Charlotte hesitated. She had never met anyone who actively didn’t want to be well-off. ‘Well, I am here because I am obliged to present to you an offer on my client’s behalf. You are of course free to refuse it but before I go any further, I must advise you there are several conditions attached.’ She waited, anticipating another objection, but when there was only silence, she continued. ‘The offer is on the table for this morning only; once I leave here today, it will be withdrawn. Secondly, this is a first and only payment. If you choose to accept, you will have to sign an agreement in which you forfeit any future right to claims on my client’s estate. Thirdly, the money is yours to invest or dispose of as you wish. This is not a loan but a gift.’ She clasped her hands together and looked into the old woman’s clear eyes. ‘Do you understand what I’m telling you? Is there anything you’d like me to clarify?’

But the old woman didn’t respond in any way – not by the tilt of her head or a frown or a smile.

‘Señora Quincy, my client wishes to offer you—’

‘I don’t want it.’

Charlotte stalled. ‘But I haven’t told you what it is yet.’

‘You don’t need to. I don’t want it.’

‘Señora, I don’t think you understand—’

‘I understand perfectly. I don’t want it.’ The old woman stared back at her with eyes as cold as a December dawn.

‘Abuela,’ Marina said, leaning in to her grandmother. ‘Let her finish, please. You must hear what she has to say.’

‘I do not need to, child. I already know what this is and I want nothing to do with it.’

‘But you don’t even know who it’s from.’

‘Yes I do.’ Señora Quincy closed her eyes. ‘I do.’

Marina and Charlotte looked at each other. Charlotte bit her lip. She hadn’t expected this. It was one thing to refuse the offer, it was quite another to refuse to even hear it.

‘Perhaps I should give you and your grandmother some time alone?’ Charlotte suggested quietly.

‘My looks may have left me, but not my senses,’ the old woman said sharply, opening her eyes again. ‘I assure you, I can think for myself perfectly well.’

Charlotte looked back at her, the slightly patronizing view she had taken of her upon entering now becoming clearer-eyed, more equal. ‘In which case, you will appreciate I am beholden to supply you with the full facts before I can accept your answer. You know the terms but not the offer, nor the identity of my client. Rest assured this is not a whimsical gesture; he has invested significant resources into tracking you down in order to make his proposal, and I must be satisfied you understand what is on the table before it is taken away.’

‘Grandmother, please,’ Marina implored her. ‘Just listen to what she has to say.’

‘No good will come of it, Marina.’