“It’s five hours,” he said as he mentally did the calculation. “It’s not that early for her. She has probably started her workday, so she might not check her personal messages for a while.”

“She’s a physician, and she said her job is really challenging. I don’t want to wait.” Sophie scowled. As he watched, she pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear. Distantly, he could hear it ringing.

Then the ringing stopped, and a woman said in a calm, professional voice, “Kathryn Shaw.”

“Kathryn, this is Sophie Ross.” Sophie looked at him, excitement fizzing in her eyes. “Check your messages. I sent you photos as proof that I got inside the house.”

“You didn’t!” The woman’s voice changed completely. “You did? That’s amazing! Congratulations! How on earth did you do it? Wait—let me see the photos…. Oh my God, I can’t believe someone finally did it!”

Sophie laughed gleefully. “I had to call you.”

“I’m so glad you did! Have you had a chance to look around yet? Please be careful. After so long without any maintenance or upkeep, it’s got to be a death trap. The gods only know what’s in there.”

“No, I haven’t looked around. I wanted to contact you first.”

“But how did you get inside?”

Sophie glanced at Nikolas. “That’s a bit of a story. The short version is, I tested out a theory, and it worked.”

“Well, I have to go into surgery in twenty minutes, so I don’t have time to hear the whole thing now, but I want to hear it soon!”

“Sure.” Sophie turned slightly away from him as she said, “So what does this mean legally? Where do we stand right now, today?”

“According to the terms of the will, you gained ownership of the property and the annuity the moment you stepped inside that door. But as you’re no doubt well aware, it’s going to take a little time to process the final documents. It’ll be three to four weeks before you get the full title work and the financials. I still can’t believe you did it! Are you excited?”

Sophie looked over her shoulder at Nikolas. “You have no idea.”

“For several years now I’ve kept a letter on file ready to send to the solicitor in case someone managed to fulfill the terms in the will. All it needs is today’s date, your legal name, and my signature.” Kathryn’s voice grew muffled and distant as she told someone else, “I’ll be right there.” Then her voice came back stronger. “I’m afraid I have to cut this short. In a few hours, when I’m back at my desk, I’ll update and sign that letter, then send the scanned copy to both you and Paul. You won’t be able to resell any of the property—if you want to—until you get the paperwork, but you’ll be able to draw on the annuity within a day or two. Will that do for now?”

“Will that do?” Sophie laughed. “That’s amazing! I can’t thank you enough!”

“Thank the ghost of my father. He’s the one who set this up.”

“I know you have to go, but I have one last question, quickly. I’m having a hard time internalizing this. I actually own the property right now?”

“You own it. Right now you own five acres of land in England, which includes the manor house and the cottage. You can’t sell any of the land until you get the paperwork, and—sorry, I should have said this before, but I’m distracted—you need to retain ownership of the manor house to keep the annuity. The entailment is attached to the owner of the house. I know it’s a weird legality. If you need to go over that in detail, Paul can explain it better than I can. All right?”

“Yes. Thank you!”

“I’m so excited for you! Again, congratulations! Let’s talk again soon!”

As Sophie ended the call, she swiveled to stare at Nikolas. “I take it you heard all of that?”

Nodding, he strode over to cup her chin in his fingers. “You can’t sell any of the property until you get the papers, but you own it. If you were to sell the manor house, you’d be selling the annuity too, which makes it a very valuable piece of real estate, whether the building is useable or not.”

“I don’t want to sell it.” She looked back at the house. “Don’t ask me to explain, but I love every crumbling, creepy, unlivable inch of it.”

She said that so fervently he had to grin. His attention traveled back to that open, inviting door. He said, “Why don’t we see what’s inside those walls?”

“I can’t wait.” She turned to lope back to the house, and he caught up with her and kept pace easily.

When she stepped across the threshold, he was half a step behind her. A deep silence filled the large space they entered. Sophie walked into the middle of the area and turned around, looking around her with wide eyes.

She said in a hushed voice, “It feels funny to be walking somewhere no one has been for centuries.”

“Yes, it does.” The interior looked very solid, with a flagstone floor and walls made of stone. There was a raised dais at the far end of the open space. He tilted his head to study the high rafters overhead, looking for any potential weaknesses, signs of rot, or water stains that might indicate a possible collapse.

When he looked at her again, she was regarding him curiously. “Even for someone of your age?”

His mouth tilted. He told her wryly, “Several hundred years is a long time for any creature.”