"He knew," I whispered. "He knew what Raymond was planning to do to me?"
He'd tried to warn her.
"He did. That's why the wedding happened when it did, why I was there, and why he asked you to sign those papers."
I pressed the note to my chest. I hadn't said his name out loud in years, and now it was the only name that mattered.
"The trap wasn't for me."
"No, Nancy. It was for Raymond. Thomas made you his legal wife so no one could ever touch what he left you. It's ironclad."
I pressed the note to my chest.
***
Raymond came pounding on my door three days later, red-faced, waving threats about lawyers and undue influence.
Walter, who visited often, happened to be sitting at my kitchen table with tea.
"Every document is airtight," my lawyer told Raymond calmly. "Contest it if you'd like. You'll lose, and you'll pay the fees."
My cousin stared at me as if he were seeing a stranger.
"You foolish old woman!"
"Every document is airtight."
"No, Raymond. I'm a woman who was loved. There's a difference."
He left without another word.
