Chapter 11: Inheritance

When Willow awoke the next morning, Ty was already gone.

She sorted through the morning mail and found a note from the lawyer a Baron David Karlson, who had contacted her the month before. She decided she had better go see him before she got any busier.

She told Grace she was going out. She didn’t need to be accompanied as she was just going to see a lawyer and would take Brain with her. She dressed and went to the stables to find Brain. He was happy to drive the carriage and take her to the meeting.

When Willow arrived, she apologised for not making an appointment. Since she was there, she asked if the lawyer had time to see her. She was shown into an office with a very elegant man sitting behind the desk. She picked him as being in his mid-thirties.

He got up and met her taking her hand in his and kissing the back of her hand. “Lady Terrell it is a pleasure to finally meet you. You are your mother’s daughter, her beauty shines out of you. Please sit.”

He escorted her to a chair, and she sat. “I was unaware that my mother had a will?” she started.

“Ah, well it is not so much her will, but her fathers. Are you aware of your parent’s history?”

Willow shrugged, “My father met my mother on a trip to the city and they got married and came home. There was nothing remarkable about their meeting to my knowledge.”

“Ah. That is where you are wrong. Her father had intended to marry her to another man. But she had already met your father. When she was seventeen, he asked for her hand, and her father refused, saying she was already spoken for.”

“When your father confronted your mother with leading him on, she informed him she had refused to marry the other man as she loved him. So they eloped. They were actually married in Sunland.”

David could see she was surprised at this news, so he continued, “By the time her father caught up with them she was already pregnant with you. He was furious and had his men beat your father and tried to make her come home with him.”

“Your father followed and fought with your grandfather and took her back. Her father said they would never see a penny from him and to my knowledge, he never spoke to either of them again.”

Willow was flabbergasted. She could barely comprehend her quiet, loving father lifting a hand to another in anger. But then again, he had loved her mother dearly.

David continued, “When Earl Terville got sick, he had the decision of leaving his fortune to either you or his Niece, Lady Beatrice Othello. He hated Baron Terence even more than he hated your father and despised Beatrice.”

“He did, however, respect your father as he had at least stood up to him and he had never asked him for a cent. So he left his fortune to you, but you were not to receive his wealth or lands while your mother lived. He was a hard man.”

Willow sat there quietly taking it all in. “What happens if I don’t want it?” she finally asked.

“It goes to Beatrice. They have already tried to claim that because your grandfather had disowned your mother, it should be hers by right. But it was proven he had never officially disowned your mother. Plus it was left to you not her, so their case was thrown out. This happened over two years ago. Not long after he died.”

She felt like telling the lawyer she didn’t want the guilt money, but she was a practical woman. It was after all her mother’s inheritance and would be her children’s when she had them. She did not intend to line Beatrice the bitch’s pockets either. “So what have I inherited?” she finally asked.

David handed her a list of items, “Your grandfather kept the house in town but got rid of the other properties he owned in Bavindor. He kept all of the properties he owned in Terville.”

“His Providence actually included Terville. He owned a small Manor house near your lands. He bought up a lot of additional land near your father’s land, and around the town. I believe that he originally did it out of spite, as it stopped your father from increasing his estate.”

“The townhouse is currently rented out for the Season, through an estate agency. The personal effects that your grandfather wanted you to have been in secure storage. About half of his wealth is tied up in shares in several companies in both towns. The rest, as per the statement I got yesterday is in cash that is in his account. I will organise having it shifted to your account. He included this letter.”

Willow looked at the letter. She wanted to crumple it up and toss it. But she didn’t. She opened the letter and read it. It was very curt. The Earl explained the death of his cousin the Duke of The Eastern Province and his family had forced him to pick her as his heir.

Else, it would go to any living, true relative the lawyers could find. He had planned to leave it to the second son. At the time of his death, he hadn’t been able to locate any other living relatives of their direct family line.

He informed her that he hadn’t petitioned the King for the Dukedom due to his illness. At the time of writing, he knew he didn’t have long to live. He sent out people to try to trace the other relatives to see if there were any alive.

He urged her to claim the title for the family if it was still available depending on how long the seat remained vacant after his death and she inherited. Else, she could continue his search and find another family member.

He had included a document that listed the last six generations of their line. Willow looked at the family tree. Several people including his sister had question marks and the note, ‘Not yet found,’ beside their names. She wasn’t happy that her father’s name wasn’t beside her mother’s; The Earl had placed a question mark in his place.

She was interested to note that Beatrice also had a question mark, as did Beatrice’s mother Dorothy. There was a note beside Dorothy’s name indicating that Beatrice was a bastard and not a Terrell. He had the name Robert Othello beside her mother’s name and pointing to Beatrice.

Beatrice’s mother had the surname of Lindum. The Earl indicated that Dorothy hadn’t successfully given birth to any of his brother’s three children. Willow wondered if it was true and if so then how closely related was Beatrice to her husband.

Her mother had once commented that they looked more like brother and sister. She had thought her mother was being abnormally mean as neither of them was particularly attractive people. Willow was now wondering if there was truth to her grandfather’s notes. It was something she may have to look into later.

She folded up the documents and asked David if he knew what was in the letter. He shook his head in the negative. Willow then looked at the bank draft and gasped, “That’s only half, did you say?”

Baron David nodded. “I think the shares are actually now worth more. It is up to you if you wish to keep them or sell them. Personally, I believe they are sound investments. The Iron Foundry, in particular, is doing well. You shouldn’t be too hasty in disposing of them.”

“The renting of the townhouse keeps it maintained. Some other properties are also rented or leased. So you don’t have a lot of overheads as I automatically send the taxed portion of the rents to the King’s Treasurer.”

“Did he put any stipulations on the inheritance, I’m still only seventeen?” she asked him.

David frowned and looked through the will again, “No, only if you didn’t want it, it would go to his next living true relative. Interestingly he didn’t actually name Beatrice at all. I think that’s one of the reasons why it was thrown out of court.”

“He didn’t assign a Guardian if you were under-age. By law the fact you are over sixteen, you can inherit in your own right without a guardian. I guessed he thought you would be a lot older when you inherited.”

“My father’s will left me with a guardian. I’m Duke Arrondale’s ward.”