“Do you usually walk into rooms without acknowledging the occupants?” Henry says, his voice hard and tense.
The lawyer startles and turns to us. “My apologies.” His cheeks turn a bright red. “Mr. and Mrs. Dansworth, I hope you both are well.”
I smile, rubbing at my belly. “As well as we can be, I suppose.”
He nods, glancing at Henry who waves him off. I reach over to pinch Henry’s thigh. We don’t want to piss him off.
Allen clears his throat, pulling out a stack of papers. “Let’s get straight to it then.”
Henry grabs my hand, twining our fingers together, and I know he can feel how wildly my heart is beating. He squeezes once in comfort.
“Ahh, here it is,” Allen says, presenting us with a document. “Since we opted out of detecting relationships so we don’t find any other living connections, we do have a familial match. It’s enough to release the estate, uncontested.”
I nearly collapse right there, and I squeeze Henry’s hand so hard that my nails make indents into his skin.
Henry blows out a large breath in relief. “What’s next then?”
“I’ve brought all the paperwork to sign it over to Mrs. Dansworth, and then we go from there.”
I clear my throat. “And if I wanted to share some with Henry? I know his father disowned him, but he’s been such a tremendous help. I feel his father would be proud.” I flash Henry a smile, but he doesn’t return it. His jaw clenches, and he pulls his hand from mine.
It creates an ache in my chest, but I turn back to the lawyer with a fake grin.
He nods. “We can start the process. Have you already spoken to your lawyer about possible divisions?” I haven’t spoken to anyone because I couldn’t chance them reporting us for fraud, or demanding money to keep silent.
“No, not yet. I’ve been a little scattered since the funeral and finding out I’m pregnant,” I say weakly. It’s mostly the truth anyway.
Henry shifts in his seat. “Do you need anything else from me?”
Allen shakes his head, so Henry gets up and leaves us in the office without sparing me another glance. It takes a lot of strength to shut out my wild emotions, the questions of why he seems upset, and threatening fear he wants to leave me now.
“His temperament hasn’t changed much,” Allen mutters.
I force a laugh that even sounds fake to my ears. “At least he’s toned down the cursing. The first week here it was like every other word.”
He laughs back and nods as if I made the greatest joke. I won’t miss the schmoozing part of this world, the niceties that are never actually nice, and the side glances that may as well be daggers.
“I’ll explain each paper before having you sign. Is that okay?”
I nod before pulling out my phone. “You don’t mind if my lawyer listens in? He’s out of the country right now or he would have made it. We could probably get someone from his office to come if you prefer though.”
He shakes his head. “Of course not. Whatever is easiest for everyone.”
I call up Martin, and he walks me through the process. It’s straightforward, just a lot of signing, and about an hour later, we hang up while Allen is packing up. When he stands, he holds out his hand for me to shake.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Dansworth. I’m glad this is resolved though. Now you and the little one are taken care of.”
“Thank you,” I say softly, not yet feeling the relief that the whole ordeal is over.
He nods, and I follow him out the front door. My heart is still heavy when he leaves, and the house is eerily quiet, as if it knows what we’ve done. My daughter is technically a Dansworth heir, even if she isn’t Jeoffry’s.
“Henry?” I call out, frowning when he doesn’t respond after a few seconds. Lingering in the foyer, I wonder where I should check first, almost too nervous to go to our bedroom and see him packing up. Like a coward, I choose to look elsewhere first.
I find him at the kitchen counter, a piece of cake before him and a fifth of whiskey in his hand. When I enter, his fingers push at the plate.
“For you,” he says before downing the rest of the alcohol.
Moving closer, I don’t touch the cake that I practically begged Sarah to make yesterday. I’ve had chocolate cravings lately, but the more velvety taste, not chalk-like candy bars.
