Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“I can’t understand why he would ha

ve his paperwork scattered around so much. It is all his. Most of it is in his handwriting,” Aaron sighed.

“Maybe he was worried about someone going through his papers in his study and finding something important, so made the papers that mattered a little harder to find,” Oliver suggested.

“I always thought everything was in here where it was supposed to be,” Elspeth frowned.

Once again, she had to wonder if she really had known her brother as well as she had thought she had. He certainly had lived differently to how she expected.

“Did you not get left any kind of stipend from an aged relation at any time in the past?” Aaron asked.

Elspeth shrugged. “I may have done but Thomas always dealt with things like that.”

“Details of anything like that might be in here,” Oliver said.

“I suggest we have something to eat and then go through this lot. Jasper should be back from the solicitors soon. It will be interesting to find out what the solicitor has to say about the contents of Thomas’s will,” Niall said.

He brushed his dusty hands off and pushed to his feet with a weary sigh.

Half an hour later, while everybody was pouring through the paperwork, Jasper slammed into the house.

“Hello?” he called.

“In here.” Aaron poked his head out of the door. The look on Jasper’s face could only be described as thoughtful. “Well?”

Jasper stalked into the study and lifted his brows at the veritable mounds of paperwork covering practically every surface.

“The solicitor has Thomas’s will, however has already had a visit by Frederick, who is adamant the terms of the deeds to the house are that the property can only be inherited by the men in the family, or close relations if there is no issue. The man was so rude with the solicitor that the man, Mr Kerlew, refused to accept his word. There is no paperwork to support Frederick’s claims, you see?”

“None at all?” Elspeth whispered.

She looked about to cry. So much so, Aaron edged closer and slid a comforting arm around her.

“Has the will been read?” Aaron asked.

“No. Because the solicitor has to ascertain whether there is any such condition in the property deeds. He has gone through it all and has requested her father’s file from the old solicitors. Unfortunately, there has been trouble finding the old paperwork. It is over fifty years old, apparently. Nobody is sure if it even still exists.”

“What happens then?” Niall asked.

“The solicitor has said that given there is no such condition on the deeds he has, and no stipulation in Thomas’s will to say that it has to go to a male in the family, the will stands as it is, and that everything goes to Elspeth,” Jasper said around a hearty yawn. “He just has to have taken all reasonable steps to ensure there is no historic condition placed upon the title deeds he doesn’t know about before he can transfer the papers to Elspeth and make it legally binding.”

“It all goes to Elspeth,” Aaron murmured with a nod of satisfaction.

Jasper nodded slowly.

“But the solicitor said that possession is nine tenths of the law. If Frederick does manage to bully her out and is adamant that the males can only inherit the property, it is down to Elspeth to prove otherwise. The will states quite clearly that she is to inherit the house, and Thomas’s fortune of approximately three and a half thousand pounds. Unfortunately, the solicitor contacted the bank to arrange for the transfer of the funds only for the bank to make it clear the money was withdrawn only a few days before Thomas’s death,” Jasper replied.

“Elspeth has the property but no funds to live off, so she can stay here but not live,” Oliver ground out.

“What in the Hell possessed the man to do such a thing?” Callum demanded.

“We have to consider that it may not have been Thomas who withdrew that money,” Aaron warned.

“Oh, but it was. You see, I went to the bank myself and spoke to the man who dealt with the withdrawal. He remembers it, you see, because it was such a large sum of money. The manager was called to verify it was Thomas and recognised him. He has said that there was nothing about Thomas that appeared worried or concerned in any way. He asked if Thomas had a problem with the bank because he hoped to persuade the man to leave the money with them, but Thomas was adamant there was no problem. He just wanted the money but wouldn’t say why. Thomas just said it was a personal matter and had nothing to do with anybody because it was his money and he was entitled to do whatever he wanted with it,” Jasper said.

“That sounds like Thomas,” Elspeth sighed. “He is right, isn’t he? I mean, it is – was - his money. Does it really matter what he wanted to do with it? He has every right to clear his account out if he chooses. It isn’t for me to object.”

“It is your business when it is your life he was bargaining with. Why did he not do the honourable thing and leave enough money in the house for you to live off, for a short while at least? A couple of hundred would be enough,” Aaron sighed. “It just doesn’t make sense. The Thomas I knew would never do something so foolish as to put the life of his sister in danger. He adored you, Elspeth. You were the centre of his world. I can’t conceive of him doing anything willingly that would make your life impossible.”