Page 4 of Navy

It was only after they’d died that we all found out that Julian, the First, had included me in his will. I’d been included but with stipulations that had to be met for me to claim my inheritance.

He’d left me a massive sum of money, but only if I got married within a year of the will being read. Once I was married, then all of Tristan’s inheritance and shares would be held by me until he turned twenty-one. Until that happened the board was running the company.

Julian would get the house we’d grown up in and a monthly income. Yeah, he’d been pissed off at hearing that. Apparently, fifty thousand a month wasn’t enough to live on.

If my stepfather had died after Tristan turned twenty-one, then the will would have been null and void and he’d have inherited everything.

But as Tris wouldn’t be twenty-one until a few weeks after the year was up, we were kind of stuck. I hadn’t cared about the money—he could have kept it. I’m not sure what he was thinking when he made the will, but he’d really stuck it to me. Because if I didn’t adhere to the terms of the will, then my younger brother would lose his inheritance and it would all go to Julian.

On second thought, maybe my stepfather had known what he was doing because he’d known that I would do anything for my younger brother, and I think in the last year before he’d died, he’d realised what a fuck-up his oldest child was.

The quicker I got married, the better it would be, but I’d basically been held a prisoner on this property since I’d arrived. There was no way to get in contact with any of my friends to see if one of them was willing to walk down the aisle with me.

Gram and I’d been put in the small three-bedroom cottage right at the at back of the property. The only access to it was a dirt road that was in such bad condition it made me wonder how Julian made the trip as often as he did without doing major damage to his vehicle.

Along with car, my phone and keys had been taken away not long after I’d arrived. I’d have walked out if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d have to leave my grandmother alone and I’d not do that. She’d been trying to get me to leave for a month, knowing that my birthday was less than two months away and I needed to be married by then as per the will.

It seemed a moot point now that my stepbrother had just informed me that I’d be attending a ball with the man he’d chosen for me as a husband. I knew it was probably one of his cronies and that I’d never see a penny of the money. I was more worried about what it meant for the company and Tristan. Knowing my luck, once they got what they wanted, I’d more than likely end up in a dark hole somewhere. When I’d asked what would happen to Gram, he’d sneered at me and told me not to worry, he’d take care of the old bat.

I’d wanted to hit him.

Instead, here I was wondering what the hell I was going to wear for this stupid ball. Then I perked up. Maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to get word to Tristan somehow or find some other way to get help to get us out of this mess.

With a bit of pep in my step, I walked back into the house and hurried to the kitchen where I knew I’d find Gram sitting at the kitchen table. I’m sure that between us, we’d be able to come up with a plan.

The kitchen was the warmest spot in the house and where both of us spent most of our time. We didn’t really have much choice as there was no central heating in this old cottage except from the fire in the kitchen.

“So, what did my idiot grandson want?” Gram asked as soon as I walked back into the kitchen.

“To tell me I was attending a ball with the man he’d chosen as my husband,” I replied with a grimace. “They probably made a deal and he’s being paid so that Julian gets the money that was left to me. My worry now is what happens to you.”

“Oh, my darling girl, don’t worry about me. We need to come up with a plan to get you out of this farce that my grandson has cooked up. On the bright side, this could be your chance to get hold of Tristan. I don’t understand that boy. How could he not check on you?”

While I had to agree with her, and it hurt a little to think that my brother had not checked in with me for months or even driven down to check on our grandmother, I wasn’t going to let the hurt I felt stop the hope that filled me at getting off the property. I was nothing if not resourceful.

We both jumped as the back door suddenly swung open, crashing loudly against the side of the kitchen cupboard, before it was hurriedly shut and the person who’d come crashing in unannounced leaned back against it, breathing heavily.

“Hetty, what on earth has gotten into you,” Gram muttered, standing up shakily from the table. “Gia, quick, get her a glass of water.”

Going to the sink, I filled a glass of water and took it to the table where Hetty, the cook from the main house, had sat down.

Hetty wasn’t a young woman anymore, I’d put her around mid-sixties, she was short and portly, not a person I’d ever seen rushing about. I was a little concerned about how flushed her face was. She was clutching onto a bag full of what looked like clothing. I’m not sure who was more surprised by her sudden appearance, Gram or myself. We’d not seen any of the staff from the big house since we’d been relocated here months ago. During that time, Julian brought us just enough groceries to keep us going and not starving to death.

Taking the glass from me, she gulped down the water like she was a camel drinking at the last oasis in the desert instead of in the English countryside where it seemed to rain for fifty out of fifty-two weeks.

Hetty finished the glass of water and slammed the glass down on the table, stating baldly, “We have to do something ma’am. You and Miss Gia have to get off this property.”

Gram and I exchanged a look of amusement at her words and the way she laid them out. Like we hadn’t been aware that we needed to get off this property. I’d have walked off long ago if there had been someone to look after Gram while I went for help. But we’d not seen hide nor hair from any of the staff, not even the gardeners. The gardens outside the cottage had gone back to their natural wildness. I’d had no tools to keep up with it.

“We know, Hetty,” Gram assured her. “But we have no way of doing it. I’ve told Gia to leave and walk out but she won’t leave me.”

Hetty looked at me, and determination crossed her face. But before she could start ranting on about whatever had brought her here, I wanted to know how she’d got to the cottage. We were at the farthest part of the property, and I’d not heard a car drive up.

“How did you get here, Hetty, and how did you find us?” I asked.

Hetty drew herself up until she was sitting straight up in the chair, chin tilted up as if we wouldn’t believe what she was about to tell us.

“I walked, Miss Gia. I couldn’t stay away once I heard what that...” she spluttered as if trying to find the right word before exploding with “that bellend, beg your pardon for the language.

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