Dark Intentions - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,52

together to stay warm. “I mean, I love Lincoln and you know that we've been together for ages, but I was always really hesitant about children. I wasn't sure that it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to be a doctor and I am one, but the hours are hard. Seeing all that trauma in the emergency room, it takes a toll on you."

"I can only imagine," I say.

"Lincoln works such crazy hours. I just don't know how we're going to make this work."

"You're just going to have to work less and prioritize your family for a little while. Or you can get help."

"Help is definitely an option. But I just want us both to be there, you know? Like experience raising our child ourselves. But maybe that's just me talking right now and in six months I'll be running for the hills."

"Yeah, probably," I say and we both laugh.

"But this could be a really good bonding experience, not just with a baby, but with us.”

“Have you talked to him about taking some time off?” I ask.

“He wants me to take time off, but he doesn't want to take time off himself. He wants to work more hours. He says that I could hire someone. And of course we can hire a nanny, but it wouldn't be a big deal if he cut back to what, sixty hours, just for a little while."

"Lincoln is a workaholic," I say. "It's kind of like a family curse."

"Yeah, I know. You guys have all this money and you still just can't stop working. What's that about?"

Now it's my turn to laugh.

"Lincoln and I are very different," I say, slowing down and turning to face her.

"We're really different, but we're also alike. You know? Trying to prove something to people who are no longer here. When you come from a wealthy family, you either sit around, do nothing all the time or you spend all of your hours trying to chase ghosts and show them that you can do just as much as they did. I think that's where he's coming from."

“Maybe you’re right,” Marguerite says, biting her lower lip. “Or maybe it’s just losing the trust fund money.”

31

Dante

There are lots of Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue women who spend all their time going to lunch and planning parties while their husbands golf and act like masters of the universe on Wall Street, but Marguerite is nothing like that.

She went to medical school, did internships and a residency, and works crazy hours despite Lincoln making half a million and who knows how much more with bonuses every year.

They have not been in need of money for a long time. I have known Marguerite long enough to know that she's the least money hungry person out there.

She doesn't care about brands.

She doesn't care about designer things.

She likes things to be nice, but Target-nice. Not Saks Fifth Avenue or Bergdorf Goodman nice.

The issue with the trust fund isn’t just about the six-million dollars.

“I talked to Lincoln already, and I know that he's no longer technically eligible for the trust, but the thing about the trusts is that they have to be taken to court and evaluated,” I offer. “All it says is that he has to marry someone from a comparable family. Who knows what that means?"

"It means that I have to be rich. It means that when we're married, our incomes have to come together and make more money," Marguerite says, tilting her head. "You know that."

"But it has never been challenged in court, okay? Somebody wrote that decades ago to try to protect us from marrying women who would only be after our money. That is clearly not the case for you.”

She shrugs and tries to walk away, but I pull her back.

"Our grandfather was just trying to look out for his fortune. He had no idea that his grandson would marry someone like you with your own career and income.”

"Are you trying to take a side in all of this?" Marguerite says, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, not at all. All I'm trying to say is that it is worth pursuing because nothing is set in stone."

"What about your mom? How would she feel about us suing her for all of that money?”

"Technically not her, but the estate," I point out. "Yeah, that’s not going to help your relationship. I don't know how she's going to feel, but probably not good, but you know what? You have nothing to prove.