Part 6
“That feels worse.”
“It is.”
He gave a small, miserable nod.
Charles stood and walked to the glass wall. He put his hands in his pockets and looked toward the drive rather than the lake. “He is calling someone.”
Margaret remained at the table. “Of course he is.”
“Who?” Noah asked.
“Someone who will tell him he is right.”
Evelyn set the keys beside the residence record. Her hand had begun to ache.
Daniel knocked softly and entered only when she answered.
He took in the empty chair, the opened folder, and the untouched covered plates. His expression remained neutral.
“Mr. Vale has left by the lower entrance,” he said.
Evelyn almost corrected him. Adrian was not Mr. Vale. He had no claim to her name.
Then she realized Daniel had simply misspoken under pressure.
“Did he take anything?”
“His coat.”
“Did he enter another room?”
“No.”
“Did he speak to you?”
“He asked whether the gate could be opened from the drive without a fob.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I could open it from the service panel.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn nodded. “Thank you.”
Daniel glanced at the table. “Would you prefer the main course removed?”
Noah looked at the covered plates as though food had become an offensive concept.
Margaret said, “Leave it.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She lifted one shoulder. “We have not eaten.”
The practicality of the remark loosened something in the room. Not tension. Something smaller.
Daniel uncovered the plates. The scent of roasted fish, lemon, and herbs rose into air thick with accusation.
He served Charles first, then Margaret, Noah, and Evelyn. Adrian’s plate remained untouched at the empty chair. Daniel hesitated over it.
“Remove his,” Evelyn said.
He did.
For several minutes, they ate without conversation.
Evelyn could not taste anything. Still, she cut the fish into small pieces and lifted them one at a time. Across from her, Noah drank too much water and choked quietly. Margaret passed him a napkin without looking at him. Charles ate with the solemn concentration of someone performing a duty.
Ordinary movements continued because bodies had no respect for emotional timing.
After a while, Margaret said, “The food is good.”
Daniel, who had returned to the wall, inclined his head.
Evelyn almost laughed. The sound rose unexpectedly and died before leaving her throat.
Margaret noticed. “It is.”
“I know.”
“I did not know what else to say.”
“That is also obvious.”
Margaret’s mouth twitched. The brief expression held no amusement, only recognition.
Charles finished half his meal before speaking. “The documents should be copied.”
“They already exist digitally,” Margaret said.
“For Evelyn.”
“She has the originals.”
“Drafts.”
“Still.”
“I will scan them,” Evelyn said.
“Tonight,” Charles replied.
Margaret looked at him. “Do not start issuing orders.”
“It was advice.”
“You make advice sound like an evacuation command.”
“It may be useful.”
“It may be irritating.”
“Both can be true.”
Their exchange carried the shape of an old argument worn smooth by repetition. Noah looked between them and, despite everything, smiled faintly.
Evelyn saw it.
So did Margaret. “Do not encourage him.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You have his face.”
Charles returned to his meal.
For the first time since Adrian left, the room held something other than shock.
It did not last.
Noah wiped his hands on his napkin. “There’s something else.”
Evelyn set down her fork.
Margaret closed her eyes. “Naturally.”
Noah looked at Evelyn. “He asked me to bring a box from Grandmother’s house.”
“What kind of box?”
“A metal document case. Small. Green.”
Margaret’s head lifted. “The case from her study?”
“I think so.”
“When?”
“Saturday.”
“Where is it?”
“At your house.”
Margaret stared at him. “Why?”
“He said you asked him to keep it safe during the plumbing work.”
“I did not.”
Noah’s face drained of color. “I thought you did.”
“What was inside?” Evelyn asked.
“I didn’t open it.”
“Did Adrian?”
“I don’t know. I left it in his office.”
Margaret pushed back from the table. “What is in that case?”
“Property papers,” Charles said from the window.
She looked at him. “How do you know?”
“Your mother showed it to me last year.”
“Why?”
“She was considering revising her instructions.”
Margaret’s expression sharpened. “What instructions?”
Charles hesitated.
Evelyn watched another private history open between them.
“Charles,” Margaret said.
“Your mother asked whether the house should be sold if she needed long-term care.”
“You never told me.”
“She asked me not to.”
“You are not her attorney.”
“No.”
“Then why ask you?”
“Because I have known her for forty years.”
“You have irritated her for forty years.”
“That may be why she trusts me. I never mistake affection for agreement.”
Margaret looked at the empty chair Adrian had occupied.
Noah whispered, “Did I steal something?”
“No,” Margaret said immediately.
“I took it out of her house.”
“You believed I had authorized it.”
“I should have checked.”
“Yes. But that is not theft.”
Charles turned from the window. “Was the case locked?”
“Yes.”
“Did Adrian have a key?”
“I don’t know.”
Margaret stood. “We are going to his house.”
Evelyn looked at her. “Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Margaret stared at her.
Evelyn folded her napkin and placed it beside the plate. “He is angry. Arriving without warning will create another confrontation, and we do not know whether the case is still there.”
“It contains my mother’s documents.”
“I understand.”
“No, you understand the house. I understand my mother.”
“And I understand Adrian when he feels cornered.”
The words surprised Evelyn. She did understand him, perhaps better now than an hour earlier. Under pressure, he did not become reckless. He became persuasive. He would prepare before anyone reached him.
Charles nodded. “She is right.”
Margaret turned on him. “You do not get to agree with the person who slows me down.”
“I have been doing it for decades.”
“This is not charming.”
“It was not intended to be.”
May you like
Noah looked at Evelyn. “What do we do?”
The question placed responsibility in her hands before she wanted it.
