“She’s not a Communist.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“Well, maybe I don’t. Who cares? She’s incredibly organized and efficient, and I’m in awe of her talents.”

“Leon won’t like it.”

“How would he find out? I have hardly spoken to Leon in a year.”

“That’s your own pigheaded fault. You’re the one who made this a contest with Denise, and you’ve lost. Just admit it. Make up with Leon. He’s an old man. He’s besotted with her. He’s never been happier. He told me that.”

“Forty years of marriage to Julia, and he’s never been happier?” I gulped down the lump in my throat with a swill of Campari. The bitterness was bracing.

“Denise isn’t so bad.”

“I would have thought you’d be more loyal to Julia.”

“Julia’s gone, little sister. She has been gone for two years, and if you don’t want to lose Leon forever, I suggest you rethink your opposition to Denise. Leon misses you. He loves you. He was heartbroken you didn’t come to Thanksgiving. You didn’t come to Christmas. You didn’t come to his birthday celebration in February.”

“I told him I’d never return to that house as long as Denise was in it.” The dramatic declaration that had once felt so Vivien Leigh grand now struck me as overblown.

“Do you think you are a Daphne du Maurier character, Roxanne? In case you hadn’t noticed, you live in the real world.” Irene ordered us each another cocktail and lit up a cigarette as only Bette Davis and Irene Conrad could. She gave me a long, hard stare. “Leon and Denise got married last week up at his place in Tahoe. They’ll announce it publicly in a few days. He asked me to tell you. He didn’t want you to read it in the papers.”

I felt my innards turn to chalk. “How could someone as smart, as powerful, as Leon Greene be felled by such a little gnat?”

“She’s not a gnat. We underestimated her. So did Julia, for that matter. It was never enough for Denise just to be a rich man’s mistress. Denise and Elsie both have clawing ambition. They see a shelf full of Oscars in their future, and so does Leon. He truly believes she’s a gifted actress who just hasn’t yet found the right film. Don’t roll your eyes at me, Roxanne. She’s not that bad, and you know it.”

“‘Mediocre’ is hardly a bouquet of praise.”