Chapter 5 - The Keys to the Kingdom
By five o’clock that evening, the estate was entirely empty. The catering trucks had packed up and gone, the rental company had dismantled the white tent, and the quiet of the Charleston marshes had returned to the backyard.
I sat on the steps of the veranda, watching the sun begin to set over the river. Camila was sitting next to me, her small legs dangling over the stone edge. She had changed out of her pink dress into a pair of comfortable overalls, and she was busy trying to build a small tower out of pinecones she had found on the lawn.
Sebastian joined us, sliding down onto the step on my other side. He looked tired but relieved, the tension finally leaving his shoulders.
“Are you okay, buddy?” I asked him, putting an arm around his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Sebastian said, looking out at the water. “I was just thinking about Granddad. He knew she would do something like this. He told me that she couldn’t help herself. He said, 'Your grandmother treats people like furniture, Sebastian. If they don’t match her decor, she wants them out of the room.'”
“He was a wise man,” I said. “I just wish he had stood up to her more when he was alive.”
“He tried,” Sebastian murmured. “But he was tired. He told me his biggest regret was letting her treat you the way she did when you were growing up. He said this was his way of making it right.”
Arthur Vance walked out of the house, holding his briefcase and a set of heavy brass keys. He stopped behind us, looking down at the three of us sitting on the steps.
“Thomas has moved into the guest cottage at the back of the property,” Arthur said quietly. “He says he wants some space. He doesn’t want to be in the main house anymore. And Margaret...” Arthur sighed. “She’s in the master bedroom. She has locked the door and is refusing to speak to anyone. But legally, David, this house is yours now. You have the right to ask her to leave.”
I looked at Camila, who had successfully balanced a fourth pinecone on her tower. She looked up at me and smiled, her eyes bright and free of the fear that had filled them only hours ago.
“I’m not going to throw her out tonight, Arthur,” I said. “I’m not her. She can have until the end of the week to pack her things and find another place to live. But she is not allowed in the main part of the house. And she is never, ever to speak to my children again.”
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“I will convey the message through her attorneys,” Arthur nodded. He reached down and handed me the heavy brass keys. “Congratulations, David. Your father is glad it’s you. He told me so before he went to the cottage.”
As Arthur walked away down the gravel drive, I looked at the keys in my hand. They were cold, heavy, and felt like a massive responsibility. But as I looked at Sebastian and Camila, I knew that the weight was worth carrying.
