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Alex walked over and sat down next to her, slipping a comforting arm around her shoulders.
Maisie and William, who were still sitting cross-legged on cushions on the floor in front of their great-grandmother, stood up and ran over to the sofa, vying with each other over who would sit next to Lili. Maisie got the spot beside Lili first, but William went one better by climbing onto Lili’s lap for a cuddle. He put his hands around her neck. ‘I’m not mad at you. I love you.’
‘Oh, William, that is so sweet. I love you too.’ Lili could feel her eyes welling up.
Maisie looked at her brother. ‘I’m not mad at you either, Lili.’
Lili smiled. ‘I know, sweetheart.’ She guessed they were too young to understand what had just transpired.
Lili raised her eyes to look at Elspeth.
Elspeth smiled at her great-grandchildren before turning her attention on Lili. ‘This isn’t your fault, Lili. What happened … all this played out a long, long time ago, before you were born.’
She paused, as if choosing her words carefully. ‘Ray once told me that although he enjoyed his new job as an heir hunter, there is a downside to seeking descendants and finding lost heirs who have relations they never knew existed; for some people, like yourself, he has uncovered vast wealth, but it often comes at a price. Sometimes he uncovers more than they bargained for.’
‘You’re talking about family secrets.’ Lili swallowed as she looked around the old summerhouse. She didn’t want to lose her friends. They were more than friends. In the brief space of time she’d known them – Lili looked at the little boy sitting on her lap, his hand in hers – they’d become the extended family she’d never had. She realised Elspeth understood that too.
‘What should I do?’
‘I can’t answer that, Lili. You will inherit, that is a given. What you do after that …’ Elspeth trailed off.
Lili cast her gaze towards the door. ‘What about them?’
‘They’ll just have to learn to live with it.’
Alex, who had remained silent, spoke up. There was something on his mind. ‘I told you earlier that the police were looking into Joseph’s past. That’s why they haven’t released him.’
Elspeth nodded. ‘You mentioned a genealogist.’
‘Yes.’
Elspeth frowned. ‘Before you say another word, I know where you’re going with this.’ She shook her head. ‘Even if someone suspected something amiss, and I’m talking about Otto’s real identity, and this ghosting that Ray was talking about, Joseph isn’t going to tell the police the truth – that his father is buried in a little grave in the British Cemetery on Corfu.’
‘But you could.’
Elspeth shook her head at Alex. ‘No, I can’t do that to Joseph.’
Lili stared at Elspeth. ‘So, if it came to light that Otto wasn’t really George then Otto’s will, posing as George, could be contested. As Otto’s descendant, I wouldn’t stand to inherit The Summerhouse.’ Lili glanced at Alex for confirmation this would be the case.
He nodded.
Lili thought this through. ‘The house and land must be in Joseph’s late fathers’ name. His direct descendant is Joseph and his family – not me. So, if I told the police—’
Elspeth interrupted, ‘But you can’t do it, Lili.’
‘Why not?’
‘For the same reason I can’t. Joseph made a promise he would never divulge Otto’s identity. It would break his heart if we went against his wishes.’
Alex shrugged. ‘Not to state the obvious, but Otto is dead. He has been for years. What does it matter now?’
‘It matters to Joseph. He wouldn’t want Otto’s name blasted in the papers. Can you imagine the headlines?Nazi lived for years under an assumed name in deepest Suffolk.’
Lili thought of the press camped on the front lawn waiting for their big story. She was starting to understand where Elspeth was coming from. Otto was, after all, her great-grandfather. Is that what she really wanted, to see Otto portrayed in the press as a Nazi war criminal? That would be the conclusion they all jumped to when they discovered he had lived under a false identity for decades. On the other hand, Alex was right: Otto was long gone.
Elspeth added, ‘Besides, they’d probably want to exhume his father’s body to do DNA testing – do you really think Joseph would want that?’
Lili shook her head even though she wondered if DNA testing was even a possibility, considering the length of time that he had been dead. She said, ‘So, I still stand to inherit The Summerhouse after Joseph dies, even if I don’t want to?’
Elspeth nodded. ‘I’m afraid so.’
Lili fell silent until William fidgeted on her lap. ‘I’m hungry.’
Elspeth looked at her great-grandson. ‘Why don’t you two run up to the house and ask your dad for a snack?’
The children nodded at Elspeth, then gave Lili a cuddle before heading outside. William ran out first. Maisie was following him, but she stopped in the doorway and turned around. ‘Lili, does this mean you are going to come and live here when Joseph dies?’
Lili looked at her in surprise. She’d understood more than Lili gave her credit for. ‘I don’t know, sweetheart. Besides, Joseph isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.’
