Hail looked at it too with the particular weariness of a man who has brought incomplete information to a negotiation and knows it. She set the deed on the table. The northwest parcel is clearly described in the original filing, she said in the tone she used when she was explaining something to the children that should have been obvious. The boundary marker references the creek bend, not the survey post, which I believe was Mr. Hail's point of contention. She looked at Hail pleasantly.
Unless I've misunderstood the nature of the discrepancy. Hail's jaw was doing something complicated. I'll need to review. He started. Of course, she said.
Take your time. He reviewed the documents for 8 minutes. He found what she expected him to find, which was that his company's claim rested on an assumption about the survey post that the original deed did not support. He left 30 minutes later without the 38 acres and without looking at either of them as he went. When the door closed behind him, Bramwell stood in the front room looking at the space Hail had occupied.
Then he turned and looked at Miriam. "How did you know where the deed was? " he said. "I reorganized the document box in November, " she said. "I read everything in it.
I like to understand things completely. " She paused. "I should have told you I'd done that. I apologize. " He stared at her.
"You read every document in the box? " Yes, and you remembered the specific language of the northwest parcel boundary. I have a good memory for precise language, she said. It's a habit. Bramwell Concaid stood in his front room and looked at the woman who had just preserved 38 acres of his land with a document she'd memorized in November, and she couldn't quite read the expression on his face.
"You are extraordinary, " he said. She felt heat rise to her face, which irritated her. "I just read carefully, " she said. Miriam. He said her first name, which he almost never did.
I know when someone's being modest about something important. Don't. She was quiet for a moment. You would have found it yourself, she said. Maybe.