Sorority Pledge Ch. 06

Hillary asked, "So, you're not going to try to take the mansion from me? You're not going to try to wring dad's third of the Randell fortune from me?"

Julia laughed, "No, I wouldn't dream of it. I might give you some pointers here and there; I'll let you know of opportunities. But, what you do with Nate's money is entirely up to you."

Then in almost a pleading tone Hillary's mother asked, "I do hope that I will be welcomed at the mansion. I love that place with all my heart. Nate warned me you may not want me around the place."

Hillary observed, "But, you haven't been there in years. Uncle Nate, dad, said so."

Julia shook her head and smiled sadly, "Au contraire, I was out at the mansion the week before Nate passed on; you and Peter were taking your finals. I spend several days saying farewell to my little brother. Please ask George, he can tell you how often I visited with Nate. Gawd, Hillary, I'm going to miss him." Tears started to course down Hillary's mother's cheeks.

Hillary couldn't believe the way her mother was talking to her. Julia, her mother, was treating her as an equal, not as a spoil child to be corrected. Could her mother be trusted? Hillary didn't think so, but decided to follow the words of Ronald Reagan, 'Trust, but verify'.

Hillary would allow this 'new' mother to be in her life, but only if things went the way her mother was presenting it. If her mother turned back in the dragon lady, Hillary would use her money to bury the woman. As far as Hillary was concerned, her old mother was dead to her. If this new mother kept her words, Hillary could find it in her heart to work with her.

Hillary couldn't help taking one last snip at her mother, "Listen, mother, I don't trust you any further than I could throw you. I'm willing to have a truce with you, but the slightest indication you are trying any shenanigans, you and I will be at war."

Julia grinned from ear to ear, "That's the way, sweetheart; when it comes to business, trust nobody! Don't worry, you and I are allies, contrary to what you may think, we have always been allied.

"I had to raise you tough, and tough you are. When you are the queen of a billion dollar financial empire, there will be no room for anything but tough." She added, "Hillary, why would I take things away from you, just so I can have them given back when I die. That makes no sense at all.

"With Nate's third of the Randell Fortune, you're going to learn to be a magnificent business woman. I have complete faith in you. By the time you have my third, there will be no stopping you."

Then with tenderness in her voice Hillary never heard before, Julia asked, "You are planning on letting that friend of yours keep the baby, aren't you? What's her name, Sherlyn? You and Peter are ironclad heirs, so letting the girl have the baby she carried for 9 months and for whom she has been wet nursing wouldn't be a bad thing."

Hillary couldn't believe her mother's question, "You would let a potential heir to the fortune go to a middle class commoner?"

Julia said, "Contrary to your perceptions of me, I'm not entirely heartless. A baby belongs with its mother."

Hillary's mother continued, "You and Peter both need to marry and have your own children, and you definitely don't want to make the same mistake that Nathaniel and I made. Love each other, see each other, have your affair if you must, but have your own separate lives. You'll both be happier for it."

For once, Hillary thought her mother gave her good advice.

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EPILOG:

Hillary found that her mother to be true to her word. Her mother never tried to intrude on Hillary's affairs, let alone try to take over.

As a reward for her mother's change of behavior, Hillary extended an open invitation for her mother to visit the Randell family mansion any time she wanted. Over time, the two of them became close. Julia proved to be a much better grandparent than she ever was a parent. It was like the woman was a completely different person.

Peter, with his five million dollars, was a happy camper. He switched his major. Since he never wanted to be a doctor, let alone a surgeon, to begin with, he switched his major to anthropology. He planned on and achieved a career as a college professor and a field researcher. Peter never married.

Hillary finished her degree in psychology, but went back and added a master's degree in Business Administration for Executives to her educational palette. Her senior and super senior years at Harvard, Hillary became the sorority president for Sigma Epsilon Chi. She worked hard to change some of the initiate tests, but she hit a wall when she attempted to change the initiation.

Hillary met a man. James Anthony Trumble III, a man of her station who had wealth of his own. The marriage came with the understanding that the man would never have control of any kind of the Randell Fortune; the two of them married and had three children. Unlike Hillary's mother and step father, Hillary and her husband smothered their children with affection. Not that there wasn't discipline, the children learned a high degree of self-control and all three were consummate money managers by the time they reached a majority.

Hillary maintained a secret love affair with her brother, Peter, for the rest of their lives, even after they became old and unattractive.

Sherlyn, raised little Nate, and when the boy came of age, he was given a fifteen million dollar stipend by Hillary to see him through life. With the two million that Sherlyn received from Nate's will, she had adequate income to raise the boy.

Little Nate loved to spend time with his 'Uncle' Peter, and 'Aunt' Hillary. He and his friends were regulars at the family mansion. Sherlyn, after marrying Terrance, had a very successful career in engineering. The couple had three additional children in addition to little Nate.

Sherlyn and Hillary maintained a close friendship throughout their lives.

Sherlyn's overnight tryst with her father was never spoken of again nor was it ever repeated.