I have an idea. A good one. Possibly brilliant.
I pull back so I can see her face and brush my thumb along her arm. “You know it’s unlikely you’ll win in court, right?”
“Is that so?”
I nod. “Your claim to the duchy, however morally justifiable, lacks legal grounding.”
“Is that what Derek told you?” She shifts away and crosses her arms over her chest. “It’s a shame he forgets to mention that judges weigh the law’s spirit, not just its letter.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Glad we agree so far.” She gives me a smug smile. “So, here’s the spirit of the law. In Mount Evor, inheritance follows not only primogeniture but also representation.”
“I know.”
Her smile sharpens. “Do you?”
“Of course I do.”
Her mouth curls into a pout. “Hmm.”
“I assure you I’m familiar with representation.”
“Let me recap it for you, anyway,” she insists. “A direct descendant, male or female, comes before a collateral relative, like a half brother.”
I let out a short laugh. “I can practically hear Pauline speaking through you.”
“Does that make me wrong?”
I lean in, eyes locked on hers. “What Pauline conveniently omits is that the entail overrides representation.”
“Geoffroy wanted to end it!”
“But he didn’t.” I shrug. “If he’d broken it, sure—Millie would’ve inherited everything. I wouldn’t have challenged it. Hell, even if I’d wanted to, Derek would’ve talked me out of it.”
“Yeah, right,” she mutters.
I lower my voice. “Geoffroy left the entail in place deliberately, Eva, despite all his talk about moving on.”
“You’re twisting it,” she hisses.
I shake my head. “Not at all. I’m reading it like the judge did.”
“Did?” she mocks. “Are you in his head?”
“Slip of the tongue,” I say quickly. “I meantwould. Geoffroy’s choice makes it clear. He intended me to be next in line after Julian.”
The silence between us is taut.
Shit.I should’ve led with the proposal, not this sterile debate.
“Look,” I say, forcing a lighter tone. “I’ve been thinking. I have an olive branch you might like.”
“Doubtful but go ahead.”
I cup her cheek. “What if I hired you as my estate manager?”
Her mouth falls open. She looks so stunned, you’d think I said something absurd. But it’s not. It’s the most logical thing we could do, as I realized ten minutes ago.
