There’d been a part of her that had been hoping her mother wasn’t in need of her rightful inheritance, but clearly that wasn’t the case. That meant she couldn’t blithely turn her back on her inheritance, not when doing so would affect her mother’s inheritance as well.
It also meant that she was going to have to finally, and without hesitation, deal with the truth of why she didn’t want to return to Montana.
Forcing breath into lungs that were still somewhat constricted, she rose from the settee and nodded to Arthur, who was watching her closely.
“I believe I need some air. While I’m gone, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell my mother about her inheritance.” She summoned up a smile and turned back to Georgette. “You may want to continue sitting down, Mother, because what Arthur’s about to tell you definitely means you’re not going to have to worry about how you’re going to afford those new roofs for your cabins.”
CHAPTER
Twenty
There’d not been a single time when Arthur had delivered favorable financial news where the recipient of that news broke down and began sobbing, but that’s exactly what Georgette did a mere moment after he disclosed the extent of her inheritance.
“She could use a hug,” Judith whispered in his ear as Georgette continued sobbing into a handkerchief Ivan handed her.
“Perhaps you should do the hugging,” Arthur said. “I’m not really the hugging sort.”
Judith’s only response to that was to cross her arms over her chest.
Taking that as a firm refusal to intervene, Arthur joined Georgette on the settee, perching gingerly on the edge of it. Not really knowing what else to do, he gave her what was undoubtedly an awkward pat on the shoulder, earning a snort from Judith in return, which he ignored.
“There, there,” he began, which earned him a snort from Ivan, one he didn’t appreciate in the least.
“Feel free to step in,” he muttered, which only resulted in Ivan moving to look out the window.
When Georgette released another sob, and realizing Judith and Ivan didn’t seem inclined to offer their assistance, Arthur took holdof her hand. “You’re going to make yourself sick if you continue sobbing” were the only comforting words that sprang to mind.
That earned him a snort from Georgette before she gave his hand a squeeze. “You’re not very good at this, are you?”
“I’m afraid no one has ever accused me of being overly comforting.”
She smiled a wobbly smile. “No one has ever accused me of that either, or my daughter for that matter. But speaking of Sunshine, where is she?”
“She said she needed some air.”
Georgette brushed aside tears that were trailing down her cheek. “Which is usually said when a person has matters to contemplate. May I assume there’s something my daughter is withholding from me about claiming our inheritance?”
“I wouldn’t want to speak for her, but she seems remarkably reluctant to return to Montana.”
“Because she reallymighthave killed her grandfather?”
It was Arthur’s turn to snort. “Eunice didn’t kill James, but perhaps I should go speak with her and find out once and for all exactly what’s behind her reticence with returning to Montana.”
“Just don’t tell her she’s going to have to marry you,” Ivan said, turning from the window. “If you really understood Eunice, you’d know a marriage of convenience is not something she’d ever entertain. Pressing her on the matter won’t have her changing her mind. It’ll merely result with you suffering from injured pride—or a broken nose, depending on Eunice’s mood.”
Arthur rose to his feet. “I’m not a complete idiot, Ivan, even though my initial idea of pursuing a marriage with Eunice does seem rather idiotic now. Truth be told, I forgot how capable she is, and that trait of hers only seems to have increased over the years. However, if she weren’t such a competent lady, my idea would have been the most practical solution for both of us—allowing me to honor my word and allowing her to regain her inheritance with relatively little fuss on her part.” He frowned. “But what did you mean about if I really understood Eunice?”
Ivan shrugged. “She’s far more complex than you know, but that’s all I’m comfortable saying. And if she does decide to retrieve her inheritance, I guarantee there’s going to be a fuss involved. She’s not said much about her relatives deciding to have her declared dead, but you mark my words, she’s furious about that. A furious Eunice is not a woman her relatives are going to enjoy seeing come back from the dead.” His lips twitched. “I imagine they’re going to be in for a rather rough time of it.” With that, Ivan moved to join Georgette on the settee, pulled her into his arms, and gave her a soothing pat on the back.
Considering Georgette immediately dissolved into fresh sobs, Arthur wasn’t convinced hugging had been the best choice to stop her tears to begin with.
“Since Ivan seems to have the situation well in hand now, what say we go check on Eunice,” Judith said, pushing herself to her feet before she took hold of his arm and tugged him toward the door.
“I’m not sure Ivan hasanythingwell in hand,” Arthur said when Georgette began sobbing in earnest.
“Of course he does. He’s very competent.” With that, Judith increased her pace, and before he knew it, he was out of the farmhouse, down the porch steps, and standing on a cobblestone sidewalk.
“Was there a reason we just hightailed it out of the house as if we were being chased by a pack of wolves?” he asked.
