In September of the sixth year, something happened that I had not expected.
Nadia Voss called.
Not a threat. Not a legal manoeuvre. A call.
She called the estate number, not my personal number, which told me she had thought about the approach, the formality of the official line rather than the directness of a personal contact.
Mrs. Aldren answered and came to find me in the library with the expression of someone delivering information they have assessed and found requiring my attention.
“Nadia Voss,” she said.
I looked at her.
“On the estate line,” she said. “She says she would like to speak with you. She said please.”
Please.
I thought about the phone call years ago, the one after the civil claim withdrawal, the voice that had been tired and different from its usual performance.
