Chapter 4: The Will

After her mother's death, Elinor was much involved with the proving of the will and obtaining probate. This involved going through all her mother's papers, and it was a pleasant surprise to discover quite how much money her mother had saved over the years. What she couldn't understand was the source of the four thousand pounds arriving tax paid in the bank account each month. There was one drawer in her mother's secretaire which was locked, but it was quite small and all the papers seemed to be in the files, so Elinor didn't want to spoil the secretaire by breaking it open.

A few days later a letter arrived asking Elinor to contact the Kobekistani embassy, as they had a matter of some urgency to discuss with her. Never having heard of any connection with Kobekistan, and finding no mention of it in any of her mother's papers, she naturally consulted the solicitor who had handled their few legal problems, her father's estate, her mother's will and now her mother's estate.

Although Thomas Parker-Wilkinson the senior partner had handled her mother's affairs, Jeremy Appleton, a young solicitor only a couple of years older than Elinor had been given the apparently straightforward task of sorting out the will, and he agreed to inquire at the Embassy on her behalf and duly telephoned. He was told that the matter was of the utmost delicacy and could only be discussed by the Ambassador personally, and only with Miss Bollington herself, though she was at liberty to have her legal advisor with her. He was, however, also assured that the matter was very much to the young lady's advantage, and the Ambassador's secretary went so far as to offer to send a car to collect them both.

The following day a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow pulled up on to the drive of the house, the door opened and an impeccably dressed, large, dark-skinned man stepped out. He opened the door for Jeremy and Elinor then bowed his head deeply as Elinor got into the car.

During the journey Jeremy and Elinor talked about protocol and what she must and must not do, "One thing I must stress is that you do not sign anything without my express permission."

"Ok Jeremy," Elinor said, somewhat taken aback by the splendour of the transport and the events that had overtaken her life.

When they were comfortably seated in the Ambassador's capacious study, with coffee and biscuits, and with some small talk of politics and the weather disposed of, the Ambassador broached the subject of concern.

"First I must ask you a personal question, Miss Bollington," he began, "Are you aware of any ... shall we say, ... erm ... that is, ... family history of your mother and more especially of your father?"

"If you mean, do I know that the father named on my birth certificate is not my biological father, yes," she replied, "My mother told me that years ago, when I was about nine or ten, but I have no idea who my real father is. My mother would never tell me, but she insisted I was conceived in love before she met her husband, and I know that the Professor was married to my mother before I was born. There had been some event which prevented my mother from marrying the man she loved, and I have always assumed that he had died."

The Ambassador looked very embarrassed, and eventually managed to say, "Your biological father, as you put it, is alive and in excellent health. The event to which your mother referred was his accession to the throne of Kobekistan."

"You mean my father is a King?"

"Your father is His Magnificence the Emir Mahmoud Abdullah, may he live for ever and have many sons, the present ruler of Kobekistan."

"But, we never moved in such circles; wherever did my mother meet him?"

"Immediately prior to his accession he was a post-graduate student at Oxford, and called himself David Ransome in England. His British nationality is in that name. I understand he proposed to your mother after his accession, but that she turned him down."

The solicitor intervened at this point and asked, "Do you have any proof of this?"

"Assuredly," said the Ambassador, "We have DNA evidence from some sixteen years ago, but we are happy to have you rerun the tests if you wish. Here is a certified copy of the Emir's DNA profile which you may compare with samples from your client anywhere you wish. I have no proof that he proposed, but I understand that the Emir's mother, now the Countess of Bargoed, was present, and she would doubtless vouch for it."

Elinor leant forwards and asked, "Is that where the money was coming from? And what does ... my father want to do next?"