Chapter 9: Follow the Leader

Donnie Defoe

MEREDITH SAUVAGE. My, my. I’ve lusted after that redhead for eight years. Ever since that fateful birthday party when she’d bloodied Liam Cyning’s nose. I didn’t bear any ill-will toward Liam. He went off crying with Lonnie. I would have stood toe to toe with Meredith and given it right back. She was fiery and defiant. Wonderful. Then we were all sent home. Richard and I were sent to military school in Virginia. Lonnie went to Elenchus with Liam. The three girls went to Green Hill Women’s College. My first erotic dream had been of standing toe to toe with Meredith exchanging blows.

It was fine to have sent Richard along to the academy even though he wasn’t very military. At least we’d had a friend in each other. He just wasn’t cut out for the military. Except when you put a gun in his hands. He wasn’t the sharpest shooter in our class, but he knew more about weapons than anyone else in the school. He could disassemble and assemble any weapon given to him with his eyes closed. He could identify any firearm by weight and feel. He could tell how far and how accurately it would shoot. He could examine a jammed firearm and release the jam safely. If there was a faulty part in a firearm, Richard could fix it. Lately, he’d been working in the machine shop learning to mill his own parts so he could build a rifle. I was surprised he’d chosen to go on to military academy and even more so that he was accepted. I bet the Army would be using him in a development lab someplace, surely not as a commanding officer. Richard was a real Cognoscente. A pure craftsman.

“Donnie, it’s Meredith Sauvage calling.”

“Well, hello. What can I do for your prettiness today?”

“Oh, please, Donnie. Has that line ever gotten you anywhere?”

“I would never tell,” I laughed. Yeah. However I felt about Meredith, it wasn’t returned.

“I’m calling to invite you to an informal party. Are you still on break?” she asked.

“We have all of August off. How much of my time would you like?”

“Just an afternoon. Liam’s arranging to have a few friends over for a cookout and swim. We thought that if you were in town, it would be nice to get all of us together.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re his assistant now, aren’t you?” We all knew, of course. In May, Mrs. Cyning had called in each of the six of us for an interview. We’d all trained to be number two to Liam Cyning, but all in different ways. It would have been a good job, but I wasn’t disappointed to have been passed over. I had good prospects for an Army career and being an assistant to a guy who might never have a job no longer appealed to me. I was a Defender and the lack of order in Liam’s life left me cool toward the job. I supposed someday he might need a bodyguard. “So, he’s got you handing out his invitations?”

“It comes with the territory. Besides, I’m inviting Peggy Anne and Karen, too. And Lonnie, of course.”

“Of course. It would be nice to see everyone again. Can you promise to bloody Liam’s nose again?”

“Will you listen to you? You’d think you didn’t like Liam.”

“I do like him. Always did. This Saturday? I think I can make it.”

I did like Liam. That was the hell of it. I could laugh about his awkwardness or lack of skill at something, but I was still ready to follow him if he had an idea. At the moment, the idea of a party was one I was ready to follow.

Honestly, the idea of seeing Meredith, Karen, and Peggy Anne in swimming costumes for the afternoon was quite appealing. I hoped Meredith was inviting some other women as well. With Liam’s money, he should have far more women than he could handle.

I had a feeling one of the reasons we’d been shipped off to Virginia for military school was to keep us away from the girls. At the time of Liam’s last party, we’d already been exploring with each other a little. Well, not with Meredith, but Karen and I had kissed. In Virginia at an all-boys military school, we didn’t meet any girls for the first three years. And then I had mixed results. None of them particularly satisfying.

Before I left on my summer break, my girlfriend promised that this fall she’d go all the way with me. Of course, last year it had been ‘at Christmas’ and then ‘in the spring.’ It wouldn’t surprise me too much if she’d latched onto an upper classman during the summer and failed to tell me. I was getting tired of carting my virginity around with me.

Unlike Richard. For a guy whose mind is so chaotic, he sure scored with the girls. He’d met a girl from a women’s college near the school in Virginia and spent almost as much time in her apartment as he did in our barracks. Then they kissed goodbye and two weeks after we arrived at the Academy, he was dating a local girl who was happiest when she was under him. I was probably the only one who knew he was still sweet on Peggy Anne. If he met up with her at Liam’s party, he might not even return to school.

Karen Reese

“HAVING A WILL is important for everyone, not only those who own a lot of property. Without a will, anything the deceased owned will be managed by the State and after taxes and fees will revert to the next of kin. If no next of kin can be found, it will revert to the State. But avoiding probate is an inadequate reason to have a will. Think of your family. In times of great stress, like the death of a loved one, family members tend to focus on small things they think they can control. Mother’s diamond brooch may become a matter of great contention. An insignificant pile of letters might become more important to everyone in the family than a bank account with fifty thousand dollars in it. Your will should deal with the small things.”

I sat in the class, taking copious notes. Estate Planning was not only the name of the course, but one of the things I hoped to do as a career. My academic advisor suggested that I focus on family law, but conflict gives me the shakes. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t chosen as Liam Cyning’s assistant. As soon as I received news that I could attend Green Hill Women’s College with all expenses and maintenance paid, my parents’ marriage fell apart. The squabbles became fights. The fights became insurmountable obstacles to their marriage. Divorce—long, drawn-out, nasty divorce—ensued. I didn’t want to ever deal with divorce or child custody cases in my career. They were just too hurtful.

I’d carefully chosen law as my focus, thinking Liam, whom I would be sent to mentor and assist, would need to navigate the waters of legal agreements and situations. I planned to be well-prepared to help him. He could do the negotiating and I would put the formal words on paper to make it airtight.

I didn’t understand why Mrs. Cyning didn’t agree with me. It hit me hard that I wasn’t going to be the successful candidate. It was explained to the three of us on our first day of school at Green Hill that we should follow our hearts as far as what we studied, but that we would also be given special courses in how to support, assist, and even mentor another person. We all knew the person we’d be helping would be Liam Cyning. Even back then, we knew Liam was a Leader. Or would become one. Yes, he was a bit of a brat at times, like when he tried to lead the boys off to the stables and give the girls the slip, but we were two years older. We knew boys just didn’t get it as early as girls did. We hadn’t known at the birthday party that we were being tested.

Of course, Meredith plunged in and decided to teach him a lesson right then and there. I couldn’t believe she socked him. And then we were all asked to leave but told that we’d all been such good friends to Liam that Mrs. Cyning was funding a grant for our education. Meredith, Peggy Anne, and I would go to Green Hill Women’s College. The term ‘college’ being applied to grades down to intermediate school. Richard and Donnie were sent to a military academy in Virginia with the same instructions. And Lonnie went with Liam to Elenchus Scholé. Peggy Anne said it was because Lonnie came to Liam’s aid and helped him into the house to get patched up. I laughed at the thought of having one of the girls help him into the house. Would we have become his roommate? Of course not. Lonnie was nearest to Liam’s age. It was natural that they’d go to the same school.

But somehow, it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t be me chosen to be his assistant. I was happy for Meredith. We three had been inseparable since we’d started school and were the three girls closest to Liam and the three boys. I’d kissed Donnie behind our school just before it let out for the summer. It was just an experiment, but I liked it. Maybe I’d find out how life was going for him at West Point and see if we could renew our friendship after having been separated for eight years. Ah, well. It was a consolation prize.

I’d decided to pursue estate law. Maybe someone else would need a personal assistant with a good background in law. Lonnie? I figured he’d be going into politics. Following his father’s footsteps. A Commander could always use a Cognoscente to advise him. But planning an estate was a matter between the lawyer and one client. The assets belonged to that one person and that one person could determine how they should be divided and among whom.

I’d finished most of my pre-law requirements at Green Hill. Dr. Parolini suggested I move to the University Law School at midterm. I was tempted to register right away, but I knew there were still a few courses I needed here, no matter how accelerated our education had been. Dr. Parolini said my expenses would continue to be paid and law school would be tuition free. As soon as I had that in writing, I’d plan my move.

“Oh, guess what,” Peggy Anne said when I got to our apartment. “We’ve been invited to a party this weekend at Buxton House.”

“Really? When?”

“Meredith called to invite us. Saturday afternoon at two. Pool party and cookout,” Peggy Anne said.

“I knew Meredith was living there, but I didn’t know she could throw a party.” I was a little shocked at that. According to Meredith, when we’d talked last, she’d only been living there part-time and working on some sort of project with Liam. Having a party made it sound like she was more a member of the family.

“Oh, it’s Liam’s party. Meredith is making all the arrangements and inviting the guests.”

“Boys and girls?”

“Even Donnie, Richard, and Lonnie. Plus others, I gathered. Apparently, Liam doesn’t get out to meet many people he’s not in school with.”

“Hmm. You know what that means? We need to go shopping! A pool party? With boys? We need new swimwear!”

“Oh, my God! They’ll be looking at our ... legs!”

“Honey, they’ll be looking at more than your legs. You’d better get a suit with extra support.” Peggy Anne was busty. In fact, I was a little jealous. I didn’t need a suit with extra support. Or any support. But a party with boys meant looking our best with what we had. We really didn’t get that many opportunities to socialize with guys. Peggy Anne blushed, but agreed to meet me after my class the next day to go shopping.

Peggy Anne Ransburg

I WASN’T SURPRISED not to be chosen as Liam’s personal assistant. When Dr. Parolini had told us to follow our hearts in what we studied, there was no question but that it would be music for me. I loved playing the piano and it was possible that I might even be able to play concerts eventually. There were times when the required courses seemed like an interruption to what I really wanted to do.