Discoveries Unlocked (A Narrative - Part 7)
What am I supposed to do to make you want me properly?
I'm taking these chances and getting away
And though I'm trying my hardest you back to her
And I think that I know things may never change
I'm still hoping one day I might hear you say
I make you feel a way you've never felt before
And I'm all you need and that you never want more
Then you'd say all of the right things without a clue
But you'd save the best for last
Like I'm the one for you
- Best for Last – Adele
She stared at the piece of paper. The words swimming around in a spiral of coherent and incoherent. She wasn’t crying. She had shed enough tears to fill an ocean. She was sore from head to toe with pain wracked sobs that filled her body. She had stopped crying and started living only just recently. And now this…
Walter and Sarah stared at her as she accessed the information. Worried eyes scanning over her features, looking for a crack in her demeanor. But she stood there. Unmoving as she stared at the paper. She wasn’t even reading anymore. She was taking the time to really think of what this means. What this meant. A whole new pain crept into her heart and she grits her teeth as she thought of the consequences. What would the outcome be if this got out? What would happen if everything was found out?
Finally, she looked up and laid the paper down on the table in front of her. With a calm she learned to control, a calm that can be construed as her being icy and unfeeling, she spoke. “Do they have any claim to my estate?” She eyed Walter, ignoring the shocked look on Sarah’s face as she watched the woman with concern.
He looked at her for what seemed to be an eon before speaking. “From what I gathered, since I wasn’t the barrister in charge then, your grandfather completely wrote her out of the will. I was quite surprised that he kept your mother in his will. I don’t know what she did to be written out, but obviously it was worse than running off and marrying a poor doctor.” He smiled at her knowing that above all else, Bel was proud of her mother for that. “In fact, he made changes to the will only…” He adjusted his glasses as he scanned the paper before looking back at Bel. “25 years ago to include any of Miss Geneva’s heirs.”
That startled Bel, her mind working before quirking a brow at Sarah. “Do you think he knew about me?” She asked the older woman who she now considered a close confidant. “If he did… why did he let us stay on Blackburne? Why didn’t he help us?”
Walter interrupted with a cough. “I believe he did. There is a bank account in your name. He opened it. He put in money every month. This is what it’s worth now.” He slid a paper towards Bel and she gaped at the amount. “Oh my…” she whispers before she looks at Walter. She takes a deep breath and frowns before nodding at Walter. “Transfer that amount over to her account.” She doesn’t say the third aunt’s name because then it would seem uncannily real. “Only... a quarter of it. The rest I want in this account.” She scribbles down an account number, one she knew by heart because she had opened it up. She was going to give it as a wedding present. Now… now she doesn’t know what she will give it as.
Walter takes the paper and slips it into his pocket before nodding. “I will take care of that as soon as possible, Miss Bel. What do you want me to do about the family?” He looked both curious and concerned about the look on Bel’s face as she contemplated this.
“Nothing. Do absolutely nothing. This is something I have to take care of myself in my own time. Thank you, Walter for being so thorough.”
“I only wish, Miss Bel, you will trust me enough to tell me what is going on.”
“When the time is right, Walter. When the time is right. Im not only protecting myself, Im protecting you and Sarah as well.”
Then she told them her plans. Sarah will stay on Persephone and in the house Bel grew up in. She will be the caretaker as well as her home. Bel will return to Persephone for brief visits. But she will not stay long. Walter will keep her updated on legal matters and financial needs. And he will give her an account that is… well, more legal than the other five she has to keep track of.
There was a lot Bel had to think about. So much information that she had to process it. The fourteen hour ride back to Hale’s was just what the doctor ordered.
I'm taking these chances and getting away
And though I'm trying my hardest you back to her
And I think that I know things may never change
I'm still hoping one day I might hear you say
I make you feel a way you've never felt before
And I'm all you need and that you never want more
Then you'd say all of the right things without a clue
But you'd save the best for last
Like I'm the one for you
- Best for Last – Adele
She stared at the piece of paper. The words swimming around in a spiral of coherent and incoherent. She wasn’t crying. She had shed enough tears to fill an ocean. She was sore from head to toe with pain wracked sobs that filled her body. She had stopped crying and started living only just recently. And now this…
Walter and Sarah stared at her as she accessed the information. Worried eyes scanning over her features, looking for a crack in her demeanor. But she stood there. Unmoving as she stared at the paper. She wasn’t even reading anymore. She was taking the time to really think of what this means. What this meant. A whole new pain crept into her heart and she grits her teeth as she thought of the consequences. What would the outcome be if this got out? What would happen if everything was found out?
Finally, she looked up and laid the paper down on the table in front of her. With a calm she learned to control, a calm that can be construed as her being icy and unfeeling, she spoke. “Do they have any claim to my estate?” She eyed Walter, ignoring the shocked look on Sarah’s face as she watched the woman with concern.
He looked at her for what seemed to be an eon before speaking. “From what I gathered, since I wasn’t the barrister in charge then, your grandfather completely wrote her out of the will. I was quite surprised that he kept your mother in his will. I don’t know what she did to be written out, but obviously it was worse than running off and marrying a poor doctor.” He smiled at her knowing that above all else, Bel was proud of her mother for that. “In fact, he made changes to the will only…” He adjusted his glasses as he scanned the paper before looking back at Bel. “25 years ago to include any of Miss Geneva’s heirs.”
That startled Bel, her mind working before quirking a brow at Sarah. “Do you think he knew about me?” She asked the older woman who she now considered a close confidant. “If he did… why did he let us stay on Blackburne? Why didn’t he help us?”
Walter interrupted with a cough. “I believe he did. There is a bank account in your name. He opened it. He put in money every month. This is what it’s worth now.” He slid a paper towards Bel and she gaped at the amount. “Oh my…” she whispers before she looks at Walter. She takes a deep breath and frowns before nodding at Walter. “Transfer that amount over to her account.” She doesn’t say the third aunt’s name because then it would seem uncannily real. “Only... a quarter of it. The rest I want in this account.” She scribbles down an account number, one she knew by heart because she had opened it up. She was going to give it as a wedding present. Now… now she doesn’t know what she will give it as.
Walter takes the paper and slips it into his pocket before nodding. “I will take care of that as soon as possible, Miss Bel. What do you want me to do about the family?” He looked both curious and concerned about the look on Bel’s face as she contemplated this.
“Nothing. Do absolutely nothing. This is something I have to take care of myself in my own time. Thank you, Walter for being so thorough.”
“I only wish, Miss Bel, you will trust me enough to tell me what is going on.”
“When the time is right, Walter. When the time is right. Im not only protecting myself, Im protecting you and Sarah as well.”
Then she told them her plans. Sarah will stay on Persephone and in the house Bel grew up in. She will be the caretaker as well as her home. Bel will return to Persephone for brief visits. But she will not stay long. Walter will keep her updated on legal matters and financial needs. And he will give her an account that is… well, more legal than the other five she has to keep track of.
There was a lot Bel had to think about. So much information that she had to process it. The fourteen hour ride back to Hale’s was just what the doctor ordered.
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