his smile of greeting turning to a look of concern. âIs everything all right? You are not ill, are you, my lady?â
âAye. I mean, nay, I am fine,â Valoree murmured, rising to her feet as the solicitor paused before her. Turning to Meg with sudden panic, she added, âAnd this is my aunt.â She fell silent then, deciding at that point that she would be more than happy to allow the woman to take over. The lawyer intimidated her. She didnât know why. The other man and the butler hadnât, but this man, gentle-looking though he was, did. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that she had to go through him to get what she wanted, Ainsley Castle. And she knew that cutlasses and flintlocks were not the way to do it this time. She was out of her depth.
Meg stepped in to take over. As Valoree watched, Meg smiled and chatted away, entirely charming as the lawyer ushered them out of the salon and into his office. Once there, the small talk between the two continued briefly before they finally got around to business.
âI received your letter regarding your brother Jeremyâs death. I am sorry for your loss,â Whister began with suitable solemnity. âI realize he is the last of your close family.â
âIt was years ago,â Valoree murmured, ignoring the pang of loss she felt at the mention of his name.
âYes. Yes, of course. Well, it was lucky you hadsuch a lovely and warm aunt who could take over your upbringing and shelter you until now, though. Was it not?â He smiled charmingly at Meg, who actually blushed. Rolling her eyes, Valoree muttered a quiet agreement to that.
âWell.â Clearing his throat, he smiled once more at Meg, then looked away before getting to the sticky part. âI need proof of his death, of course. I presume youâ¦â The lawyer paused as Valoree suddenly tugged a rolled-up scroll of paper from her sleeve, then removed the ring she had not taken off since the day Jeremy had given it to her. The day he had died. She set both on the desk before him.
Whister read the scroll, a doctorâs letter, then examined the family signet ring silently before setting it gently back in the hand Valoree held out. He then settled himself behind his desk once more and began to shuffle through his papers. âWell then, of course you know that Jeremy never really claimed Ainsley. He made an appointment to see me and have ownership transferred from the guardianship into his name, but he never arrived for that appointment.â
âYes, I know.â Valoree ignored Megâs startled glance and cleared her throat. âAinsley wasâprobably still isâa shambles. Lord Swintun released the servants when he took over and rented the estate out for several years. Until it fell into disrepair.â
âYes.â Whister acknowledged gently. âYour brother did write to explain that he would miss our appointment. He did say that the estate had been poorly used by Lord Swintun. He claimed that Ainsley needed extensive work and monetary input to make it liveable and self-sustaining, but that there was not nearly enough money to make the repairs necessary. He had purchased, instead, a small ship and contracted to privateer for the king to earn the funds.â
Valoree nodded mutely.
âWhat I never understood was, why he did not take the money he purchased the ship with and use it to begin the repairs on Ainsley? Surely he might have borrowed upon the estate then.â
Valoree felt her hands clench in her lap. She had made that same argument herself. And had Jeremy agreed, he would still be alive. But things had not turned out that way. âMy brother was a proud man. He did not want to borrow . In fact, Jeremy bought the ship with jewels that were actually left to me,â she explained quietly. âHe intended to make enough wealth to return both those jewels to me and restore Ainsleyâ¦without involving