by Rosie Harris
‘Incidentally,’ Jenny warned, ‘if it does go to court and you insist on staking your claim you will have to pay for a lawyer and so on so it might end up costing you most of what Lionel has left. It might make more sense to humour Edwin and go along to the meeting tomorrow morning. If, as Lionel said, Edwin doesn’t need the money and you explain in a reasonable manner why it means so much to you then Edwin might capitulate without a fight.’
Twenty-Four
The next morning Karen refused to go to the solicitor. She was still in bed when Jenny received a phone call from Edwin to say that it was imperative that Karen should attend immediately and that they were sending a taxi to collect her and that it would be there within twenty minutes.
Under duress from Jenny, Karen eventually complied, although she staunchly maintained that it was unnecessary and that Edwin was simply being awkward.
‘You are legally Lionel’s next of kin,’ Jenny pointed out. ‘I don’t know for sure but it might be necessary for you to be present in order to sign the relevant papers or something.’
Karen waved a hand dismissively. ‘Load of poppycock. It’s simply Edwin being difficult. All right I’ll go,’ she capitulated. ‘It will be a laugh to see the look of disappointment on Edwin’s face when the solicitor confirms that Lionel hasn’t left him anything, not a single memento even.’
She insisted that Jenny went with her and she was still protesting loudly about what a waste of time it was when the taxi reached Liscard and drew up in front of the solicitor’s office in Wallasey Road.
Edwin, in his dark grey pinstripe suit and sombre dark tie contrasted strongly with Karen, who was wearing tight fitting black slacks, a gaudy white and red top and a bright red woollen jacket.
‘Well?’ she demanded haughtily as they were shown into the solicitor’s office. ‘Why do you need me here? If it’s simply to sign something then surely you could have sent me all the documents.’
‘Not really, Mrs Bostock.’ The solicitor took off his gold-rimmed spectacles and regarded her with shrewd blue eyes. Then he polished his glasses and replaced them before explaining.
‘I understand that you are under the impression that the late Lionel Bostock has left everything he owned to you.’ He looked at her sternly from over the rim of his gold-framed glasses. ‘I am afraid this is not so,’ he said curtly.
‘What are you talking about, what’s he been telling you?’ Karen asked, colour rising in her cheeks. ‘I knew you would try and make things as difficult as possible,’ she said, glaring in Edwin’s direction.
‘The only thing which comes directly to you is the bungalow Mr Lionel Bostock was in the process of purchasing and which has your name on the deeds,’ the solicitor went on, ignoring her outburst. ‘I’m afraid, however, that he had not completed negotiations and had only paid a minimum deposit and made an arrangement with his bank for a bridging loan to cover the rest of the payment.’
‘You’re wrong.’ Karen almost spat the words at him. ‘You and Edwin Bostock are trying to cheat me out of my inheritance. You know very well that I am telling the truth. I was here with Lionel the day he changed his will and bought the bungalow.’
‘You were here, yes,’ the solicitor continued drily, ‘and he did change his will in your favour. It was drawn up and read over to you both but it was only the draft so of course he never signed it; he would not be required to do so at that stage. He had arranged to come back in two weeks’ time to do that after we had drawn up a new document.’
‘I was right here at his side. I saw him sign both documents,’ Karen protested. ‘One was his new will and the other was for the bungalow,’ she insisted stubbornly. Her voice was no longer strong but almost whining and the colour had drained from her face.
‘I think the documents you saw my father sign were in respect of the bungalow only,’ Edwin explained. ‘One was to sign that he was proposing to buy it and the other was for his bank agreeing to a bridging loan which would cover the rest of the purchase price that was not covered by the deposit.’
‘That is quite correct,’ the solicitor affirmed. ‘Those were the two documents he signed. Neither of them had anything to do with his will.’
Although he was obviously the victor, Edwin retained his dignity. ‘I’m sorry, Karen, that you misunderstood what was going on. All you inherit is the deposit Dad paid on the bungalow.’
‘So I don’t even own that?’ Karen said in a shocked voice.
‘I’m afraid not. Well, not unless you can afford to pay the outstanding ten thousand pounds to complete the deal.’
Edwin looked expectantly from Karen to Jenny and back again.
‘You know I can’t,’ Karen muttered angrily. ‘I want the money that Lionel put down as a deposit on the bungalow and I want it now.’
‘That’s not possible,’ the solicitor told her quietly. ‘You will have to wait for that until the bungalow is sold and then you will receive any money that is left after the estate agent has taken his fee. You will also have to pay interest to the bank on the borrowed money and any other banking costs that may have accrued. What is left will then be legally yours.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m afraid there will not be very much left as Mr Bostock only paid the minimum deposit.’
‘This is your fault,’ Karen said, rounding on Edwin. ‘You were jealous because I was getting your father’s money and not you. He said you didn’t need it because you already had plenty of money and you earn a good salary.’
‘Very true,’ Edwin agreed, ‘but until he met you I was his only family and sole beneficiary and that is how it remains.’
‘It means that I have nothing at all now.’ Karen’s green eyes were brimming with tears and her lower lip jutted in a sulky pout.
‘I’m afraid that is so,’ Edwin agreed sombrely. ‘You don’t even have anywhere to live because I now own the flat in Merseyside Mansions.’
‘You can’t turn me out, I have nowhere to go,’ Karen protested in a hostile tone.
‘I most certainly can but I wouldn’t be so uncharitable,’ he assured her. ‘You are welcome to stay there until the flat is sold or you decide to move, whichever comes first.’
‘Very generous,’ Karen said in a scathing voice. ‘You take everything else do you?’
‘I do and it is all legal and above board.’
‘Don’t you even care that Lionel said he was leaving everything to me? I don’t suppose you’ve even seen his new will.’
‘As far as I am concerned it doesn’t exist because he never signed it,’ Edwin told her indifferently.
‘You are going against his wishes,’ Karen argued.
Edwin shrugged. ‘As a measure of goodwill I will waive the matter of you paying me any rent while you are in his flat.’
‘You might as well because I have no intention of doing so. What’s more, I’ll leave when I’m ready not because you want me to,’ she retorted, tossing her head defiantly.
As soon as the news about Lionel’s will reached Merseyside Mansions gossip was rife. Jenny knew that it would be the topic of conversation at the next coffee morning and she would have preferred not to go, but Tom Fieldman pointed out that she had to face the music sometime and the sooner she did so the better.
‘I’ll be there, at your side,’ he promised and he was as good as his word, waiting to accompany her when she arrived at the communal lounge on Wednesday morning.
They were left in no doubt that everyone had heard the news and they all held strong opinions. Some openly approved when they heard that Karen had not been left anything.
‘Serve her right, marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather.’
‘We all said it wouldn’t last.’
‘Not as much of an old man’s darling as she thought she was.’
‘Nothing but a little gold-digger.’
‘The sooner she’s out of his flat the better.’
‘Silly old fool; we all said that getting married again at his age would kill him.’
‘I think her grandmother has set her cap at someone so look out for developments there. We might all be buying new hats again.’
The last comment brought gales of laughter.
Unable to stand their sour recriminations and insinuations, Jenny excused herself and stood up to leave despite Tom Fieldman’s whispered advice to ‘stick it out’ as he placed a restraining hand on her arm.
‘Going to try and sort out the mess your granddaughter’s in are you?’ Jane Phillips said waspishly as Jenny reached the door.
Jenny didn’t answer. She wished she’d done the same as Karen and steered clear of the community lounge. She had suspected that there would be tittle-tattle but she hadn’t expected there to be so many unkind remarks.
If Tom Fieldman hadn’t been at her side, talking to her as if nothing was amiss, she was sure she would have made a fool of herself and broken down in front of them all.
Once outside the room she thanked Tom for his support but declined his suggestion that they should go out for a drink.
‘It’s very kind of you but I would rather not. I simply want to get back to my own flat,’ she told him as she struggled to hold back her tears.
She felt so miserable that she wondered if she should move away from Merseyside Mansions. She loved her flat and until now she had quite enjoyed the mixed company there, but this incident over Karen had brought it all crashing down around her ears. Inside her head she could still hear some of the waspish remarks that had been made about Karen and they stung.
What she needed was a strong cup of tea and then she’d take a brisk walk along the promenade. That would clear her mind, she told herself as she let herself into her flat.
To her dismay she found Karen was there, curled up in an armchair, her eyes red from weeping.
‘You’re back early,’ Karen said, sniffling.
She gave a watery smile and Jenny’s heart went out to her, she looked so pathetically young.
‘Yes, I felt like a brisk walk,’ Jenny said. ‘Want to come? I know it’s blowing a gale out there but if we wrap up warm it will do us both good.’
Karen shook her head. ‘No … No, I won’t come with you, Gran.’
‘Look, Karen, it’s no good crying about all that’s happened, certainly not over the money. You’re young and healthy, so put the past behind you and start a new life.’
Karen stared at her wide-eyed. ‘I can’t do that.’ She burst into gulping sobs. ‘Gran, I don’t know what to do, I’m pregnant … I … I am going to have a baby.’
Twenty-Five
‘Edwin really must be told about this, Karen,’ Jenny insisted.
‘For one thing your child will be his half-brother. Also, it may change his mind about his father’s estate. You said he agreed that he didn’t need the money so perhaps under the circumstances he will see his way clear to let you have some, if not all of it.’
‘No, Gran, I don’t want him told. He will only say unkind things and I can’t stand it … not at the moment anyway.’
‘Rubbish! The matter has to be dealt with right away. It changes everything,’ Jenny said brusquely. ‘Are you going to telephone him and tell him the news or shall I do it?’
Jenny’s heart went out to Karen as she shook her head and curled into an even tighter ball, her shoulders quivering as though with fear. She felt she was being very harsh but it was for Karen’s own good, she told herself.
‘Come here, let me give you a cuddle,’ she said in a softer voice, holding out her arms.
Slowly, Karen stood up and came over to the settee where Jenny was sitting. As Jenny gathered her into her arms and stroked her hair Karen once more burst into tears, sobbing as if her heart would break.
‘Come on, come on, worse things happen at sea.’ Jenny crooned the mantra she had used so often when Karen had been small and come running to her in tears. ‘We’ll get through this together; we’ll manage somehow. If you don’t want me to tell Edwin then I quite understand.’
Slowly, Karen’s tears subsided. ‘You’re right, Gran, he ought to know,’ she said at last. Pulling herself upright and away from Jenny, she asked, ‘Will you tell him for me?’
Jenny was silent for a moment. ‘I think we should talk it through with Tom Fieldman first and see what he thinks is the best thing to do.’
‘Must we. It will be all round Merseyside Mansions in next to no time if we start asking other people’s opinions.’
‘Nonsense. Are you forgetting that before he retired Tom was a solicitor. I’m sure he will be most discreet.’
‘You like him, don’t you.’ Karen smiled.
‘Yes, I do. He has been a staunch friend to me and without his help I don’t think I could have got through the last few months,’ Jenny agreed.
‘I should never have come here, it’s caused you nothing but trouble. I’m sorry, Gran.’
‘That will do, we can’t turn the clock back so let’s deal with this situation in the best possible way. I’ll invite Tom to come and have a cup of tea with us this afternoon and then we can ask his advice.’
‘I think it might be best if you asked Edwin to meet you at the solicitors’ who are handling Lionel’s affairs,’ Tom Fieldman told them. ‘That way Edwin will appreciate the seriousness of the matter and, if he does decide to make you some sort of allowance out of his father’s estate, then you not only have a legal witness but you won’t have to tell your story to the solicitor all over again.’
‘You will come with me, Gran, if I do that; I can’t face them on my own?’ Karen asked anxiously.
‘Of course I will. I’ll telephone Lionel’s solicitor right away and make an appointment. The sooner we do it the better. I’ll ask him to contact Edwin and then to let us know when they can see us.’
To Jenny’s great relief a meeting was organized for the following morning at eleven o’clock.
‘Mr Edwin Bostock is due to come in to sign some documents so I’m sure he will be agreeable to seeing you at the same time. Would you like to tell me what this is about?’
‘No, I think it might be better if we tell you in Edwin Bostock’s presence,’ Jenny said cautiously.
She spent a restless night thinking over what Karen had told her and all its many implications. Once again she felt it was her fault; that she had failed Karen, and Eddy. She tried not to think of what he would have made of the situation.
Next morning, to her surprise, Karen appeared dressed in a simple black skirt and pale blue jumper. Her thick tawny gold hair was drawn back into the nape of her neck and she was wearing no make-up or lipstick. She looked pale and washed out, very different from the rather brash figure she had appeared to be at the cremation.
Jenny made no comment but a feeling of relief swept over her. Thank goodness Karen was taking this matter seriously. She hoped Edwin would also understand how grave it all was and that he would show compassion when it came to settling Lionel’s affairs.
Karen hardly spoke a word over breakfast or while they cleared up and got ready to go to the solicitors’. Jenny kept thinking of things she wanted to tell her or ask her but decided it was better not to say anything. Karen looked quite composed as if she had sorted out everything in her own mind, so perhaps she ought to let her deal with the forthcoming meeting in her own way.
Edwin was already there when they arrived at the solicitors’ office and, judging by the pile of documents on the desk, they had already dealt with the matter he had come about.
He looked impatiently from Karen to Jenny. ‘I understand you wished to discuss something with me?’
‘Yes, Karen has something to tell you,’ Jenny said quietly. ‘Go on, tell them,’ she prompted, touching Karen’s arm.
Karen hesitated for a moment and then she said in a low voice, ‘Gran thought you ought to know that I am expecting a baby and …’
Edwin’s outburst of laughter halted her.
‘That
’s one of the oldest tricks in the book,’ he said caustically. ‘I suppose you are hoping that I will make you a handsome allowance so that you can bring the child up and educate it.’
‘You can laugh. It will be your half-brother or half-sister,’ Karen shouted at him, her cheeks flaming with indignation.
‘Indeed it won’t. You may be pregnant but it is nothing to do with me,’ he retorted in an amused voice.
‘One moment please.’ The solicitor held up his hand for silence and concentrated his attention on Karen. ‘You are telling us that you are pregnant and that the late Lionel Bostock is the father of the child you are expecting?’
‘That’s right.’ Karen sniffed, her voice low.
‘Impossible!’ Edwin’s voice rang out in denial. ‘My father had the snip over thirty years ago.’
‘Are you quite sure about this?’ the solicitor frowned.
‘Quite sure; I was eleven years old at the time and I can remember the discussion over breakfast the morning he was due to have it done as clearly now as then.’
‘Discussion over breakfast?’ Jenny frowned. ‘You a mere child! I hardly think your parents would discuss such a topic in front of you.’
‘You seem to forget, Mrs Langton, mine was a medical family. My mother was a hospital matron when she married my father and he was a surgeon and such matters were discussed openly,’ Edwin said curtly.
‘Is there any way you can confirm this?’ the solicitor asked.
‘Of course he can’t. Lionel’s been cremated so he’s just bluffing,’ Karen said triumphantly, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
‘You can look at my father’s medical records,’ Edwin said quietly. ‘You’ll find all the details there.’
Jenny looked from one to the other of the two men in bewilderment. ‘If what you say is true then how is it that my granddaughter is pregnant?’ she asked.