Indulgence (167 page)

All the time the man spoke, Albert and Thomas had been
taking notes.

The attorney continued, “The trust was set up so that on
your twenty-first birthday, you would inherit William’s estate, which also
included your mother, Victoria’s. Due to your father’s refusal to answer my
many inquiries, I had a fiduciary responsibility to secure the trust.
Therefore, I put a hold on all of the accounts a month ago. I’m sure your
father was outraged when he discovered this. I also petitioned the court, at
that time, to remove him as trustee, which was granted. Therefore, since you
have not attained the age of twenty-one, a new trustee must be appointed to
oversee your interests.”

Anne took her time before responding. “Mr. Lawrence, I
appreciate all of your hard work. I apologize that you’ve had to make this
long, arduous trip in order to set things straight. Since it’s my trust, and I
will receive it within the next two months, I maintain it’s my right to choose
who I want to be the trustee.”

“With time constraints as they are, I believe that would be
acceptable,” Mr. Lawrence agreed.

“In that case, I would like Albert Stuart to be appointed
trustee.”

“Miss Wallace, usually a family member is selected. While I
have no misgivings about Mr. Stuart. . .,” he replied.

Mr. Lawrence,” she began. “I have no other family member in
the territory. Albert and I are engaged, so he is my family. I trust this man
implicitly and would appreciate your help in drawing up the necessary paperwork
to see that he’s given all powers pertaining to the trust.”

She is handling herself very well. Assured and concise,
Albert
thought.
This is a side of Anne I’ve never seen.

After considering her request, the lawyer told the
magistrate. “Your honor, I will have the papers drawn up by this afternoon. If
you have no objections, I will support Mr. Albert Stuart being named as the
trustee of Miss Anne Wallace’s trust.”

“This court has no objections, Mr. Lawrence,” Magistrate
Nelson replied.

“Very well, I shall have the documents completed by early
afternoon and will present them to your honor at that time,” the attorney
replied. “With that issue settled, I will tell Mr. Stuart and you, Miss Wallace
that I have brought all ledgers, deeds, titles, and account numbers with me and
shall turn them over to Mr. Stuart later today. The estate is vast and may take
some time to review. I will remain in town as long as you require, answering
any questions you may have.”

It was here Albert spoke up, “Mr. Lawrence, prior to you
freezing the accounts, in your opinion, was there any wrong-doing on the part of
John Wallace?”

Wording his response carefully, the attorney stated, “John
Wallace had the right to access monies in order to support his daughter, Anne.
Legally, he did nothing wrong. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you;
he did spend a great deal of money. I did question him at one time on his
spending and was told that he was supporting his daughter in a manner she was
accustomed to. However, the estate for the most part is still intact. I would,
at this time, like to go over Anne’s holdings in order to provide you some idea
of what I’m talking of.”

Magistrate Nelson spoke up, “I believe that would be
beneficial. But before you do so, I would like to know if you feel Mr. Wallace
could be tried for misappropriation of funds.”

“As I stated, your honor, legally he stayed within the
parameters of the trusteeship. Morally, he abused his authority at his
daughter’s expense. Mr. Wallace is an attorney; he stayed just within the legal
guidelines. Regretfully I don’t believe there are sufficient grounds to try him
for misappropriation,” Mr. Lawrence answered.

“Thank you, Mr. Lawrence, you may proceed,” Magistrate
Nelson instructed.

“Miss Wallace owns the following physical properties: the
estate outside of London, encompassing over five hundred acres of bottom land,
numerous rental buildings in London proper, and the ranch here in Nevada. There
are ten bank accounts, nine of which have not been touched,” the attorney
reported. “All documentation will be released to Mr. Stuart this afternoon. At
that time, he will be able to access said accounts.”

At this point, Anne asked, “Is there anything that needs our
immediate attention?”

“No, Miss Wallace. For convenience’s sake, you may elect to
transfer all of the bank accounts here to Nevada. The estate and buildings
continue to provide an additional monthly income to the estate. There is also
an additional account, which was set up by your grandfather, to pay the taxes
on the buildings and the estate for the next twenty years.”

Albert had listened very closely to Mr. Lawrence and was of
the opinion that this estate was far greater than anything Anne could have
imagined.

“What if I choose to sell everything in England? Can you
handle the sale?” she asked.

“Yes, but all the papers would have to be signed in person, by
you at the time of the sale,” he responded. “Your cousin had indicated he
thought you might wish to do so, and if you did, he would like to submit an
offer.”

“On the estate?” Anne asked.

“Yes,” the attorney responded. “Until I transfer possession
of the trusteeship to Mr. Stuart, I believe that is about everything, other
than telling you of your net worth, Miss Wallace. I have made a very
conservative estimate of your holdings as of today. With the estate in England,
the ranch, real estate holdings, bank accounts, crop income from the estate,
and livestock, I conservatively estimate your net worth at close to a half
million dollars.”

Anne sat in stunned silence. Thinking she had not heard him
correctly, she asked, “Did you say half a . . .”

“Million dollars,” Albert finished her question.

“That’s impossible,” Anne stated. “My grandfather was a
farmer. He raised crops and horses. There is no possible way his holdings were
that vast.”

“Miss Wallace, I assure you my figures are accurate. Your
grandfather was a shrewd and thrifty businessman. He had one child, Margaret,
and she had one child, you. Therefore, everything he possessed he left to you.”

“I need some air,” Anne announced, rising from the table,
heading for the door. Thomas stayed to discuss the transfer of everything to
Albert with Mr. Lawrence.

Anne quickly walked ahead of Albert to the outside, where
she paused, breathing deeply. After a moment he asked, “Are you all right?”

“No, I don’t believe I am. He can’t be correct. He must have
made a mistake. There is no possible way my grandfather could have amassed that
kind of money. Albert, I think I better sit down.”

Alarmed, Albert noted how pale she had gotten.Taking her
arm, he led her to a small bench in front of the courthouse. Squatting in front
of her, holding her hands, he asked, “Anne, you really didn’t know any of this,
did you?”

Looking at him, confused, she replied, “No, I didn’t. My
father never discussed any of this. I thought Papa may have left me a few
thousand dollars, but this, this is beyond belief.”

No wonder her father was so intent on doing her harm. He
stood to gain all of that if she were dead.
Albert thought. After a moment,
he said, “We need to get you something to eat. It’s a wonder you haven’t
fainted. Let’s go to the Cattleman’s Club for lunch and try to digest what
we’ve been told.”

“Albert, you don’t mind that I had you named trustee do
you?” she asked as he took her hand.

“No, I told you, I will take care of anything you allow me
to. I just wasn’t expecting anything like this. It’s a little overwhelming,” he
answered.

Looking at him for the longest time, she replied, “I wasn’t
expecting this, either, Albert. If you’re overwhelmed, imagine how I feel. No
wonder my father wanted to have me out of the way.”

As the men bid the attorney goodbye, Albert explained Anne’s
absence with, “She’s a little over-whelmed right now.” He told the man, “Mr.
Lawrence, you’ll see her tonight at Sky Valley.”

Just at that moment, Anne joined them. “May I speak to Mr.
Lawrence alone for a minute?”

Taken aback, Albert asked, “Anne, are you sure that you
don’t want me with you?”

“No, I’m quite sure. I’ll only be a moment,” she replied,
smiling at him.

Albert and Thomas walked out of the courtroom as Thomas
said, “I wonder what that’s all about?”

“I don’t know and I’m not so sure I like it. Why would she
want to speak to him by herself?” Albert asked.

As they waited for her, Albert thought,
It is her right;
she is entitled to some privacy. But, why didn’t she want me with her? Stop it,
Albert! Your ego is bruised; she did not need you to hold her hand. If she had
wanted you there she would have asked you to stay.

While Albert was left with his thoughts, Anne was talking to
Mr. Lawrence. “I must apologize for my behavior. I just had no idea that my
inheritance would be that much.”

“I realize that, Miss Wallace. Now what did you want to
speak to me about?”

“Mr. Lawrence, I would like for you to make an inquiry for
me when you return back east. My fiancé is very interested in windmills as a
water source here in Nevada. I’ve been reading about a company in Pennsylvania
that produces these very windmills. Here is an article I found about the
company,” she said, taking the document from her purse and handing it to him.

As Mr. Lawrence began reading, she continued, “I would like
you to contact them and inquire if they would consider selling the business to
me. If they are willing, please wire me and tell me the price. If it’s
reasonable, I would like to purchase it for Albert as a belated wedding
present. I know I can’t access the money now, but if you inquire, and they are
interested, I’m sure we could work something out. I don’t want Albert to know
of this, under any circumstances.”

“Of course, Miss Wallace. I’ll make the inquiry for you, but
are you sure Mr. Stuart shouldn’t be aware of your plans?”

“No, it’s not necessary that he knows. This is to be my
surprise for him. In the event they aren’t interested, or we can’t come to
terms on the price, I don’t want him disappointed.”

“Very well, I’ll see to it and wire you either way when I
return. Miss Wallace, up until the last five minutes, I was torn about an issue
pertaining to the trust. But now, after talking to you, I’m sure your
grandfather would want me to give you this,” Mr. Lawrence said, handing her a
small black passbook.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s something your grandfather wanted you to have. It was
another reason I was so intent on finding you. He wanted you to have this
whenever I was able to meet you and was convinced that you had grown into the
person he thought you would be. Your grandfather had great faith in you, Miss
Wallace, and loved you very much.”

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“He wanted to be sure you could handle that kind of money
before you turned twenty-one. In light of the past few days, I would say that
you, Miss Wallace, can handle most anything.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lawrence. I appreciate your confidence in
me. I won’t disappoint you or my grandfather. This is wonderful! If the company
is available, I can buy it for Albert as soon as you can negotiate the deal,”
Anne said, hugging the man. “Won’t you please join us for lunch?”

“No, thank you, I have a great deal of work to complete
before this afternoon. I shall see you this evening. And, Miss Wallace, I won’t
breathe a word of this to Mr. Stuart. I’m sure he already knows what a
thoughtful woman he’s marrying.”

As they walked out together, Mr. Lawrence tipped his hat and
bid them goodbye.

After they were seated at the Cattlemen’s Club, Anne began,
“Thank you both for being so patient with me. I still find all of this hard to
believe.”

“I imagine it’s a bit of a surprise for you,” Thomas told
her.

“Yes, it is,” she replied. If you feel it’s too much,
Albert, I’m sure there's an accountant at the bank who could handle
everything.”

“I can see to it, Anne. I think we should transfer
everything out here immediately. It will be easier to keep track of,” he told
her, avoiding the urge to ask her about her conversation with Lawrence.

“Whatever you think best,” she said, smiling.

While Albert and Thomas ate, Anne picked at her food. After
a while, seeing she was not going to finish her meal, Thomas said, “I’ve got a
few other errands to see to in town. That is why I rode Star. Why don’t you two
go on home? I’m sure there are things you need to discuss in light of this
morning. I’ll be along after I finish.”

Agreeing, Albert and Anne told him goodbye. Albert turned to
her and asked, “While we’re in town, why don’t we take care of a few things for
the wedding? That will get your mind off of all this.”

“Such as?” she asked.

“Well, I’m going to need a formal suit, and I assume you’re
going to need a wedding gown,” he said, smiling.

“That’s a very good idea. I can meet you after I finish at
the dressmaker’s.”

Laughing, he said, “I’ll meet you. It won’t take me near the
time it will take you.”

After leaving her at the dressmakers, he proceeded to the
tailor. When she entered the store, the owner, Mrs. Rogers, greeted her. “Well,
good afternoon, Miss Wallace. What may I help you with today? I’ve just gotten
in some new fabrics I’m sure you will like.”

“Mrs. Rogers,” Anne began, “I’m here for a particular
article.”

Seeing the ring on Anne’s hand, she exclaimed, “Miss
Wallace, you’re engaged! I assume it’s to Albert Stuart,seeing you two have
been inseparable since you arrived. We’ve all been waiting for an
announcement.”

“Yes, ma’am, we are. Since we haven’t officially announced
our engagement, I trust you will treat this information with discretion,” Anne
stated.