“So you’re still around?”

“I am.” Guillaume nodded.

“Traded rags for a uniform then? Hard to imagine that you’d stick around.” Ben crossed the room, one hand extended. “But then, you and Elise were always attached at the hip.”

Guillaume took his hand candidly and grinned. “I can’t seem to rid myself of her.”

Or her,you. Ben thought. He wondered how someone so vapid as Elise could hold the attention of one doting man for so long.

“It’s been a long time,” Ben said.

“Likewise.” Guillaume smiled. “It’s good to meet you again, despite the circumstances.”

“Yes. Very unfortunate.”

“My condolences to you and your family.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Ben glanced at Jacques, who made no move to excuse Guillaume from the room. Sagging slightly and unprepared to meet anyone before the wake, he relented his privacy. “Now then, I’m famished, and there’s food to be eaten. Madame Cuvilyé wants to meet with me, you said?”

“This way.” Guillaume led him down the hall and to the dining room. It was a short walk, and there were already a few guests milling about. It gave him a small measure of strength to see some surprised expressions, especially when the head of the Cuvilyé’s finally laid eyes on him.

Beline was a tight-lipped woman draped in a simple gown, somehow able to look down at him with her pointed nose despite his obvious height.

“Good morning,” Ben said, acknowledging her and Remi.

“Come and sit.” Beline waved her hand, gesturing toward an empty seat across from Remi. There was a covered plate waiting for him there. “I thought we could enjoy a quiet moment together before it’s time.”

Ben bowed his head and sat down, avoiding Remi’s eyes as they drifted toward him.

“How thoughtful of you,” Ben said plainly. “Though I was told differently. You wanted a word with me?”

“Yes, but business can wait.” Beline smiled, though it hardly reached her eyes.

“So then it is business?” He asked.

Beline ignored him. “It’s so good to see you. I speak for my entire family when I say that you’ve been missed.”

Ben bit his own tongue. Missed him? It was an absolute lie—Beline never liked him or his father. And her husband? Well, he made himself scarce whenever Ben was around. It made the mystery of Remi’s marriage that much more compelling.

“It has been more than a decade, Madame,” Ben said as he moved closer to the table, purposely scraping the chair loudly against the grain of the floor planks as he went. “I was certain I’d been forgotten.”

“Not at all!” Beline forced a small, polite laugh. “We missed you at the wedding, though I’m sure you were quite busy then⁠—”

Wanting to avoid another conversation about the wedding, Ben leaned forward and glowered. “Madame, I mean to be plain with you. We should skip the pretense of this—whatever this is—and move on to your business.”

“Excuse me?” She started, her cheeks reddening.

“My father cannot be any more dead than he is,” Ben laced his fingers together on the table, encircling his meal with his arms, “but still, I would like the opportunity to say my piece before he is gone.”

“As would we all.” Remi chimed in and shared a pleading look with Ben.

“Now then, what’s this business you wish to discuss?” he asked again.

“Fine.” Beline adjusted her hair, though there was not a strand out of place. “I am curious about your intentions. Do you mean to visit for very long?”

Ben shot Remi a look, who appeared just as annoyed by the woman as he felt.

“Visit?” Ben uncovered his dish and began to eat. “I intend to stay.”

In truth, he didn’t intend it at first. But with half the estate now in his name, he needed time. Jacques would be miffed, but he would understand, and his sweetheart on the mainland would have to wait for his return a bit longer.

“Stay?” Beline’s voice rose in pitch. “Where?”

“Here.” Ben cut into a slice of ham and brought it to his tongue. “This is my home, after all.”

“Surely that would be inappropriate.”

“Not at all.” Ben swallowed, bringing another bite to his mouth, and chewed. Slowly.

“What about Remi?” Beline asked, as though horrified by the notion of them living under the same roof.

“What about her?”

“If you were to stay, she would be forced to leave! Would you truly put her out on the streets?”

Ben nearly choked. “Force her? Put her out on the streets? Madame, certainly the reaches of your hospitality would not end at family?”

“Of course not!” Beline’s eyes bulged. “But I⁠—”

“The estate is shared, Tante Beline,” Remi announced.

It was almost humorous to watch the one-woman drama unfold.

She gasped. “Shared? But surely⁠—”

“According to my father’s will.” Ben set his utensils down and reached for his croissant. “Remi, as my father’s widow, is entitled to this estate in equal shares. She is permitted to stay. It was not my father’s wish to turn her out after his passing, and I will respect his wishes.

“However, I hold none of those same reservations for you or the rest of your family. This is my father’s wake, and if you’d like to find yourself among those grieving his loss today, I ask now that you leave any further business you have at the door.”

“But Remi—” Beline quickly cut to her niece. “What have you to say about this? Does he speak for you?”

“He doesn’t speak for me, no, but we are of like mind.” Remi gave a slight nod of her chin but did not lower her eyes from Tante Beline’s. “I’ll honor my late husband’s wishes and look after the estate.”

Beline drew a hand to her breast and pinched her lips together.

“If I’m not mistaken, Madame Leone is still the lady of the house,” Ben added as he pulled the buttered pastry apart. “Would it be wise of you to question her decisions further? Seems disrespectful, given the unique circumstances of her position.”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the way Remi perked at the wording he used—the same ones she’d used against him the day before. It pleased him more than he cared to admit.