‘She didn’t even come to Mabel’s funeral or send flowers,’ said Alice, coming out from the dining room.
‘Whatever she wants, I’ll sort it.’ He could see Alice was concerned.
‘I would have spoken to her last night if she hadn’t walked off.’
‘Best to do it here in private. Take her out back. Give her a cup of tea or something.’
Alice nodded. ‘Oh, I’ll be polite about things. I just wish I knew what things I’m dealing with.’
So did he. He went to respond but closed his mouth as Shannon walked in, head high and lips pursed.
‘Come and sit in Alice’s living room,’ was his greeting.
Shannon smirked at Alice as she followed her brother.
Alice glanced at Jamie, but he just went straight to the sofa and sat down.
‘Spit it out, Shannon. You’ve come a long way to be here, so let’s not beat around the bush.’
She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. ‘Trying to get rid of me already, Jamie? I wonder why.’ She glared at Alice.
Alice cleared her throat. ‘Last night you said I’d taken your nan’s B&B, but I did no such thing, just so you know.’
Shannon sighed. ‘You’re the owner, so how about you tell me why my grandmother left this place to you?’
‘She didn’t,’ replied Alice. ‘I bought it from her before she died.’
‘Perhaps if you’d bothered to keep in touch with Nan, you might have known that,’ said Jamie.
Shannon pointed towards the door. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t live round here anymore.’
Jamie rolled his eyes. ‘Little invention called the phone.’
‘I lead a busy life. We recently moved to New Zealand. Plus, we’ve been travelling a lot. My husband likes to take me places. I can’t be expected to drop everything just to make phone calls.’
‘She was your nan,’ said Alice.
‘Oh, mind your own business.’ Shannon splayed a hand to the room. ‘And this business you think you own is my inheritance — I’m here to get it back.’
Jamie huffed. ‘Don’t be daft. You can’t take something someone bought from our nan.’
‘But it doesn’t belong to her.’ Shannon scoffed, flicking her hair back. ‘Typical of you to be onherside.’
‘There are no sides. This is Alice’s now.’
‘And how do we know she didn’t trick Nan into selling? How do we know Nan was in her right mind? Little Miss Goody Two Shoes here could have taken advantage.’
‘I did not,’ snapped Alice, jumping to her feet.
Shannon crossed her legs. ‘Got proof of that, have you?’
Alice gave a sharp nod. ‘Yeah. How about you ask around? Everyone who knew Mabel knew she wasn’t vulnerable. She was moving to Jersey to start a new life with her girlfriend.’
That snippet of information seemed to stun Shannon for a moment.
‘What girlfriend?’
Alice sat back down. ‘I guess that’s none of your business.’
