Page 54 of The House of Hopes and Dreams
‘Fat chance,’ I said, watching him neatly deposit a poached egg in the centre of each rectangle of toast. ‘How did she feel about your inheriting Mossby?’
‘Surprised, but pleased. She’s dying to come over and see it, but she can’t till the new series ofThe Little Crimesis in the can. When she does, she’ll probably bring Marcie with her.’
I liked Marcie, who was tall, slim and just as sassy as the character she played, while Lila had grown laid-back and comfortably plump over the years.
‘Eat up, because Mr Wilmslow will be here soon,’ Carey advised me.
‘Have you fed Fang?’ I asked. ‘Only he’s looking at me ravenously.’
‘Ages ago. I’m thinking of taking shares in that upmarket and overpriced dog food he favours.’
‘You’ll have to keep him out of the way when Mr Wilmslow arrives. I should think biting a solicitor would be areallybad move.’
‘Biting anyone is a really bad move. He’s coming at half past nine and he’s the punctual type, so we can take him into the small sitting room. Fang hasn’t learned to open the baize door yet.’
‘It swings, but I think it might be too heavy for him. I’ll make coffee and bring it through when Mr Wilmslow’s here. And by the way,’ I added, ‘I had a quick look at the nursery windows and I’m not entirely sure, but I think they might also be early Jessie Kaye: they’re certainly beautifully made. I’ll have a better look later, when there’s more light.’
When the solicitor arrived I gave him and Carey time for some private discussion before taking the coffee in.
Mr Wilmslow stood up politely to shake hands, saying he’d been hearing all about me and my plans for the workshop.
Carey knew all my secrets, so I sincerely hoped not …
The solicitor was a pleasant man who probably wasn’t as old as his manner suggested. His face was plumply wrinkled, much like a good-quality prune, and his eyes were a soft brown.
‘We’ve been talking about my will, Angelique,’ Carey said cheerfully. ‘Do you remember I said that last time we were just discussing a draft codicil leaving Mossby to Ella, I heard a noise outside the door and I’m sure she was trying to listen in?’
I nodded.
‘Your uncle always suspected that she snooped whenever she had the opportunity,’ said Mr Wilmslow. ‘He kept the door to the muniment room locked except when the cleaners went in, and he had the key of his roll-top desk on his watch chain.’
Carey said, ‘She won’t be hanging about this time, because the back door’s bolted and, anyway, Fang would bark at her.’
‘She does creep in very quietly, though,’ I pointed out. ‘Remember yesterday when she suddenly appeared in the kitchen while we were talking? She could have been there for a while, before Fang started growling.’
‘I believe she has only the back door key – and those to the Elizabethan wing, of course,’ Mr Wilmslow said. ‘She spends a lot of time there. Your uncle said she had a fixation with it.’
‘He could be right,’ agreed Carey. ‘But she can’t get into this part of the house that way, because the door from the muniment room into the old part is locked on this side, as is the one from the turret upstairs into Lady Anne’s bedchamber.’
I thought Ella could have lifted the bunch of spare house keys off the hook any time, and had them copied, but I said nothing. I probably have a nasty, suspicious mind.
‘After our last meeting, you decided to think further about making a new will entirely, instead of adding a codicil. Have you come to any decision?’ asked the solicitor.
‘Yes, now I understand that Ella only lived here for a couple of years as a small child, I think my uncle was very generous to her and her family.’
‘Then you do not wish to leave Mossby to her now?’
‘No. It’s not even as if she seemed to care about the place, other thanthe old wing. So I’d like you to draw up a new will along the same lines as the other, leaving a few bequests to friends and my mother and the remainder, including the Mossby estate, to Angel.’
I nearly dropped my coffee cup. ‘Tome?’
‘Yes: why not? I haven’t got any near relatives, apart from Mum, and she’s well off and settled in the USA. You’re my very best friend and if anything happened to me, I know you’d look after Mossby.’
‘Yes, but, Carey—’
‘Haveyoumade a will?’ he broke in.
‘No, of course not! I’ve never had anything much to leave.’
