“Only a pile of excuses,” she mentioned briefly. “However that’s not going to matter, is it, Podge? You’re going to do the correct factor, aren’t you?” Identical to that, her chilly anger vanished, and he or she smiled at me, that candy, wheedling smile that used to really feel like sunshine on an icy day.

However I used to be nonetheless frozen. “Sure,” I mentioned. “Ian’s wanting me to remain for the funeral, however I’m attempting to go away sooner.”

“Keep for the service,” she mentioned immediately. “It’s solely two days away, and it could look odd when you simply disappeared. It’ll be simple sufficient to take care of issues when you get again to the States.” She shoved her excellent mane of curls again away from her face. “All the things might be simply tremendous, Podge,” she mentioned. “It’ll be simple sufficient to repair. In truth, I’ll come and make it easier to. After all there’d be no method you’d need to maintain all that cash—you’ve all the time been the fairest of us.”

I gave her a tight-lipped smile in return, saying nothing, however Bella was oblivious. “You’re proper, I’d higher get out of right here earlier than somebody sees us and all our exhausting work is in useless.” At that second, I couldn’t consider her specific share of the exhausting work of the masquerade, however I didn’t level that out. I used to be feeling wretched and responsible sufficient.

She began previous me, smelling of some recent and harmless fragrance, after which halted. “Inform me, how has Ian been? Has he given you any bother?”

Nothing however, I believed as I shook my head. “I haven’t seen a lot of him.” A straight-out lie, to go together with her lies.

“I suppose I ought to have informed you, however he and I had a little bit of a fling some time previous. You already know he’s all the time been in love with me, and he’s been desperately jealous of Marcus. I hope that didn’t make issues uncomfortable. It was lengthy sufficient in the past that he wouldn’t be any extra prone to discover the distinction between us.”

One other piece of data I might have fortunately completed with out. “He’s been busy—if he was in love with you, I’d guess he’s lastly over it.”

An unsightly look crossed her face for only a second, after which she had her sunny smile as soon as extra. “Let’s hope so. It was tremendously tiresome.” Earlier than I might notice what she was doing, she pulled me into her scented embrace. “You’ve been a greater good friend than I deserve, Podge,” she murmured in my ear. “I received’t overlook it.” A second later she was gone.

I seemed down and noticed that my palms have been shaking. My sense of betrayal was overwhelming—I’d beloved and admired Bella my complete life, holding her up as a imaginative and prescient of what a Whitehead must be. When idols fall, they fall exhausting, however oddly sufficient, my anger wasn’t for her, it was for me, for being so goddamned weak, for believing in these years of sugared sweetness. She was the one who’d given me that hated nickname that also made me really feel fats and clumsy.

I shoved my hair away from my face, Bella’s hair, and realized my face was moist with tears. After all, it was. All I appeared to do was cry these days, over Granda, over Bella, over Ian.

No, not over Ian. By no means over Ian. He hadn’t made like to me, he’d made like to the ghost of Bella, and even that he’d regretted. I used to be the outsider, the one who didn’t belong. I couldn’t even start to fathom why Granda had modified his will—possibly his letter to Bella had defined his choice, however she hadn’t bothered to share any of it.

I stiffened my backbone. Sufficient was sufficient. I’d been stored prisoner right here for the previous couple of days, regardless of my half-hearted efforts to flee. No extra. Leaving every little thing to me was only one extra of Granda’s manipulations, and whereas I beloved him, missed him already, I wasn’t going to leap to his tune any longer. I used to be going house, refusing the inheritance, and getting on with my life.

However first, I used to be going to inform Ian precisely who I used to be.

My stroll again to the home was uneventful, the one uncomfortable second after I noticed my watcher as soon as extra, loitering close to the cleft within the rock that led to Pinnacle Level. He wasn’t shut sufficient to talk to, and I used to be half tempted to march over to him and demand to know why he was following me, however there was nobody else in sight on this perversely sunny day, and I wasn’t an entire fool, even when I’d been performing like one. I gave him a pleasant nod and began down throughout the fields. He didn’t nod again.

By the point I returned to the home, everybody was at lunch—I might hear Mary Alice’s strident voice and Marcus’s deep one from the eating room. I virtually headed straight upstairs till I remembered I had vowed to speak to Ian. As soon as he knew the reality, I’d be out of there so quick my head would spin.

All dialog stopped as I walked within the room, however Ian wasn’t there, simply the cousins and Marcus. Marcus had traded in his pale pink jacket for one thing extra somber, and the sisters have been each in over-the-top funereal black. Clearly, they’d arrived right here prepared for mourning.

“The place have you ever been?” Mary Alice demanded.

“Strolling,” I mentioned briefly.

“Nicely, you possibly can’t anticipate us to carry lunch for you when you go wandering off. And actually, it’s most thoughtless of you. There are issues that need to be determined, plans to be made…”

“I believed Ian was taking good care of all that,” I mentioned. “The place is he, by the way in which?”

“God is aware of,” Marcus mentioned. “In all probability doing what we’ve been doing. Making an attempt to trace down Podge.”

God, I hated that title! “And did you?” I requested innocently.

“You’re the one one who’s been in contact together with her over the previous couple of years. Apparently, she’d been residing in New Hampshire however she’s disappeared and not using a hint. It’s essential to have her cellphone quantity someplace.”

Bella had my cellphone—it could serve her proper if I gave them that quantity. I shook my head. “I haven’t talked to her in ages.”

“Somebody has to inform her Granda died,” Marcus mentioned.

“And that she’s managed to finish up with every little thing,” Mary Alice added in an acid voice.

I might have informed all of them the reality—in spite of everything, Ian would have that chance, however for some purpose, it was essential to me to inform him first. “Does Mr. Fergell have contact info?”

“He has nothing,” Mary Alice snapped. “Clearly, we’d like a brand new lawyer—he’s been utterly insufficient. In truth, I wouldn’t be stunned if he was working with Podge and splitting the cash.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I mentioned wearily. “Kitty hasn’t been right here in over twelve years—Granda banished her. The concept that she might manipulate him into leaving her cash is absurd.”

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