Chapter 7: Forty-Eight Hours
The next morning, Sabina came downstairs in a pale silk robe and found Chadworth already at the breakfast table with both girls.
He had made pancakes.
Badly.
Lorelai was laughing at the shape of one that had gone wrong at the edges, and Gemma was carefully cutting hers into precise triangles with a seriousness that made Rosamund, standing near the kitchen door, press her lips together to hide a smile.
Sabina stopped in the doorway.
The scene had not been arranged for her benefit.
That was exactly what unsettled her.
"You're up early," she said.
"Couldn't sleep." Chadworth looked up with an easy smile.
"Sit down.
There are more."
She sat.
She accepted the coffee Rosamund poured without looking at her.
"I've been thinking about what you said last night," Chadworth said, setting a plate in front of her.
"About the wedding.
About a fresh start."
Sabina looked up.
"Oh?"
"You're right that things need to change.
I've been distracted.
The girls need more of my time.
I want to be more present." He sat back down.
"I've cleared my schedule for the rest of the week."
Something moved behind Sabina's eyes.
Not pleasure.
Recalculation.
"That's wonderful," she said.
"I thought we could all spend the time together.
The four of us." He looked at her steadily.
"Really get to know each other as a family.
Before the wedding."
"Of course," she said.
But her hand, reaching for her coffee cup, paused for just a fraction of a second before it closed around the handle.
That afternoon, while the girls were in the garden with Rosamund, Sabina made her move.
She found Chadworth in the study and closed the door behind her.
"I need to talk to you about something," she said.
"Of course." He gestured to the chair across the desk.
She sat, crossed her legs, and folded her hands in her lap — the posture of a woman preparing a careful argument.
"I spoke to my solicitor this morning," she said.
"About the trust amendment.
She says there may be a complication with the spring signing date — something about a filing window.
She thinks we should move it forward.
To next week, if possible."
Chadworth looked at her.
"That's very sudden."
"It's just a precaution.
You know how these things get delayed once they're in the system." She smiled.
"It doesn't change anything.
It just secures everything properly.
For the girls' sake."
"For the girls' sake," he repeated.
"Of course." She held his gaze with complete steadiness.
"That's all any of this is for."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "Let me call Marcus."
"Today?"
"Right now, if you'd like." He picked up his phone.
"I want to make sure the paperwork is in order before we move anything."
A beat.
Very small.
Almost invisible.
"There's no rush," she said.
"Tomorrow is fine."
"I don't mind doing it now." He was already dialing.
Sabina uncrossed her legs.
"Chadworth."
He looked up.
"Is everything all right?" she asked.
Her voice was still warm.
But something underneath it had shifted — a frequency change, barely audible, like a note played in the wrong key.
"Everything is fine," he said.
"Why?"
She studied him for three full seconds.
"You seem different," she said.
"Since you came back."
"I'm just tired." He held her gaze.
"Long trip."
She smiled.
Stood.
Smoothed her skirt.
"Of course." She walked to the door.
Paused with her hand on the frame.
"I'll let you make your call."
The door clicked shut behind her.
Chadworth set the phone down without dialing.
He opened his desk drawer and looked at the note Rosamund had found.
The torn halves, pressed together under a paperweight.
*The girls are the only obstacle.*
His phone buzzed.
Darvell.
*She's on the phone.
Calling Mourne directly.
Recording in progress.*
Chadworth stood up.
He walked to the window and looked out at the garden.
Lorelai was chasing something — a butterfly, maybe, or just the idea of one.
Gemma sat on the bench beside Rosamund, showing her something in the pages of a book, her small finger tracing a line of text with great importance.
Rosamund leaned in and read it carefully, as though it were the most significant thing she had encountered all day.
Chadworth watched them for a long moment.
Then he picked up his phone and called Marcus.
"She just moved," he said.
"How ready are we?"
"Ready," Marcus said.
May you like
"I've been waiting for your call."
"Then let's end this."
