Slowly he withdrew Louisa’s will and said tentatively, ‘Before we begin may I offer my condolences for your loss.’ He shook his head. ‘It’s so sad to see one so very young pass away. And also, may I add that I believe there will be things in here you will not be happy about. Louisa and her father made considerable changes to her will on the day she summoned me here and unfortunately, as she was my client, I had no choice but to do as she instructed.’
‘What are you talking about, man? Just get on with it,’ Barnaby said irritably, and so the solicitor did as he was asked.
When he had finished, he glanced up to see Barnaby staring at him, his face chalk white, as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard.
‘B-but there must be some mistake? My father-in-law invested inmybusiness in exchange for a majority share. As for the house, he gave that to his daughter –my wife– so surely it now belongs to me?’
‘That isn’tquitecorrect,’ Mr Dickenson answered. ‘He actually gifted hisdaughterthe money fora majority share in the business as a dowry, so technically most of the business has always belonged to her. But what he failed to tell you was that he encouraged her to add a clause to her will which stated that should both you and your father-in-law outlive your wife, both the house and her dowry share in the business would revert to him.’
Barnaby bounced out of his chair and began to pace up and down the room like a caged animal. ‘So tell me in layman’s terms what this means exactly and what I can do about it!’
‘Well, you will be allowed to keep any of the money you made prior to your marriage, and your share of the profits that have been made since then, and of course the two ships that were already yours before you met your wife. He has also agreed to you keeping the smallest of the warehouses on the harbour that I believe you purchased with the money he gave you, but as of today this house and most of the business now belong to Louisa’s father. As regards what you can do about it?.?.?.’ He shook his head. ‘Wecouldtry contesting the will but I doubt there is a court in the land who would go against your wife’s wishes. She was ill, admittedly, but she was of sound mind and so I fear there is very little you can do but accept the situation.’
‘So where am I supposed to go?’ Barnaby felt as if he was wading through sludge as the full implications of what the solicitor was telling him struck home.
‘As I said, you do still have money so I would suggest that you could afford to buy another, humbler property for you and your young daughter to live in. It wouldn’t be as salubrious as Greenacres, of course, but at least you won’t have to be homeless. And Mr Hamilton-Tate has given you four weeks to vacate the premises. The contents of the house will then be auctioned and I have been instructed to put the house up for sale.’
‘He never said a word about this while I was in Pickering,’ Barnaby said bitterly. ‘And what about the shipyard? It will fold without someone to keep an eye on things and run it.’
Again the solicitor avoided his eye as he shuffled his papers about. ‘Your father-in-law has instructed a manager to move in and take control of the business on his behalf forthwith. And he will be changing the name, but he did work out how much you are owed during his stay here.’
Now Barnaby understood why Robert Hamilton-Tate had taken such a great interest in the ledgers while he had been there.
‘This is what he has agreed to you keeping.’ Mr Dickenson handed Barnaby a sheet of paper with a sizeable amount written down on it, although he knew that once he had purchased a home suitable for his daughter to live in it would eat in to it considerably. ‘And are there any provisions made for Charlotte?’
When the solicitor shook his head, Barnaby felt a pang of guilt. Could it be that his in-laws had suspected that the child had no blood ties to them or did they simply not want anything to do with her? Whatever the reason he would be solely responsible for her from now on.
‘And what about the staff here?’ he asked, his mind reeling.
Mr Dickenson shrugged. ‘I suggest you call a staff meeting and inform them that they would be well advised to search for other posts. Like yourself they will need to vacate the premises within one month. Mr Hamilton-Tate has assured me that he will pay their wages until then. I’m so sorry, Mr Greenwood,’ he said as he hastily stood up. He had done as instructed and he had never felt so wretched in his career. ‘It only remains for me to wish you good luck for the future. If you should decide that you wish to contest the will, I will of course help all I can, but—’
‘I won’t be doing that,’ Barnaby interrupted him. There was no way he would give his father-in-law the chance to humiliate him more than he already had done.
‘In that case, good day, Mr Greenwood.’
The two men shook hands and once he was alone Barnaby sank onto the nearest chair and dropped his head into his hands. He was right back where he had started, a little better off admittedly, but now he had a daughter who was dependant on him and he would have to begin all over again.
It was some time before he managed to pull himself together enough to leave his office and when he did he immediately went in search of Mrs Boswell to ask her if she could arrange for the staff to gather in the hallway that evening at six o’clock.
And so at six o’clock sharp, everyone from the laundry maid to the gardeners were gathered together, all looking slightly apprehensive as they sensed they were about to hear something they were not going to like. The only person absent was Amber, who had sent Becky to hear what was going on as Charlotte could not be left alone.
After looking around at their solemn faces, Barnaby took a deep breath and told them in as few words as he could what had transpired, and before he had finished many of the female members of staff were weeping.
‘But what’ll we do, where will we go?’ some of them wailed and Barnaby felt wretched, but what choice did he have?
‘I am so sorry,’ he told them with a break in his voice. ‘And rest assured that you will all find a small bonus in your wages.’ Then he turned about and went and closeted himself in his study where he poured himself a stiff whisky. He had never been more in need of one.
Becky, meanwhile, had returned to the nursery looking stricken and the moment she entered the room, Amber asked, ‘Whatever’s the matter, lass? You’re as white as a ghost.’
Once Becky had told her, she too looked worried. What would Barnaby do now and would this mean that she could no longer care for her daughter? She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from her and for the first time she watched the nursery door impatiently waiting for him to appear.
It was almost two hours later before he came, by which time Charlotte was fast asleep. Becky had cried non-stop ever since hearing the devastating news and Amber had sent her off to her room for an early night.
‘So what’s going to happen now?’ Amber said the second he set foot in the room. ‘To Charlotte, I mean?’
He crossed to a chair and sank heavily into it. ‘I’ve been trying to think of that,’ he said wearily. ‘And I do have a proposition to put to you but you may not be agreeable to it.’
‘Oh?’ Amber raised her eyebrow.
