“Letter?”
“That one from the lawyer in England.”
It took me a moment to remember what letter she was talking about. With all the preparations for the funeral, and the whole losing the house and my scholarship and burying my dead parents thing, I’d completely forgotten about the second letter, which I’d shoved in my purse at some point during the week to remind myself to open it.
I fished around in my purse and pulled out the crumpled envelope. “It’s right here.”
I stared down at the envelope as though it might contain a bomb. Which it probably did. Everything I touched turned into bad news.
Kelly ran her black-tipped fingers over the logo in the corner. “Go on, open it. I could seriously use the distraction right now.”
Fine. If it made Kelly feel better, I’d open the damn thing. I flipped the envelope over. Weirdly, it was sealed with a proper wax seal, including a monogrammed shield containing the letter “B” pressed into the wax. I slid my finger under the wax and broke it, pulling the flap open and sliding out several sheets of paper.
On top was a letter, written on the same letterhead as the envelope.
Dear Ms. Crawford,
I trust this letter finds you well. As lawyer for her estate, your mother – Aline Moore – entrusted our office with thearticles in her will. Her will included a stipulation that as her only living offspring, at the age of twenty-one you were to inherit her estate that has been held in trust until the time you could claim legal ownership.
This estate incorporates Briarwood House, the surrounding acreage, and the outbuildings and chattels contained therein. The house is currently occupied by four tenants, who wish to continue to reside in the property if you will allow them to do so.
I’ve enclosed a copy of the deed to the Briarwood Estate. In order to take up ownership of the property officially, you will need to visit our offices to sign the papers, or arrange a signing with a local lawyer.
Should you wish to inspect the estate in person, the tenants informed me that they would welcome your presence in Briarwood House. There are many available rooms and you would be able to take up residency for as long as you wished without breaking the tenancy contract.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Emily Lawson, LLB.
A second, smaller note fluttered between my fingers. It was handwritten in a messy scrawl that took me a few moments to decipher.
Hi Maeve,
Happy Birthday! I bet this letter has come as a shock! Emily mentioned that you’re welcome at the house any time. I just wanted to tell you in non-lawyer speak that we (your tenants) would be chuffed to have you. We’re all about your age, and we’d love to turn on the British charm for our new landlord.
My family has lived at Briarwood for the last twenty-one years. My parents were good friends of your mother.
Briarwood is pretty special. I think you should come see for yourself. Shoot me an email and let me know.
Cheers,
Corbin
I stared at the letters, unable to process what they were saying. “This is some kind of joke. It’s like those emails from Nigerian princes promising millions of dollars if I send them a check for fifty bucks.” I turned the first page of the deed. “I’m surprised there’s not a voucher for a penis enlargement.”
“Um… Maeve?” Kelly tapped her mobile phone. “I just searched Briarwood House. It’s… um, well… see for yourself.”
She thrust her phone under my nose. I gasped, the first real reaction I’d had toanythingsince I got the news about my parents.
Briarwood wasn’t ahouse. It was a full-oncastle.
The square keep jutted out of a rolling hill, flanked by two turrets and an outer curtain wall with a gatehouse. A crisp green lawn punctuated with box hedges and water fountains and beds of wildflowers spread out around it. Off to the side, I could see a later addition and a couple of outbuildings.
Holy shit.
I shook my head. “The letter’s not real, Kelly. It’s some dumb joke.”
