Chapter 2

2: 2

I stared at the three names in the family record and reached for the brush lying in front of the elder.

"Serena isn't Anthony's wife. This page is wrong. Please correct it now."

The elder pressed his hand flat on the page.

"The new register is already sealed. Each household reports its own information, and the head of the household signs for it."

He drew out a blank correction form and pushed it across to Anthony.

"If it's to be changed, the one who filed the record signs now, and we reprint this page after the ceremony."

Anthony grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the side of the altar table.

"Today's the day the chapel opens. Whatever you want to say, save it for home."

"The record was read out in front of everyone. Where exactly is there left to say it?"

Serena stood a little way off, holding her son by the hand, her eyes already red.

"Brenda, this is my fault."

"Margaret said, since I'm divorced and living back with my parents with Little Marcus, people in town keep saying the two of us have no roots."

"I only wanted the boy to have somewhere to bow his head at the holidays. I never meant to take your place."

Margaret stepped in at once and moved her behind her own back.

"Serena and her boy have no roots. Anthony left them a place in the family, that's all. You can put up five hundred thousand. Don't fight her over a name."

Anthony didn't argue. He only pressed me to go back to my seat.

I ignored her and asked Anthony directly.

"Did Mom force you to agree to this?"

He looked away and dropped his voice.

"It's an old family register. Once you're out of that chapel, who even acknowledges it?"

"In the eyes of the law you're my wife. There's no way Marcus ever actually becomes my son."

"If no one acknowledges it, then why can't it be my name on it?"

"Serena needs the standing. You don't."

He answered fast, like he'd turned the words over in his head many times already.

Seven years ago, the day we registered our marriage, he'd shown me the James family's old register.

My name wasn't in it then. He'd held me and said that once the new chapel was built, he'd let everyone know I was the James family's daughter-in-law.

The page I'd waited for was full, all right.

Only the wife and the child had both been swapped for someone else.

"The correction form is right there on the table. Are you signing it or not?"

Anthony let go of my hand.

"The old man has his rules. I'm caught in the middle here. It's not easy for me."

Anthony didn't so much as touch the pen on the table.

The elder looked at him for a few seconds, then took back the untouched correction form.

The form hadn't answered the question I'd started with.

I still wanted to know whether the family had forced Serena onto him, or whether he had put her name down himself.

I turned and walked back to the altar table.

"Please bring out the original family-record form. Whoever filed it wrong corrects it, in front of everyone."

Anthony's face changed.

"Brenda, drop it."

He reached past me, his hand going for the register to close it.

But Uncle Frank, who kept the records, pulled a sheet of paper out of the wooden box.

"Good timing. I need to go over something with Anthony anyway. Marcus's birth year was filled in a bit sloppily."

Anthony moved to take it. I got there first.

At the top was his name and his ID number.

In the spouse row: Serena.

In the row for the named heir under his name: Marcus.

I knew every character on it.

Seven years of marriage, and the gift lists, the IOUs, the notes on every transfer had always been written in his own hand.

At the line for the person filing the record, three characters: Anthony James.

The date was three months ago.

That was the day he'd told me the family was pushing hard, and asked me to wire the five hundred thousand into the restoration account first.

I held the form up in front of his face.

"Do the old man's rules sign your name for you too?"

The chapel went so quiet you could hear the incense ash falling.

Uncle Frank paused.

"The names and the relations were all filled in by Anthony himself. I even checked once against his signature."