Chapter 26
EVA
My phone rings in my purse.
Pauline. It has to be her.
I set my teacup down, sloshing tea onto the saucer, and reach for the phone.
“Put her on shpeaker,” Brigitte slurs.
I swipe to answer. “Pauline, you’re on spea—”
“You won,” she says before I can finish.
“What?” Brigitte and I cry out together.
“You and Millie won,” Pauline says slowly, ensuring it sinks in.
“We… won?” I breathe out.
“Judge Sarrazin ruled Millie is the rightful Duchess of Rohinn,” she replies. “And the owner of Fort Vauclairt.”
I grip the phone tighter. “You’re serious, right?”
“You think I’d joke about this?” she fires back.
Brigitte wags her index finger. “Pauline wouldn’t.”
No, she wouldn’t.
“I’m sorry, Pauline,” I say. “Please, go on.”
“Sarrazin considered Geoffroy’s promises, and the fact Millie was born and raised at Fort Vauclairt, while Alex hasn’t lived in Rohinn since he was three, lacking strong ties to the land.”
A rush of air leaves me. “So, she didn’t buy Derek’s arguments?”
“Nope,” Pauline replies. “Sarrazin ruled that the principle of representation overrides the entail in your case.”
Brigitte lets out a sound halfway between a gasp and a sob. “Thank God.”
Pauline’s voice lifts, triumphant. “Until Millie turns eighteen, you’re in charge as her legal guardian.”
I lean back against the chair and press my hand to my mouth. A heavy thudding fills my ears.
Brigitte heaves herself up, swaying, and pulls me into a wine-scented hug.
Pauline’s voice comes through the speaker. “I’ll send over the written decision, but you can celebrate. It’s official.”
“Thank you,” I manage, my throat tight. “Thank you for everything.”
“I’ll let you go tell Millie,” Pauline says. “Enjoy this moment.”
I hang up.
Brigitte shakes as she holds me. “Phew. I was starting to think Geoffroy’s karma was taking it out on Millie.”
I pull back. “What do you mean?”
“That Millie was paying for her father’s sin,” she blurts. “That the universe was returning Alex his due.”
She lets out a sob.
“There, there,” I say, patting her back.
I wonder if by Geoffroy’s “sin” she meant his awful treatment of me. But then, what’s Alex got to do with it?
Brigitte wipes her face with the back of her hand. “Turns out there’s no karma, after all. And no—what’s the name—poetic justice. Let’s drink to that!”
She stumbles toward the wine bottle, laughing and crying.
But I’m already halfway to the door. “I’ll be right back. I need to tell Millie.”
“Go, go.” She waves me off, refilling her glass. “Tell our duchess!”
In the hallway, I pause, breathing in the cool air outside her room. I could go back and press her about what she meant. But she’s drunk. And I have better things to do than listen to her ramblings.
I head straight for Millie’s room and knock.
“Come in,” she calls.
She’s on her bed, a textbook open on her lap and her hair falling in her face.
“Maman?” She looks up and frowns. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” I grin though my voice comes out shaky. “In fact, everything’s right.”
She tilts her head. “You’re acting weird.”
“Because I have news.”
She sets her book on the bed.
I step inside, close the door, and lean against it. “You, my love, are the rightful Duchess of Rohinn. And Fort Vauclairt is officially yours.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not,” I say, crossing the room.
She scoots over.
I sit beside her and take her hands. “Judge Sarrazin ruled in our favor. It’s yours, Millie. All of it.”
“We’re…” She swallows hard. “Not moving?”
I laugh, and this time it’s pure relief. “We’re staying right here. Your home stays your home.”
She lets out a squeal and throws her arms around me, nearly toppling both of us.
“This is the best day of my life!” she announces when she’s done squeezing me.
I kiss her hair, grinning like an idiot. “Mine too.”
“What about Uncle Alex?” she asks, sliding back down on the edge of the bed.
I keep my tone casual. “What about him?”
“I mean…” Millie fiddles with the corner of her book. “He’ll have to leave now, right?”
“Right.”
She hesitates, then shrugs one shoulder. “He’s not too awful, you know? It’s kind of cool he’s such a math freak.”
I study the bedspread.
“And he’s been nice,” she adds. “You know, in his own weird way.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Nice?”
“Like, he’s not mean. And he explains stuff so that it makes sense. And he doesn’t treat me like I’m breakable.” Her voice dips. “I’d rather he stayed.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “We’ll see, sweetheart.”
Her smile is small, uncertain. I hug her again, tighter, and tell myself she’s just gotten used to him being around. Nothing more.
For a moment, we just breathe together. Millie’s warmth anchors me. My chest feels lighter than it has in weeks. In years.
But the lightness doesn’t last. Her words echo in my head, stripped of self-deception this time. Has Alex, in just two weeks, become a father figure to her? Will she miss him when he’s gone? Will I?
Wrong question. If I’m being honest with myself, I should be asking, How badly?
Then, unbidden, Brigitte’s drunken mutterings creep back into my mind.
Geoffroy’s sin… Returning Alex his due…
I shove the thought away. It was incoherent nonsense. It didn’t mean anything.
It couldn’t possibly mean anything.