Fergus waited a beat, before his head snapped towards Artie. ‘And? What else?’
Artie scanned the paper, before turning it over.
‘That’s it.’
Fergus shot up like an arrow, ‘You’ve got it wrong, I am the eldest son!’ He stormed over to the desk. ‘Give me that,’ he spat, snatching the will so quickly it gave Artie a paper cut.
Artie glared as Fergus furiously scanned the page.
‘Sit. Down. Fergus.’ Artie punctuated each word so that Fergus had no choice but to throw the paper back at him and stomp back to his seat.
Artie sucked on the blood from his finger. ‘Now, I trust there won’t be any more outbursts?’
We each shook our heads, except for Jeannie, who was grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat.
‘To my nephew, Quentin, who is currently running the management of Weiss Gold & Co., I leave the entirety of the gold mine and its subsidiary businesses.’
‘He’s in prison for murder, so how’s that going to work?’ Miles said with disdain.
‘I shall get on to that shortly, Mr Weiss.’ Artie continued, ‘And lastly, to my youngest son…’ he paused, raising his eyebrows.
‘What?’ snarled Fergus, ‘come on, out with it!’
‘To my youngest son, George, and his wife, Jeannie, I leave the remainder of my estate, including Weiss Manor, all its contents, and my entire fortune.’
Aunt Clem let out a strangled cry, her face contorting in shock and fury. Uncle Fergus leapt to his feet again, spittle flying as he shouted incoherently at Artie. Tristan’s carefully cultivated nonchalance shattered, replaced by a look of utter disbelief and muttering curses under his breath. Mimi just placed a manicured hand on Tristan’s arm, her eyes wide. Toots sat motionless, letting the chaos unfold around her, as if this was just another day.
Amidst the uproar, I glanced at George. He sat there, blinking rapidly, as if trying to process what he’d just heard. Jeannie, on the other hand, was every bit the cat who’d finally got the cream.
I thought Fergus might be on the verge of a heart attack, his face purple with fury as he bellowed, ‘This is outrageous! George? That good-for-nothing layabout?’
Artie surveyed each one us coolly.
‘If you’ll allow me to continue, Mr Weiss?’ Artie waited until everyone was sitting in silence once more.
He continued reading. ‘Despite my youngest son being completely irresponsible, lazy and prone to his dark moods, somehow, he managed to marry the only person in this family with true work ethic. My daughter-in-law, Jeannie, has proven that she has the Weiss killer instinct– Jeannie gets the job done, as I like to say. And I know, in my stead she is more than capable of keeping the fires of Weiss enterprises burning. Not only that, I know I can trust Jeannie to keep the Weiss name at the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to the best in the business, and prevent any embarrassing incidents that may cause harm to our prestigious family name.
‘Jeannie Weiss is hereby the executor of my will. My wife, Thomasina ‘Toots’ Weiss, will continue to live at Weiss Manor, being cared for by my son and daughter in law, and they will provide her with anything and everything she may need. As for the rest of the family, if they tooshould prove themselves, Jeannie will bestow unto them whatever she sees fit.
‘I hope you all take this with good grace and understand it’s nothing personal. I know Jeannie can be trusted to preserve the fortune that I have amassed through sheer grit and determination.
‘With best wishes, Eugene Weiss.’
The silence that followed was deafening. It was as if the very air had been sucked out of the room, leaving us all gasping for breath. I didn’t dare to look at the others. I just looked down at Miles’s hands clutching the arms of his chair; he no longer trusted himself to hold onto me.
‘I am also in receipt of an addendum, which was made within the last six months.’ Artie flipped over a piece of paper that was stapled to the back and read aloud. ‘In light of recent events, income from the goldmine shall be kept in a trust fund for my grandson, Quentin Weiss, until his acquittal. In the event of my death, my daughter-in-law, Jeannie Weiss, will endeavour to do everything possible to see to his release and prevent our good name from further being dragged through the mud.’ Artie flicked through, his eyes scanning methodically. ‘I believe that is everything.’
Aunt Clem was the first to break the silence. ‘You,’ she directed at Jeannie. ‘You’re not even blood! Fergus is the eldest son.’
Jeannie’s smile only widened. ‘Sometimes, Clementine, it’s about who has the sharpest teeth.’
Uncle Fergus’s massive frame was shaking. He turned to her slowly, and said with lethal quiet, ‘What did you do to manipulate my father? Did you poison him against us?’
Jeannie rolled her eyes and swatted the air. ‘Oh, please, Fergus, it’s nothing clandestine. Eugene was an extremely astute man, he could see what was right in front of him. He wasn’t going to do anything out of some misinformed social contract offairness. He built an empire, it was his job to bequeath it to the best person for the job.’
George had sat in silence. He was a man very much accustomed to taking his father’s blows and the constant put-downs; a weakling who couldn’t even step up to protect his own sons from their grandfather’s wrath. It was clear that in Eugene’s opinion, George was less-than. But instead of fighting his way out of that role, George had stepped into those shoes and pulled up a seat by the fire. The first half of his life had been ruled by a domineering bully, and the latter half thoroughly controlled by Jeannie.
Tristan stood up and brushed down his trousers. Striding to the drink cabinet, he poured himself a large scotch. He threw it back in one and let out a bark of laughter that sounded more like a sob. ‘Well, looks like dear old Grandad had one last trick up his sleeve. I look forward to proving myself worthy to you, Mother.’ His voice dripped with bitterness. ‘Come on, Mimi, we’ve got to get back to the girls.’
