Chapter 9: Lila's Choice

I was in Roland's driveway twenty minutes after I found the note.

Ansel had driven the whole way with his jaw tight.

He had not said anything about the night, or about the fact that I was wearing his shirt under my coat.

"Stay in the car," I said.

"Jo."

"I'll ask you in if I need you."

I used my key again.

This time the housekeeper didn't shake her head.

She pointed down the hall at the study and walked away.

The door was open.

Lila was sitting in the leather armchair by the fire with a cup of tea in both hands.

Roland stood behind the desk in a cardigan, looking like every Christmas I remembered.

"Joanna," he said warmly. "Good, you're here. Sit. We were just having a talk."

"Lila, get your coat."

"No," Lila said.

I stopped.

"No?"

"I came on my own. I wanted to hear what Roland had to say. You didn't ask me if I wanted that."

"You were asleep."

"I left a note."

"A note isn't asking."

"Neither is dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night," she said.

Her voice shook but it didn't break.

I looked at Roland, who was studying the fire with a very gentle, very sad face.

"I never forced her," he said. "I'd never force her. Lila's an adult."

"What did you offer her?"

"Nothing."

"Lila."

My sister looked down into her tea.

"He said that if the family stays together, he can release my shares to me early."

"At twenty-one instead of twenty-five." She swallowed. "He said it would be a gift."

"That's not a gift. That's a purchase."

"It's a trust, Jo. He's the trustee. He can do it."

"For a vote. He wants your vote, and mine."

"He wants me to be safe!"

"He wants Conrad at the head of the table!"

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