"She's just like Daddy with his family meetings," Belinda muttered to Samuel. He glanced at me and then stopped his smile.
I ignored her and opened the folders.
"These documents pertain to Daddy's estate," I said. "There's property we'll liquidate now, moving the funds into investment devices. I am designated as the executor so I will handle the work," I said. Actually, I wasn't the sole executor, but I knew she wouldn't challenge it and it would be easy to do everything I had planned by just adding her signature wherever it was needed or getting her to sign a paper. She would never read it first.
"Good," she said, obviously relieved it was only business, and started to stand.
"There's more," I snapped and she sat again. "Don't you care?"
"I never knew much about business affairs, Olivia. You're the expert. I'm sure you'll do
everything right," she said.
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," I said dryly. "I plan to sell the house."
She looked up sharply.
"The house?" She looked from Samuel to me. "Sell Daddy's house?"
"Of course. What do we want with so big a home now? Why should we incur the cost of all those servants to keep it up? The proceeds will go into the estate and be better invested. Daddy made provisions for our children as well. There are things that have to be done correctly to avoid losing too much to estate taxes: shifting funds, activating the living trust . . ."
She shook her head and then clapped her palm to her forehead.
"I have such a splitting headache, Olivia. I'm sure you'll do the right things," she said. "Only . . ." She lowered her hand, finally a serious thought meandering through the maze of bubbles to reach her sleeping brain.
"Only what, Belinda?"
"If we sell the house, where will I live?" She looked to Samuel for the answer, but he had his lips pressed so tightly closed, the corners of his mouth were white.
"You can live here for a while until you find something sensible or . ."
"Get married?" She laughed and bounced on her seat. "Why is it you and Daddy were always trying to get me married?"
"I don't know Daddy's reasons, but mine were purely revenge on the male sex," I said. Samuel finally cracked a smile. It flashed like car headlights in her eyes.
"You're not very funny," Belinda lamented. "You're all set. You have a husband, a nice little boy, another child coming, but I . . I have no one."
"Whose fault is that?" I shot back at her almost as quickly as her words touched my ears.
She stared and then grimaced in pain again, squeezing her temples between her fingers and her thumb.
"I have a horrible headache. I have to go back to bed. I don't care where I live," she said rising, "but if you sell the house and I move here, I don't want you treating me like a little girl." she warned.
"Don't act like one and I won't," I replied. "What about your schooling?" I asked as she reached the door.
"Oh, I told them I wouldn't be back now. Besides, you just told me I don't need to work anymore. I'm an heiress." She laughed and left.
Samuel turned to me and lifted and dropped his shoulders with a big sigh.
"Okay, that's done," he said.
"I want to go to my father's house," I told him. "Right now."
"Now? Olivia, you are flying in the face of caution, doing everything against Doctor Covington's wishes," he lectured.
"You can come along or not," I said putting the folders aside. Then I looked up at him, my eyes firm and burning. "When something has to be done, I do it."
He shook his head slowly.