For Darkness Shows the Stars

enough money for them to get a good start in a Post enclave, if that was what they desired. Would her father be angry to lose so many servants? Was he angry that other Luddites got boats, while he got a table? But her father’s face was serene. She supposed there was little to get angry about. After all, the entire Boatwright estate would soon be his in fact, as it had been in theory for so long.
    Finally, the baroness reached the end.
    The remainder of my worldly goods, and the house, outbuildings, shipyard, and lands of the Boatwright Estate, as well as the title of Chancellor, I hereby bequeath to my only daughter and heir, Victoria North, wife of the Baron Zachariah North, for the term of her life.
    The baron nodded at this. So, Elliot noticed, did Benedict. But the baroness wasn’t done. “There is an addendum from four years ago.”
    Four years . . . when her mother had died? Elliot saw her father straighten in his seat.
    Upon her death, the estate and all of its belongings shall not become part of the North Estate, but will instead pass directly and undivided into the possession of my granddaughter and namesake, Elliot North.
    Elliot gasped. She wasn’t the only one.
    Should this occur before Elliot reaches the age of majority, the estate shall be held in trust for her jointly by the Baron Zachariah North and the Baroness Lucinda Channel, with the provision that it become wholly and completely Elliot’s upon her eighteenth birthday. This is the full and complete rendering of all my directives, and I have made these bequests of my own free will and in accordance with the laws of my Luddite brethren.
    Signed,
    Chancellor Elliot Boatwright
    Witness: Baroness Lucinda Channel
    Witness: Honorable Jeremiah Grove
    The baroness raised her head from the paper. “And that is that.”
    Elliot snapped her mouth shut. Half the people in the room were staring at her. The other half were staring at her father. His face was unreadable.
    The same could not be said for either of his daughters. “Wait.” Tatiana held up her hand. “You’re saying that the Boatwright estate is . . . Elliot’s? The whole thing?”
    The baroness nodded. “That’s what the will says, yes.”
    Tatiana shook her head. “But that’s not fair! I’m the oldest granddaughter. He can’t leave me a carriage and Elliot the entire estate!”
    “Perhaps,” offered the wife of Baron Record, “he thought you would inherit the North estate. After all, no one knew if Benedict would return to claim his birthright.” The woman’s husband shot her a warning look, and she ducked her head and fell silent.
    Elliot blinked several times. The estate was hers. The farm, the gardens, the shipyard . . . hers ?
    She cast her eyes about the room, searching for a friendly face, and she found Benedict’s. He was smiling at her. “Congratulations, Elliot,” he whispered. “I think this will solve some of your problems.”
    Her father had still said nothing. Instead he merely stood and straightened his jacket. “Well, that should be easy enough to execute. Those of you who have received articles belonging to the Boatwright should make arrangements to transport them as soon as possible. Except for the larger boats, I imagine many of you can take the items with you.”
    “There’s no hurry, Father,” Elliot said.
    He turned to her then, and the look in his eyes made her shiver. “Elliot. I’d like to speak to you in my study.”

Thirty-seven
     
    ELLIOT CALMED HERSELF WITH long, deep breaths as she followed her father into the darkly paneled room. He sat down behind his desk, steepled his hands before him, and looked at Elliot with a deeply disturbing smile.
    “Quite an inheritance your grandfather provided you with, daughter.”
    “Yes.” Elliot’s tone was cautious, born from a habit of years. It seemed like a dream. Possession of the Boatwright estate hovered before her, bright as a star and almost as distant. Did she dare to reach out and grab it? She bore no illusion that her father had invited her in here to congratulate her.
    And she was right.
    “It’s ridiculous, of course. I understand that the old fool didn’t want his estate subsumed by the Norths, but if he left it to anyone, it should be by rights his oldest blood relation. That’s Tatiana.”
    Was that the same rule that supposedly gave Benedict the North estate? And yet, who was Baron North now? It was on the tip of Elliot’s tongue to say so when her father went