Miles and I nursed mammoth hangovers from the champagne we had pilfered from the pool-bar fridge. We were an hour late for the breakfast Jeannie and Mrs Harlow had laid out on the huge kitchen island. The chatter coming from within the kitchen made my head pound, the wafting scent of bacon grease and fried egg not promising to be the antidote I was hoping for.
‘Big brother! Livvy!’ Tristan bellowed as we appeared in the doorway, ‘you’re finally awake.’
‘We had no idea everyone was already up,’ Miles offered sheepishly, ‘otherwise we’d have come down sooner.’
‘Well, y’know, some of us have real jobs,’ Tristan bantered. ‘We don’t keep university hours. No, I had some business to attend to with Father.’ He turned to me and gave me a wink, his heavy cologne mingling with the smell of sausages and assaulting my somewhat delicate constitution. It appeared that that my in-laws, true to their word, had met with the lawyer already. A small part of me had hoped it had all been a bluff.
My father-in-law acknowledged us with his signature cursory glance.
‘Morning,’ George said, before going back to chewing on a piece of bacon whilst readingThe Telegraphon his iPad.
Mimi glanced up from her phone long enough to see that we had entered the room.
‘Hi, you’re looking lovely,’ she said getting up from her bar stool and giving us both perfumy air kisses that couldn’t have been further away if she tried.
‘Where are the twins?’ I asked. I couldn’t utter the three women’s names in succession without sniggering. Mimi, Beebee and Ceecee. What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall the day Jeannie heard their names for the first time.
‘Probably on their phones.’ She shrugged. ‘You know what kids are like.’
I nodded, trying to mask my relief. At least we’d be spared the twins’ vapid chatter and cutting remarks for a few more hours.
‘I guess they aren’t really kids anymore,’ I said sadly. ‘In the next two years it will be Callum’s and Martha’s turn to go off to uni.’
Mimi raised an incredulous brow. ‘You think that’s a possibility, then? I mean—’ she caught herself. ‘In Australia?’
‘Yes, they have universities in Australia,’ I said drily, opting for a croissant, the only thing on the countertop dry enough not to make me nauseous.
‘Coffee?’ Tristan offered, proffering two cups and pouring the coffee in without waiting for our response.
‘Please,’ Miles said, accepting the steaming mug. I declined with a small shake of my head, my stomach roiling. I was blaming it on the champagne, but maybe it was churning from anxiety about the family drama I could feel brewing.
Jeannie breezed in, always the whirlwind. She could never seem to sit down and chill the hell out. Gloria trailed on her heals, sniffing the air to locate the bacon.
‘Finally with us, I see?’ She gave me a barbed look. Oh, she wasn’t happy about something– although strictly that wasn’t unusual.
‘George?’ Jeannie said, raising her brows expectantly, ‘I think now’s a good time, don’t you?’
George finally looked up from his iPad, his bushy eyebrows furrowing as he regarded us. ‘Ah, yes. Well, now that you’re here, we might as well get down to business.’
I felt my stomach drop further. This was it. The moment we’d been debating and mulling over since last night. I glanced at Miles, whose face was unreadable to those who didn’t know him like I did. George set his iPad down with a decisive click.
‘There have been some changes regarding the future of this family and our estate,’ he announced.
Jeannie perched on the edge of a bar stool, her perfectly manicured nails drumming against the marble countertop.
‘Your father and I are getting on, and we need someone who can look after the assets, maintain the estate, keep on top of the staff. There are finances to track.’ Her eyes danced over us, lingering on Miles and me as she dangled the hammer over us.
‘We feel that Tristan is best placed to manage all of that, what with being nearby.’ She turned to address Miles directly. ‘We wanted to be as transparent as possible. Now, when you leave for Australia, you won’t have to worry at all if anything should happen. Tristan will be executor of the will and make sure everything is properly taken care of.’
I felt my heart racing. This was moving faster than I’d anticipated. I’d hoped we’d at least have a day or two of false pleasantries before the facade fell. Tristan leaned against the fridge clutching a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a smug smile playing at the corners of his mouth. I resisted the urge to shove my croissant down his throat.
‘So that means what exactly, for my family and me?’ Miles fixed Jeannie with a stony stare that would put Medusa’s to shame.
‘Well, he can’t be expected to do all of that work for nothing,’ George said flatly. ‘Tristan will inherit the lion’s share.’
‘I see,’ said Miles. ‘And my children? Will they get anything?’
‘All of the finer details still need to be ironed out and discussed,’ Jeannie said, ‘but it will be up to Tristan to distribute what’s left amongst the family, as he sees fit.’
