Chapter 26
MONTFAIR’S FRONT LAWN was abuzz with exclamations of “I’ll be damned,” “I can’t believe he did that,” and “Most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” interspersed with eruptions of laughter and whoops of pleasure. Old friends embraced, shook hands, and smiled broadly. The crowd throbbed with bonhomie.
Only when Rhetta came along, cutting through the crowd with Shelton hovering on one side, Elizabeth Billington on the other, did the joie de vivre cease. The guffaws and giggles gave way to somber expressions of “So sorry for your loss,” “My deepest sympathies,” and “If there’s anything I can do,” as the stern-faced old woman in black marched by. As soon as she’d passed and the parting wave closed behind her, the merriment resumed.
She came to a group where Bing Sensabaugh stood amidst
