Chapter 12: To My Daughters

The reading was set for ten o'clock in my father's study.

My mother took the chair nearest the desk, in black wool, with her pearls fastened up to her throat.

Gwen sat on the sofa in the cream silk dress, and Preston stood behind her with a hand on its back.

Maud stood by the door with her hands knotted in her apron.

I came in last, and Kendrick came in behind me.

He had not been asked.

My mother's eyes flicked to him and away, but she let it go.

The lawyer was a thin, gray man with half-glasses.

He sat at my father's desk, which felt wrong, and broke the seal on a long cream envelope.

"The will is brief," he said. "Mr. Aldercott had it redrawn this spring."

I looked at Kendrick.

He was looking at the carpet, and a muscle jumped in his jaw.

"To my wife, Constance, the apartment in the city and an income for the rest of her life," the lawyer read.

My mother's mouth went thin.

"To my housekeeper, Maud Cuyler, the gatehouse cottage and the land around it, with my thanks."

Maud made a small sound.

"Aldercott House, its grounds, and everything inside it, I leave to my two daughters in equal shares."

The room went quiet in a way I felt in my teeth.

"Two," Preston said.

"Daughters," said the lawyer, "plural. Yes."

Gwen's head had turned toward me.

Her face was nothing like the one she wore in the foyer.

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