Georgina beamed, her blue eyes shining. “We stayed in that beautiful B&B in Kensington, near Hyde Park. You both worked so hard in those days, so many nights and weekends that Lily and I were practically single moms. Sometimes we even had to leave you behind for vacation. Remember that time she and I took the children to the Isle of Palms?” She leaned forward, warming to her subject. “We booked the most marvelous house, with a screened-in porch that looked right at the ocean. It had those wonderful ceiling fans that just kept turning lazily all day, keeping things just cool enough so that you didn’t faint from the heat and humidity. Then it would cool down at night, and we’d enjoy the sound of crashing waves. In the morning, everything was damp and fresh. It was just divine.” She took a sip of wine, her food untouched. “Anyway, the husbands never made it, of course, so there we were, all on our own with Palmer, Selby, and Kate scrambling around like wild little Indians.”

“We don’t use characterizations like that anymore, Mother,” Palmer scolded good-naturedly. “Besides, you were hardly on your own, with two nannies and a cook.”

At this there was laughter around the table.

Georgina gave her son a bright smile. He had always been her favorite, the child she doted on—the one who could get away with “teasing” his mother, and whose coming out of the closet she’d surprisingly not just accepted but embraced. “Don’t laugh,” she said, winking at Palmer. “It wasn’t the same as being at our own beach houses. We were in a new and unfamiliar place where we didn’t really know anyone. Lily convinced me that it would do us good to do some exploring, and we left the kiddies with the nannies and drove into Charleston, walked around, shopped, and then . . . we went to a drag queen show.” She paused, letting the silence hover for effect.

Kate and Selby looked at each other in surprise.

“You never told us that,” Selby said.

“You were only eleven years old. You didn’t need to know what we were up to. Anyway, we had a great time, staying till closing and chatting with all the queens. They taught us so much about makeup.” She laughed again. “And other things . . .”

“Mother!” Selby said, tilting her head toward her sons, who at this point were laughing and whispering among themselves.

“Mom, we’re not babies. We know what a drag queen is,” Carter Junior said, and the boys broke into laughter again.

“Sounds like you had a great time,” Harrison said with a smile. “Lily never told me.”

“There are lots of things wives don’t tell their husbands,” Georgina said, looking at Harrison.

What was that supposed to mean? Kate wondered.

“You and Lily were such good friends,” Selby’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Just like Kate and me.”