I'll Get By by Janet Woods Read Free Book Online

and her expression must have shown the same surprise as his, when he said, ‘Unless you’ve changed your gender you’re not Doctor Elliot!’
    ‘I’m his stepdaughter, Margaret Elliot . . . and you’re not Simon Stone.’
    ‘I’m his grandson . . . Rainard Stone.’
    ‘As in Reynard the fox?’
    ‘Exactly as . . . but spelled differently because I was born in a deluge.’ This was accompanied by a smile.
    ‘Really . . . how odd.’
    He shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. ‘It was supposed to be a joke to relax the client with. I was actually named after a long dead ancestor.’
    ‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ she said, with a smile, quoting from Alice in Wonderland. ‘That’s a joke to relax the solicitor with.’
    ‘We must have been brought up on the same nursery stories. Most people call me Rennie.’
    ‘Has your grandfather retired?’
    ‘Simon Stone died last year, I’m afraid, and my Anderson grandfather has a couple of years left in him before retirement. My father is away at present and the receptionist is at home with a streaming cold so I’m a bit pushed. That was my mother at the front desk helping out.’
    ‘Oh, I’m sorry . . . about Mr Simon Stone. I met him when I was a child and he struck me as being a lovely man.’
    His smile was spontaneous, and disappeared as quickly as it came. ‘He was. Now then, Miss Elliot, is there something I can help you with?’
    ‘I hope so. It’s about the Sinclair legacy.’
    ‘I really don’t think that’s something I should discuss with you.’
    She fixed him with a gaze, mentally doing the ten count. ‘Why not, when I’m the beneficiary?’
    He opened the file and gazed down at it then offered her a smile. ‘I see you must be the young lady who was born Margaret Eloise Sinclair Sangster.’
    She nodded. ‘Elliot is my adopted name.’
    ‘I still can’t discuss it with you. Doctor Elliot is the trustee acting on your behalf until you’re of legal age.’
    He was infuriating. Skipping numbers five to seven she jumped straight to number eight. ‘I see. Then we won’t discuss it. All you have to do is listen, so you’ll know what my side of the argument is when Doctor Elliot brings it up with you.’
    He didn’t mince words either. ‘Let’s get one thing clear to start with, Miss Elliot. I don’t care much for that hostile tone you’re using. I’m not the enemy.’
    She must have sounded like a spoiled brat. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Stone. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. The thing is, I’ve grown up with this legacy yet nobody ever consults me about it, or will even listen to me when I want to talk about it. I’ve also never been one to use six words when one will suffice. It often gets me into trouble.’
    His eyes were a glow of amber flecked with brown, and as alert as those of the fox he’d been named after. He picked up his fountain pen. ‘Forewarned is forearmed; let’s get on. Just expect me to bite back. You won’t mind if I take notes, will you?’
    ‘You won’t need to since I can say it all in two or three short sentences, which won’t waste your time. I want to study at Cambridge if they’ll have me. Assuming I’m accepted, I’ll need money to pay the fees and support myself. Will I be able to use money from the Sinclair legacy to pay for that purpose?’
    ‘It depends. We must be careful not to incur a debt that you’ll be liable for in the future.’
    ‘I thought you couldn’t discuss it with me, and after all, it’s my money to spend.’
    He sighed. ‘That may be, but I can’t . . . not until I’ve been through the file and then informed the trustee of the enquiry with my recommendations. To be honest, my grandfather thought that the Sinclair trust had just about exhausted its capital during the depression. He said the estate had been neglected and no effort had been made for it to be productive. I will need to study the file in some depth to give you a definitive answer. I believe