Page 49 of Falling for the Warrior

The men shared a laugh. “Yes, I am sorry to hear about your injuries and your lapse in memory. Please, sit. Brandy?”

“No, thank you.” Owen unbuttoned his jacket and settled into the leather chair, facing the solicitor.

“Now, I know in the letters you sent me, you wanted a solid understanding of your finances and investments. As you know, I take care of the entitlement and your personal expenses. I assume you have been in contact with your other business managers?”

“Yes, and I have a firm grasp of my business investments. This meeting is to fill in the gaps. Plus, I have some legal matters I wish to discuss with you.”

The solicitor nodded. “Then let’s begin.” Mr. Perkins reviewed the holdings of the earldom, most of which Owen already knew from Victor Steele, but it was good to get a legal grasp of the situation. It brought to light something he had given little thought to: an heir. If he did not produce a son, all the entitled lands in the earldom would go to a cousin of his. Owen would deal with that later.

After they reviewed his holdings, they went into more personal issues. “The last thing is the monthly payments made on a townhouse in Grosvenor Square.”

Owen squirmed in his chair. “Who lives in the townhouse?”

Mr. Perkins cleared his throat. “Miss Violet James. She has resided in the home for almost two years. You pay the rent, expenses for the household, wages, plus give her a generous monthly allowance.”

“And this has continued?”

“You gave instructions before you left that the payments were to continue.”

That would have been almost a year ago. Good God, the woman had been living off him for this long? Now Owen was more determined to cut ties with this woman. She probably didn’t even care if Owen lived or died, as long as the money kept coming in.

“Have this month’s accounts been paid?”

“Yes.”

“That will be the last payment on the property.”

The solicitor’s eyes grew wide in astonishment.

“Make sure we give the staff an extra month’s wages for the inconvenience. I will pay a call on Miss James after we are finished to let her know of my intentions.”

“Very well, sir. Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

Owen hesitated a moment before continuing. “I want to go over my will.”

“Your will?”

“Yes. What provisions have I made for Lady Fernsby upon my death?”

The solicitor went over to a filing cabinet and opened a drawer. He thumbed through the papers until he found what he was looking for, then settled back in his chair. “As per usual, anything in the entitlement will go to your heir. If you do not produce an heir, the next in line is a second cousin.”

“But what about my wife?”

Mr. Perkins scanned the document. “Ah, here it is. You have allotted her a yearly allowance, plus she is to keep any monies still intact that she brought with her to the marriage.”

Perkins showed him the allotted sum. It was a generous amount. Based on his wealth, Owen knew he could do to give Selena more. “I want to up the yearly allotment by five hundred pounds. Plus, I want to bequeath her one of my estates, something that is not in the entitlement, obviously. And it needs to be iron clad.”

“Sir?”

Owen leaned forward in his chair. “Should I come back to my previous senses, or lack thereof, as I’m inclined to call them, I want to be assured that Lady Fernsby gets this settlement and that I cannot change it. Can it be done?”

“I’m sure there is a way.”

“I will be frank with you, sir. If I turn back into that hateful excuse of a man that I once was, I want Lady Fernsby to have a way out. A way to be rid of me.”

The solicitor wrinkled his brow.

“I don’t want to see her suffer anymore.”

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