Poppy’s tirade came to a halt. She gave him a withering glare as she reached into a canvas tote to produce a newspaper folded open to an article covering the Pittsburgh police blotter. A two-paragraph story mentioned the church burglary and named Patrick O’Neill and Liam Malone as suspects currently on the run.

“I intend to speak with my husband about this,” she said. “We shouldn’t have to tolerate a thief in our midst.”

Poppy clasped a hand over her expanding belly as though feeling weak and let a pair of the elderly aunts support her as they guided her up to the house, but Patrick thought Poppy Blackstone might be the strongest and most dangerous person on this island.

Telling Gwen about the confrontation on the lawn was going to be hard. Patrick and Liam took her to the meadow behind the boathouse to discuss it in private. With her crown of flowers and flowing white gown, she looked like the personification of natural innocence. Her face transformed from radiant happiness to disillusionment and then anger as Liam recounted the delight Poppy took in spreading slander about them.

It made Patrick resent the Blackstones even more. They were contemptible. Thank heavens Gwen’s father had the wisdom to raise her at the college, where she wasn’t tainted by the decadence of her family.

She raised pain-filled eyes to his. “They aren’t usually like this,” she said in an aching voice, then turned to touch Liam on his arm. “Please don’t hate them. It will only take a little time.”

“Yeah, well, we don’t have time,” Liam said. “I wanted to scrounge up some people here to side with me against the U.S. Steel merger, but now everyone thinks Patrick and I are shysters.”

“Someone has been watching us,” Patrick said. “They’ve managed to poison the water here, but we can still go after Mrs. Carnegie and her seven percent of the vote. She’s the only way we can get to fifty-one percent to save the college’s funding.”

Liam unleashed a streak of foul language. “Who cares about Mrs. Carnegie? She’ll never vote against the steel merger.”

Patrick moved in close. “But she might vote for the college, and that’s just as important.”

“Bull hockey,” Liam growled.

“Watch your language around your sister.”

Gwen stepped between them. “Liam, clean it up. Patrick, calm down. If we leave immediately, we can be in Manhattan before nightfall. We’ll stay at Frederick’s house, since it’s empty right now and directly across the street from the Carnegies. I’ll request a meeting with Mrs. Carnegie as soon as possible.”

And if they could sway Mrs. Carnegie to their side, they could save the college.

33