I couldn’t answer at first.

In my family Eleanor had been described as eccentric, private, difficult.

Here she was remembered as someone who learned names.

I understood then that my inheritance wasn’t a prize dropped out of the sky.

It was the result of decades of decisions I had not witnessed, and I owed it seriousness.

I hired an independent financial adviser and kept my editing clients while I learned.

I opened a separate account for legitimate estate distributions and refused Grant’s request to transfer cash immediately to a joint account.