they hadn't even thought of.

"I think your sister will want to come back here to put Fannie and Teddy back in school."

"Why can't they go to school there?" Alexis asked matter-of-factly, but none of them was prepared to think about all of that yet, and then Alexis had an even better idea, much to George's chagrin. "Why can't I live with you and Helen?"

He groaned at the thought, as Edwina laughed at him. "Because I'd wind up divorced or in jail by Christmas. I don't know how Edwina puts up with all of you. No, you may not live with me and Helen." She looked crestfallen for an instant, and then came up with an even better suggestion.

"If I'm a big star, can I have my own house? Like Pola Negri?... I could have lots of maids, and a butler ... and my own car, just like yours ... and two Irish wolfhounds ..." She had the entire scene set in her mind, and she drifted out of the parlor again as though in a dream, as George smiled and looked ruefully at Edwina.

"We may come to regret this, you know. I told Sam I'd sue him if this picture ruined my sister."

"And what did he say?" Edwina grinned. She didn't know him well, but she liked everything she had heard about George's partner.

"He said that he'd already given to G.o.d and country, and now my sister and his daughter were my problem." But George didn't look as though he minded.

"He sounds like a sensible man." She stood up and got ready to go into dinner.

"He is. He wants to take us all out to dinner when you come to L.A. to celebrate our engagement."

"Now that," she said, kissing him on the cheek as she took his arm, "I approve of."

The children were heartily pleased when she told them at dinner that George and Helen were getting married. And they were all excited at the prospect of another trip to Los Angeles, and they were fascinated at the thought of Alexis's making a movie. Edwina had wondered briefly if Fannie would be jealous in any way, but her sunny little face lit up with delight and she ran around to hug Alexis and ask if she could watch, and then she looked at Edwina worriedly.

"We are coming back here, aren't we? I mean home, to San Francisco." It was all she wanted, all that she loved, the home she had lived in all her life, and her comfortable pursuits there.

"I certainly plan to, Fannie," Edwina said honestly. She thought it a far better plan than Alexis's idea of moving to Hollywood and acquiring Irish wolfhounds.

"Good." She settled down happily in her seat again with a happy smile, as Edwina wondered how children born of the same parents could all be so different.

Chapter 29.

THEY WENT TO LOS ANGELES TWO WEEKS AFTER GEORGE had visited them, and this time they stayed with him. He didn't want Alexis going wild in the hotel again, and he thought that being in his large, rambling house would be easier for Edwina. He rented a car for her use while she was there, and Teddy immediately busied himself riding George's horses. Edwina was watching him ride the next afternoon, when a limousine drove up, and stopped very near her. It was a long black British Rolls, and for a moment, Edwina couldn't tell who was in it. She a.s.sumed it was one of George's friends, perhaps even a lady. But as the liveried chauffeur opened the door and stood back, she saw quickly that it was a huge man. He was tall, with broad shoulders, she saw that he was powerfully built as he stood to his full height in the summer sunshine. He had a mane of white hair, and he had an expectant look as he turned and studied Edwina. Her dark hair was cut short, and she stood looking very slim and tall in a navy blue silk dress that was elegant and discreetly set off her figure. She had been smoking a cigarette while she watched, and now suddenly she felt silly. The man appeared to be studying everything about her, and then suddenly she smiled, realizing who he was. She dropped the cigarette and held out her hand with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. I didn't realize who you were at first. It's Mr. Horowitz, isn't it?" He smiled slowly, watching her. She had poise and charm, and she was a beautiful woman. And he had long since admired her, although he'd only met her once a few years before. But he liked the things George said, and what he believed in and stood for, and he knew that much of that was her doing.

"I'm sorry too ..." He looked almost sheepish. "For a moment, I was wondering what a beautiful young woman was doing here, visiting my future son-in-law." But he recognized her now, and he couldn't help but admire her again. She was really lovely, and despite the simple dress, the lack of flashy clothes and jewels, she had a definite air of sophistication. She had made a point of buying some new clothes before she came back to Hollywood, so she wouldn't embarra.s.s her brother. And he'd been impressed with what he'd seen. She had wonderful taste, just as their mother had, and now, thanks to Aunt Liz, Edwina had the money to indulge it.

"I wanted to welcome you to Los Angeles myself. I know how happy George is to have you here, before the wedding, and to watch them do the film. And Helen and I are very pleased that you're going to be here." Although everything about him exuded power and strength, from his size to the way his chauffeur reacted to him as he watched his every movement, still there was a gentleness to the man, a kindness, a simplicity, which Edwina had already admired in Helen. There was no pretentiousness, nothing pompous, or rude. He was very quiet, very friendly, and in an interesting way very subtle. He came to stand next to her, and for a moment they watched Teddy ride. He rode very well, and he was a handsome boy. He waved happily at them, and Sam waved back. He had never met the younger children, but he knew they all meant a great deal to George, and Sam liked that about him. He also knew that Edwina had brought them up herself, and he admired her for that as well. And as he glanced at her cautiously, standing at her side, it was obvious that she was quite a woman.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" she asked him pleasantly, and he nodded, relieved not to be offered champagne at eleven o'clock in the morning. People in Hollywood drank too much, as far as Sam was concerned, and he had never liked it.

He followed her inside, and forced himself not to admire her legs as her new navy dress swayed, and her hips with it.

She asked the butler for tea for both of them, and then escorted Sam through the library, and into the south garden. There were pretty chairs and a table set up there, and it all looked very English.

"Do you like Los Angeles?" he asked easily, as they waited for the tea tray, which came very quickly.

"Very much. We always have a wonderful time when we come down here. And I'm afraid this time the children are even more excited, over this movie of Alexis's. That's quite an event for us. She's a very lucky girl."

"She's luckier to have all of you." He smiled. "Helen would have given anything to have a family like yours while she was growing up, instead of being an only child, alone with her father."

Edwina looked wistful for a moment, and in spite of the fact that she looked away, he was touched when he saw it. "Both of our families have had their absences and their losses." She knew that Helen had lost her mother when she was only a baby. "But we manage." Edwina smiled victoriously at Sam, over their tea, and he found himself admiring her again. She was an unusual girl, not just because she was pretty and well dressed, but there was a quiet strength to the girl that struck you the moment you met her. He had noticed it before, when he met her a few years ago, but now that he saw her again, she seemed even more impressive.

"What are you planning to do while you're here? Some sightseeing? A few plays? Visit with friends?" He was curious about her, and it was obvious that he liked her. He reminded her of his daughter in some ways, and yet she was obviously extremely independent, and she was laughing now at the naivete of his question. He obviously knew nothing about Alexis.

"I am going to be keeping an eye on your star, Mr. Horowitz." She smiled and he grinned in answer. He knew what that was like, although Helen had always been a very docile girl, but nonetheless from time to time, even she had required a little closer supervision. "She's with George today, which is why I'm here with the two younger ones. But from tomorrow morning on, I have my work cut out for me, as dresser, bodyguard, and mentor."

"It sounds like hard work." He smiled, setting down his cup and stretching his long legs out before him. And she was watching him too. She knew he was somewhere in his fifties, but he didn't look it, and she had to admit he was extremely handsome. And part of his charm was that he didn't seem to know it. He was completely natural and totally at ease, and he looked up with added interest as Teddy left his horse and joined them in the garden. Edwina introduced him to Sam, and the boy was enthusiastic and polite when he shook the older man's hand, and then exploded with delight about the horses.

"They're fantastic, Win. I've ridden two of them, and they're just gorgeous." The first one had been Arabian, and the stableboy had suggested Teddy try something a little tamer. "Where do you suppose George got them?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Edwina smiled happily and Sam grinned.

"He got one of them from me. In fact, the one you were just riding. He's a fine piece of horseflesh, isn't he? Sometimes I really miss him." Sam was warm and friendly with the boy, just as he had been with Edwina.

"Why did you give him up?" Teddy was curious about everything, and absolutely crazy about horses.

"I thought George and Helen might enjoy him more. They ride together quite a bit, and I really don't have time. And besides," he smiled ruefully at the child who looked so much like his sister, "I'm getting too old to ride all the time." He pretended to growl, and Edwina dismissed the thought with a wave of the hand.

"Don't be absurd, Mr. Horowitz."

"Sam, if you please, or you'll make me feel even older. I'm practically a grandfather!" he announced, and they all laughed and Edwina raised an eyebrow after a burst of laughter.

"Oh? Is there anything in particular I should know about this wedding?" But they were only teasing and he was quick to shake his head and rea.s.sure her. But he was looking forward to grandchildren, and hoped that George and Helen would oblige him soon. And he had always hoped that his future son-in-law wanted a large family like his own. Sam loved the idea of lots of children running around. He had always wanted more himself until ... Helen's mother had died. And he had never remarried. "I wonder what it'll be like to be an aunt," she said pensively as she poured them both more tea. It seemed very strange to her. She was so used to having the children as her own, it was going to be very odd when they were someone else's.

Sam invited them to dinner at his home then. He had come to tender the invitation himself, and a.s.sured her that she and all of the children were welcome.

"That would be a terrible imposition, Mr.... sorry, Sam." She blushed and he smiled graciously.

"Not at all. It would be an honor. Please be sure you bring Teddy, and Fannie, and Alexis, and, of course, George. Do I have all the names right?" he asked as he stood up to his full height and she looked up at him in amazement. He was very tall indeed, and very handsome. But it was absurd to keep thinking that about her future sister-in-law's father. "I'll send the car for you at seven. I know how unreliable my partner can be about things like that, and he may want to come directly from the office." Sam smiled at her and she nodded.

"Thank you very much." She walked him back to his car as Teddy bounded beside them like an exuberant Irish setter.

"We'll see you tonight, then." He seemed to hesitate for a long moment before shaking her hand and sliding back into the Rolls. And then a moment later, the chauffeur started the car, Sam waved, and he was gone, just as Fannie came out to see them.

"Who was that?" she asked, but with no particular interest.

"Helen's father," Edwina said matter-of-factly, as Teddy continued to rhapsodize about the horses, and then stopped long enough to say how much he liked Sam, before going on to say that he wanted to try the Arabian again, but Edwina didn't think he should, and she warned him to be careful.

"I am." He looked offended by her remark and she looked pointedly at her youngest brother.

"Not always."

"Alright ..." he conceded, "but I will be."

"I hope so."

"Do we have to go out to dinner?" Fannie asked. She always preferred staying home, not unlike Edwina. But she was far too young to keep herself cooped up all the time and Edwina insisted that she join them.

"It'll be fun." Edwina was sure of it. They were good people, and he had been incredibly nice to come to the house himself to ask them. "And we're all invited."

But Alexis was far more enthusiastic when she got home and all she wanted to know was what she should wear, preferably something of Edwina's. She was all excited about her day on the set. She had had fittings for all her clothes and she and George had signed the contract.

"How late can we stay?" she asked repeatedly while they dressed, and she almost fainted when she saw the elegant car that Sam sent to bring them.

George decided to drive his own, in case he and Helen decided to go out afterward, which sounded sensible to Edwina.

The Horowitzes had a beautiful home, and even Edwina was more than a little in awe when she saw it. It made even Pickfair look like a hovel. The rooms were enormous, the ceilings vast, the furniture was all antiques he had brought back from England and France, and there were wood-paneled rooms and marble floors and exquisite Aubusson carpets, and Impressionist paintings. And in the midst of it all, Sam Horowitz greeted them with total ease, and he kissed Edwina on the cheek, as he would a child he had known for her entire lifetime. He made the younger children feel completely at home. And even Helen shone here, although she was sometimes shy. She showed Fannie her old dolls, and her bedroom, although Alexis was far more impressed with her sunken pink marble bathtub. And while they were touring Helen's rooms, Sam took Edwina and Teddy out to the stables to see his horses. They were a remarkable lot, all Arabian, all champions from Kentucky. And suddenly Edwina could see why George had been afraid to propose to Helen for so long, this was a great deal to live up to. And yet, in spite of all of it, Helen was a surprisingly simple girl, and Edwina had to admit that she looked ecstatic with her brother. And she didn't seem to be demanding or spoiled. She wasn't fabulously bright, but she was very loving. And in an odd way, she reminded Edwina of an older, far more sophisticated Fannie. All she wanted to do was cook, and stay home and have babies. And listening to them, as they dined, Alexis made a face and said they were all crazy.

"And what would you rather do, young lady?" Sam asked, with a look of amus.e.m.e.nt.

She didn't hesitate for a beat as she answered. "Go out, have fun ... go dancing every night ... never get married ... make movies."

"Well, you've got part of your wish, haven't you?" he said kindly. "But I hope all your wishes don't come true. It would be a shame if you never got married." And then suddenly he realized what he'd said, and he looked at Edwina with a mortified expression. But she only laughed, and teased him a little bit, and put him at ease again quickly.

"Don't worry about me. I like being a spinster." She was laughing but Sam wasn't.

"Don't be ridiculous," he growled. "That's an absurd thing to call yourself." But he was aware of the fact that she wasn't young either.

"I'm thirty-two years old," she said proudly, "and quite happy being single." Sam stared at her for a long moment. She was an odd girl in some ways, and yet he liked her.

"I'm sure you wouldn't be single if your parents were alive," he said quietly, and she nodded ... no ... and, of course, if Charles were, they would have been married for eleven years by then. By now, it was almost impossible to imagine.

"Things work out the way they're meant to." She looked perfectly at ease, and Helen smoothly changed the subject, and only much later in the evening, chided her father.

"I'm sorry ... I didn't think ..." he said apologetically as she reminded him of Edwina's lost fiance, drowned on the t.i.tanic, and he felt even worse. And as though to make it up to them, a little while later he suggested they go dancing. He thought they should take the "children" home, and he invited Helen and George and Edwina to join him at the Cocoanut Grove, and everyone thought it a wonderful idea, except Alexis, who was furious not to be invited. Edwina reminded her in an undertone that she was too young, and she was not to make a fuss, there would be other opportunities for her to go out, if she behaved herself, and did not give in to tantrums. She pouted all the way home in the limousine, but Edwina saw her safely inside with the others, and then went back out to Sam. Helen was riding with George in his car, just behind them. And Edwina was smiling and happy when she returned to the waiting Rolls to find Sam pouring two gla.s.ses of champagne from the bottle that had been chilling for several hours.

"This could be dangerously addictive." Edwina smiled at him, touched by all the little attentions, and amused by the constant extravagances of Hollywood.

"Could it?" He looked her squarely in the eye, he already knew her better, and she saw his blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight. "I'm not sure I believe you. You seem more sensible than that."

"I suppose I am. And a little bit less demanding."