I spill tea down the front of my onesie and feel pretty sure that she wouldn’t want a daughter who turned out like me right now. Then I place the letter back down in shock.
She had a secret lover in Prague! Her marriage wasn’t as happy as I thought?
There is so much to take in right now. I mean, where do I start with this letter? Not only did she have a lover in Prague that nobody knew about, but also, how on earth did Aunt Grace expect me to go to Prague to find Marek? I can’t even go into the nearest town without being overwhelmed. Well, there is no way I can do it, dying wish or not. Aunt Grace knows how hard it has been for me to leave the house. Why on earth would she ask me to do this? Unless she wanted to force me out of the house. I wouldn’t put it past her.
Well, I won’t be doing it. I shall write back to the solicitor and tell him. There is no way I shall be going to Prague and meeting a stranger that I know nothing about, and that is the end of it.
Chapter Two
Walking along the riverside in my onesie with a coat over me and my comfortable chunky walking boots, I think long and hard about Aunt Grace’s letter. Why didn’t she ever tell me about Marek before? At least I would have been a bit more prepared for her final request. Had I known about the two of them, perhaps I could have helped get them back together.
She could have told me there was trouble with Uncle Harry. What on earth did she mean about nobody knowing what goes on behind closed doors? Oh, Aunt Grace, what a mess. Why did you put Harry’s family before your own needs? And how on earth am I going to sort this out with the solicitor?
I can’t possibly go to Prague. In fact, I’m starting to panic about everything. I can feel my heart rate speeding up as I even think about it. If I can’t face going back to work, or into town, how on earth does anyone expect me to leave the country? Aunt Grace’s estate will have to go to someone else. Perhaps the whole thing can go to the donkey sanctuary.
I try to think if there is anyone else in the family who could perhaps visit Marek to carry out Aunt Grace’s dying wish instead of me. I have a long-lost cousin of a cousin, but I don’t think he got on with this side of the family particularly well. I wouldn’t even know where to find him. Then it hits me. What if I advertised for someone to have a free holiday to Prague if they go for me? There must be someone who would be up for it. I will suggest it to the solicitor. I run back into the house to plan my excuses and explain that I have come up with a solution.
I consider writing back to Mr Dewi Jones of Estate and Probate, until I realise it would mean going into town to the post office to get stamps. I couldn’t possibly stand in that queue and hang around with all those people. So, I have no choice but to pick up the phone and call him. I can’t have this hanging over me; I need to sort this out immediately.
Even though I don’t particularly fancy this conversation, I dial the number that is stated at the top of the letter. I didn’t expect to be able to get hold of him right away, so I am not prepared when the receptionist asks who is calling, tells me to hang on and then suddenly puts me through.
‘Oh, hello, Ms Edwards, is it?’ The voice isn’t as I expected. He immediately sounds like a friendly Welshman you would chat to in the pub and not someone pompous that, for some reason, I had built up in my imagination. He sounds older, as though he should have probably retired by now but doesn’t play golf or have anything better to do with his days. Perhaps I should have done this sooner and not assumed that he was some sort of scary young hot-shot lawyer. I start with my explanation.
‘Yes, about this letter, I can’t possibly go to Prague…’
‘Sorry to butt in here, Ms Edwards. I know I should let you speak, but Mrs Pugh was very precise with her will. She also wrote me an individual letter saying the first thing you’d say is that you can’t visit Prague and not to take no for an answer.’
His response takes me by surprise. I hadn’t realised that people had seen through my excuses and been so vocal about them to others. I know that I thought she may have wanted me to make this trip to get me away from here on purpose but to tell someone that I would make excuses is another matter. I hope everyone else doesn’t realise how I have been behaving. I try to comfort myself with the fact that Aunt Grace knew me better than most so perhaps that is why she realised. I persuade myself that friends and work colleagues think I am genuinely busy living my life.
‘Yes, well, Mr Jones, I don’t go out much. I’d rather stay at home, you see.’
‘It’s Dewi, please. Look, I’m going to level with you, right? Your aunt was a good client of ours and, well, we go back years. We might be solicitors, but we’re also a family business. I don’t want to embarrass you, but she was very worried about you. She said since your husband left, you have avoided going out. Please consider me a friend when I tell you this. I promised her I’d help you. You know, she hadn’t been well for some time now. She didn’t want you to worry. She told me on numerous occasions how she was more worried about you than herself.’
‘She never complained about her health. I know she had that fall, but…’
I can’t believe that Aunt Grace would confide in Dewi more than me. The news upsets me. ‘Look, I’m sorry but you don’t know anything about me, Mr Jones. I don’t need help, thank you very much. I am fine by myself.’
‘Yes, she also said you’d say that.’
‘Look, I don’t really want to talk to you about my private life. Now, about why I called. I have decided that I’ll find someone else to go to Prague. I’ll advertise for someone to go on my behalf. I most certainly won’t be doing it, especially after my aunt has told you my business.’
‘Please don’t be like that. I don’t want you to think me impertinent. We just want to see you out in the world again. I feel as though I have a duty of care towards you on behalf of your aunt. Did you know we go way back?’
Goodness, how old is he? He really should be retired by now. Maybe I should point it out to him in case he hasn’t noticed.
‘I’m not a charity case. I’m fine.’
‘Are you though?’
‘I told you, I’m not discussing my business with you. Now, I won’t be going to Prague, so we need to find someone else. Unless you have any clever suggestions for that too?’
‘I’m afraid that it is quite clear that it must be you who visits Prague. I suppose you could go to court and fight the will. But it would cost you…’
‘If you don’t have any other suggestions, then I don’t have anything further to discuss. I’ll leave the will, just give it all to the sanctuary. I won’t take the money as I’m not going.’
‘Look, I know it’s all a bit of a shock now. You’ve only just received the letter and the copy of the will. I’m sure that it’s also come as a shock that your aunt loved someone other than Harry. But why don’t you take some time to think about it and not do anything rash, hey?’
Will this man stop telling me what to do? I never let a man tell me what to do, let alone a stranger.
