Helen found her voice. It came out level, which cost her something the others could not see. "Undue influence is not a feeling. It is a claim. She had a stroke in January. This was signed in April. A woman who has had a stroke and who is being cared for by the person who benefits — any lawyer in this county would at least look at that."
"This lawyer looked at it," Penrose said. He did not bristle. He had expected the sentence; Evelyn had expected it too. "There is a physician's letter from ten days before the signing. She discussed prior wishes and rejected them in detail. She knew her children, their names, the old will, and the reason she was changing it. Mrs. Adelman and my paralegal witnessed. Ruth Keene did not direct the terms. She argued, in my hearing, that the change would expose her. Your mother proceeded. You may hire someone to say that is not enough. I would not be surprised. I also would not bet your money on it, and I say that as a man who does not enjoy watching estates pay for pride."
Mark pushed off the chair. He walked again, the length of the room, and this time when he reached the credenza he stopped and stared at the peppermints as if they had been left there to insult him. "She thinks I sold her. I didn't sell her. I took a refundable amount so we wouldn't lose the buyer while we did this slowly. That's how deals work. You hold a place in line."
"You held a place in line for a house she was living in," Lydia said. "With a woman she lived with. You held it quietly."