Winds of Change (19 page)

She went to sit in Lou's favourite spot, feeling desolate and alone. The paper crackled as she clutched it to her chest and she smoothed it out, wondering what he had been so excited about. If he'd gone to this much trouble, she was certainly going to read it. But not now. Now she just wanted to sit in peace for a while.

The day of the funeral dawned with intermittent clouds and sunshine, a typical late autumn day in Western Australia. As Miranda got dressed, she couldn't help remembering her father's funeral, when she'd looked so shabby. It seemed a long time ago and yet it was only a couple of months. Today she was wearing some of the beautiful clothes Lou had bought for her and her hair had been properly cut and styled.

The woman in the mirror stared back at her, looking a little anxious, but also very elegant. That still surprised her every time she saw herself. The only garment Lou hadn't seen and approved was the hat, an elegant confection in black mesh with a wide brim and one black silk rose sitting in a spray of leaves that curved around the crown of the hat. He'd have liked the hat. She'd known that as soon as she put it on in the shop.

Regina had emailed to offer condolences, wish her well and bring her up to date about Nikki. Something about her sister's email was different, less confident perhaps. Miranda didn't have time to think about it just then. She hadn't heard from Nikki herself for a while and would make an effort to get in touch with her niece once this was over.

The funeral was to be held at the crematorium without any clergyman officiating, by Lou's express wish. His instructions said that his beliefs were his own and he didn't want a stranger, priest or not, pontificating about him.

Hilary got out of a sleek black vehicle just as the limousine carrying Miranda and Jack drew up. They got out and waited. She turned to glare at them and took the lead position in the line of people waiting to follow the hearse from the gathering point to the chapel.

The funeral director came to escort Miranda into the second position in the line, leaving Jack to go to the rear. She tried to demur, but he said that Mr Rayne had worked it all out and left them a list, so she stayed where she was. If Lou wanted her here, then here she'd stay. She felt a lot better, however, when Sally fell into place beside her.

There were more people there than Miranda had expected and more arriving all the time. These people exuded money: men with confident faces and perfectly fitting suits, dagger-thin women dressed in what she was sure were designer clothes, all nodding familiarly to one another.

‘Lou was well liked,' Sally said quietly as people continued to arrive.

‘Why did he never see any of them?'

‘They knew he had terminal cancer and didn't intrude. Some of them have flown in from the eastern states or overseas.'

Eventually the hearse came along, moving very slowly, and they walked behind it to the chapel. The tears Miranda had been holding back overflowed and ran down her cheeks, so she bent her head a little, hoping the hat would hide them.

To her horror, cameras flashed and journalists kept pace with the women at the head of the line of mourners.

‘Ignore them,' Sally said.

‘Why are the media here? And why on earth do they want to photograph me?'

‘Lou was a very rich man and you were his last known companion.'

Miranda looked at her in horror. Hilary thought she was a gold-digger and now everyone else would.

‘They're not important,' Sally repeated firmly.

The service was brief and consisted of a short piece written by Lou and read by Sally. He thanked everyone for attending, but especially thanked Miranda, who had brightened his last days, and his niece, who had looked after him when he was incapacitated.

Sally looked out at the mourners, not trying to hide her tears. ‘I shall miss him very much.'

Hilary stood up and Miranda braced herself for some pointed remarks, but his niece said very little, only regretting that she'd lost her uncle. She called down the Lord's blessing on his soul, the only mention of religion in the whole service.

Finally the coffin slid out of sight.

Hilary led the way into the reception area and Miranda tried to find a corner out of the way, as she usually did at social events. But Sally stayed by her side and people came up to speak to them, so this time she wasn't left to watch the others. She was grateful for their kind words and treasured the remarks they made about Lou.

Other people gave her curious glances but saved their condolences for his niece.

‘There's a proper reception in town afterwards,' Sally said. ‘You should attend.'

‘I know. Jack told me, but I really don't think—'

‘It's Lou's farewell. He wanted them to have a party, eat well, drink well, reminisce about him. You can't let him down.'

With a sigh Miranda got back into the limousine and endured another hour or two of chatting to strangers in a luxury suite in a hotel.

‘I'd better go and deal with the will now,' Sally said. ‘I've seen Hilary and she's ready.'

‘I'll take a taxi home, then, and leave you to it.'

‘You're needed. He's left you something.'

Miranda looked at her in dismay. ‘His niece will say I only stayed with him for the money, and I didn't.'

‘As long as you know the truth, what does her opinion matter?'

‘It'll matter if she says it publicly.'

‘That won't matter once you're in England, and it'll only be a two-day wonder, anyway.'

She said it confidently, as if going to England was a fait accompli.

Another sweeping change coming into her life, Miranda thought. And such a big one. She just wanted to stay in that lovely house for a while and . . . and what? She didn't know, and felt herself to be drifting without Lou's support and encouragement.

Sally settled Hilary and Miranda in her office.

‘I've asked my legal representative to join us,' Hilary announced. She looked at her watch. ‘He won't be long.'

Another lawyer was shown in five minutes later. Sally nodded a greeting, introduced him to Miranda and indicated a chair which he brought across next to Hilary's.

Sitting down behind the desk, Sally picked up some papers. ‘These give details of the other bequests in the will, and I have copies for you. What is more pertinent today, I feel, is how the will affects the two beneficiaries here, Lou's niece and his partner. The major beneficiary is his niece, Hilary, to whom he's left approximately ten million dollars in today's terms. It would have been more but for the recent crash in the share market. However, if you hold on to the shares, as he advises in a note he wrote to you only last week, their value should rise again.'

Hilary nodded.

‘He also left you the contents of his house, except for those items specified in the bequest to his partner, which I shall detail later. My client left separate bequests to five charities which he had supported with regular donations for many years. These amount to approximately two-thirds of what you've received.'

Hilary nodded again, though there was a sour expression on her face. Could she not be satisfied? Miranda wondered. She was rich now. Imagine having all that money! How free you would feel!

‘And finally, to his partner Miranda Fox, he left the contents of his home office, including his computer, and everything in the big sitting room in the house they were sharing. In addition there are a few more pieces of art, which are still in storage, and his car.'

‘I want to know what they're all worth!' Hilary said at once.

Sally stared at her, not hiding her disgust. ‘Why?'

‘Because if they're valuable I'm going to contest the will.
She
wormed her way into his life very recently and she doesn't deserve any bequest at all.'

The lawyer put his hand on his client's arm in a calming gesture and she subsided with an angry twitch of her shoulders. ‘If I may suggest it,' he said quietly, ‘I could arrange to have the bequests to Ms Fox valued.'

Miranda surprised herself. ‘Certainly not! It's none of your business.'

Sally smiled at her but quickly schooled her expression into calm neutrality. ‘I can see no need for that.'

‘What if the pieces of art are extremely valuable?' Hilary persisted.

‘That's irrelevant. You've been left a generous legacy and I doubt any court would consider that you'd been slighted by your uncle, who has left a statement with me that though you helped him after his heart attack, you've never been close and are not dependent on him in any way.'

Hilary ignored her lawyer's attempts to silence her. ‘We'll see about that. I'm not taking your word for anything. That woman –' she jerked a head angrily in Miranda's direction – ‘is mentally unstable. I have that on her own brother's authority. She only stayed with my uncle for the money and because she doesn't know how to fend for herself. It's downright immoral for her to receive so much.'

‘Ms Rayne, please!' He tugged at her arm.

‘No! I'll have my say. I could have accepted those things going to charity, but not to
her
.'

Sally sighed. ‘I'll overlook your harsh words today, Ms Rayne, because you're clearly upset about your uncle's death. But please be careful how you speak about my client in future.'

The other lawyer said in a colourless voice, ‘Perhaps
you
might have the pieces valued, then, Ms Patel, and let us know the amount?'

‘Why should we?' She saw Hilary open her mouth and added, ‘If your client makes any more threats or insinuations, it'll be we who are considering litigation.'

He inclined his head.

Hilary bounced to her feet. ‘In that case, I insist someone goes back to that house now and itemizes the things in the rooms that
she
has been left. I don't trust her, not one inch.'

Miranda had had enough. She looked at the clock. ‘You can send someone today or not at all.'

‘I'd prefer to come myself.'

‘I'll not have you in the house unless someone else is there too.'

There was dead silence, then Hilary's lawyer said, ‘I could send my clerk to accompany Ms Rayne – if that's acceptable to you, Ms Fox?'

She looked at Sally, who nodded.

Miranda sighed. ‘Very well. But the two of them are to stay together at all times.'

‘What do you think I'm going to do, steal your possessions?' Hilary yelled.

Miranda glared at her. ‘No, you'll harangue me. And I won't have it in my own home. If you start shouting, I'll ask you to leave at once.'

When the other two had left, after arranging to meet Miranda at the house, Sally said, ‘I'm sorry about this. Wills often bring out the worst in people. Who'd have thought a niece of Lou's would be so suspicious? What are you looking so surprised for?'

Miranda smiled. ‘That's the first time since I was twenty-one that I've stood up for myself in an argument and yelled back. I enjoyed it.'

Sally grinned. ‘Good. Keep practising. You must do it again if anyone threatens you. Lou would approve. Now, to change the subject, you
are
going to move to England, aren't you?'

‘I think so. If I can scrape enough money together.'

‘Oh, I think you'll find the stuff Lou left will give you a decent nest egg. Sell it and take off on your adventure. Do you have friends there?'

‘My sister and niece. Regina and I have never been really close but my niece is pregnant and I think I may be able to help her, so I'm going to live somewhere near them, not too close, though.'

‘Good.' Sally glanced at the clock. ‘I have another appointment now, I'm afraid. Will you be all right, Miranda?'

‘Yes. And thank you for your help.'

‘Don't let her upset you.'

Easier said than done, Miranda thought. And actually, she too felt she didn't really deserve a big bequest. But on the other hand, it was Lou's final wish that she have these things, so she wasn't going to give in to Hilary's bullying.

And it had been quite exhilarating to yell back. She smiled at the memory.

The clerk and Hilary didn't leave until ten o'clock that night. Lou's niece had checked every item that might have a value, questioned whether Miranda's own antiques really did belong to her, because Lou had forgotten to mention them in the will, and insisted on the clerk making a complete list of them, just in case.

Miranda wished they hadn't brought the antiques over from the flat, but they'd looked so silly there and she'd wanted to have them nearby.

She closed the front door behind her unwelcome visitors and leaned her back against it for a moment, rubbing her aching forehead.

Jack's voice made her jump. ‘Tania left you something to eat and said I had to make sure you had a proper supper.'

‘I'm not hungry.'

‘When did you last eat?'

She tried to work it out. ‘A few bits and pieces at the funeral feast.'

‘Then have something light, just to get Tania off my back.'

She looked at him ruefully. ‘Taking care of me, now, Jack?'

He smiled. ‘I like taking care of people.'

She went with him to the kitchen, ready to force down some food to appease him, but found herself suddenly ravenous and consumed the whole plateful of meat and salad, then downed the glass of white wine Jack had poured for her.

When she woke in the morning, Miranda didn't even remember getting into bed. She looked at her bedside clock and gasped because it was after nine. She'd slept in again.

It was as she was clearing up her clothes, which she'd dropped everywhere the previous night, that she found the crumpled piece of paper Lou had been holding when he died. She smoothed it out and this time read it carefully. It contained information about a picturesque cottage in the country, in a village a few miles away from where Regina lived.