parlor door, Juliet paused as Winnie stepped in. Love and pride for her siblings filled Juliet’s heart, replacing the earlier need for a quiet moment. Each one was dear and special. And, like herself, named after one of Shakespeare’s heroines. Juliet would do anything to make them happy.
“Juliet!” exclaimed Bianca, who rushed forward to squeeze her tightly. Bianca’s straight, dark hair brushed over her tailored suit.
“Welcome home, sis,” called Portia from where she sat on the floor near the fireplace. Beside her, Portia’s twin sister, Nerissa, whom they called Rissa for short, blew Juliet a kiss. A board game lay between the twins. Most likely to distract themselves from the storm brewing outside.
Juliet had always envied the twins’ long, dark curls and petite frames. They were exact images of each other and extremely beautiful. They had a special bond that none of the other sisters could enter into and that made Juliet feel even more the outsider.
Her eldest sister, Miranda, sat on the settee with an afghan wrapped about her shoulders. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back in a twist, emphasizing her delicate features. Her golden-brown eyes stared at Juliet with concern. “I was getting worried, with the storm and all.”
With an arm around Bianca’s waist, Juliet moved into the room. “I made it just fine, Miranda. How are you doing?”
“Better now that everyone is here,” Miranda said softly.
Juliet accepted the answer even though they all knew Miranda had dodged the real issue. For years Miranda had suffered from a mild case of agoraphobia, which kept her from moving away from the manor. And, like her other sisters, Miranda hated storms.
Winnie took a seat next to Miranda. Bianca led Juliet to the second settee that faced the other two ladies. Portia and Rissa abandoned their game to move closer.
“I wish Delia were here,” Juliet said softly. She could see the same sentiment in the eyes of each sister. Thankfully last month, Delia, short for Cordelia, had come home for the Winter Festival, an annual event that none of the girls would ever miss. But Delia’s absence now left the circle of sisters incomplete.
“We’ll call her later,” Bianca stated in her brisk way and patted Juliet’s hand.
Grateful to the sister who had stepped in to be her mentor and protector, Juliet gave Bianca a smile. For a moment all the women sat in silence, and Juliet wondered if they, too, were reluctant to talk about their mother.
Growing up in this house, the girls were all forbidden to breathe their mother’s name, let alone ask questions of their father about her. Only Aunt Winnie kept their mother alive in their hearts with stories of her, unbeknownst to their father.
That same oppressive silence threatened to keep them all from speaking now.
Forging ahead to get the inevitable over with, Juliet said, “So. From the last conversation we had on the phone, I take it there is more news.”
“Portia, why don’t you fill Juliet in,” Bianca said.
Portia nodded. “Mick uncovered paperwork that shows when Grandfather retired from the company and named Father CEO, Father, in turn, named all of us as heirs to his majority stock shares.”
Juliet let the meaning of Portia’s words sink in. “Me, too?”
Portia’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Of course, you, too. All of us would have equal share in the company.”
For Juliet, this news was welcome. That their father would include her with the others as his heirs said at least he didn’t hate her. She wouldn’t go so far as to say he loved her. Ronald Blanchard wasn’t big on affectionate demonstrations, at least with his daughters, Juliet in particular.
For some reason, one Juliet suspected she knew, Ronald kept a physical as well as emotional distance from his youngest child. Juliet assumed it was because, unlike the other girls, her looks favored their mother. She was the oddball and always felt a bit out of place among the other dark-haired, dark-eyed girls.
“That’s great.” Juliet turned her gaze to Aunt Winnie, their father’s only sibling, who sat quietly beside Miranda with her hands folded primly in her lap. The exact details of the news struck Juliet. “But what about Aunt Winnie? Why wouldn’t she be included? That stinks.”
Winnie looked up, affection for her niece shining bright in her hazel eyes. “I’m sure Father and Ronald know what’s best.”
Juliet exchanged a glance with Portia, who rolled her eyes at her aunt’s statement.
Rissa spoke up. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Not after what we found out about how Grandfather took ownership of the factory.”
All the girls nodded in agreement. It had been a blow to learn that their grandfather hadn’t built Blanchard Fabrics from the ground up as they’d all been told. Howard Blanchard had used some less than ethical tactics to acquire the factory from a man named Lester Connolly.
Grandfather and Lester Connolly apparently once loved the same woman, who chose Lester over Howard. In retaliation, Howard went after the man’s company. The whole ordeal was much too sordid and embarrassing to think about. Especially now with Grandfather’s Alzheimer’s advancing so rapidly.
Juliet suppressed a shudder. She prayed that neither she nor her sisters would be afflicted with the dreaded disease in the future. It was so hard watching a vibrant man decline.
Juliet turned her gaze to Bianca. “Is there anything we can do to include Aunt Winnie?”
Bianca frowned. “I don’t know. I’ll have to check into it.”
“You’d better tell her the rest,” Mirada prodded.
Bianca gave her hand a squeeze. “There’s more.” She looked to Portia. “Portia?”
Juliet braced herself as she turned her attention back to Portia.
Portia’s dark eyes were filled with an intensity that made the hair at Juliet’s nape stand on end. “Mick also recently discovered a document with our mother’s signature on it. The paper was dated a year after her supposed death and gave Father full custodial rights to all of us.”
A sharp thudding started behind Juliet’s left temple. She tried to rein in the anxious flutter of dread that took flight in her stomach. “First that picture dated after Mother’s death and now a document dated after her death? How can this be?”
“Apparently Daddy lied to us,” Miranda stated, her complexion going even paler.
“Apparently,” Juliet repeated dryly. Of Bianca, she asked, “Have you authenticated the document?”
Bianca nodded. “It’s legal. Assuming it’s our mother’s signature,” she added. “We’ve sent it to a lab that specializes in verifying signatures. We should know soon.”
“It might not be her signature, right? Just like the photo Leo gave you. The date could be wrong. Both could be some kind of sick joke or a mistake.”
Juliet saw the flash of hurt in Bianca’s eyes. Leo Santiago and Bianca were dating now, even though Leo had been working for their father with orders to bring Bianca into the family
