The Ardmore Inheritance, Rob Wyllie [best novels for students TXT] 📗

'Aye, but can you prove it, that's going to be the issue,' Jimmy said. 'Can you prove it.' His tone was much blunter than Maggie would have dared to employ, and smiling to herself, she realised what he was doing. It was the old good-cop-bad-cop routine. They'd employed the technique in the past and it hadn't failed yet. And it seemed to have worked again, as the wind quickly went out of Kirsty's sails.

'Well I don't know,' she said. 'Why should I have to prove it, when everybody knows it's me that's the oldest?' She gave her husband an uncertain look. 'That's right Rory, isn't it?'

But it seemed that some of Rory Overton's self-assurance had temporarily evaporated in the face of Jimmy's inexorable logic.

'I don't know babe. Maybe these guys are right.'

'But you know it's me darling, you've always known.'

'Yeah babe, but I only know because you told me.' Maggie watched him shuffling uncomfortably, holding little Esme tighter to his chest and gently rocking her to and fro, even though she was perfectly content.

'Jimmy's right I'm afraid,' Maggie said quietly, gratefully assuming the good cop role, 'and of course it's not that we don't believe you Kirsty. But I hope you can see the difficulty.'

'But I've always known,' she replied, but this time there was resignation in her voice. 'So, what do we do?'

'There's only two options I'm afraid,' Maggie said. 'We either need to find proof that you are indeed the elder, or we have to agree a settlement between all three parties.'

'What do you mean, all three parties?' Overton said sharply.

'I met with Alison a couple of days ago, and I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that she's also preparing a challenge to the will. The thing is, I can see her being treated with some sympathy by a family court.'

'That's bollocks,' Overton said, swinging from his previous uncertainty to naked aggression. 'The will was quite clear. She gets nothing. Nothing at all.'

'Aye, but the thing is Rory,' Jimmy said in a mollifying tone, 'she was married to your father-in-law for over twenty years and she helped to bring up his kids. That's the sort of thing the court might see as a significant investment in the marriage, and so there's a pretty good chance that will be recognised.'

'And what makes you qualified to say that?' Overton sneered.

'Woah, don't shoot the messenger pal,' Jimmy said, spreading his arms in an apologetic gesture. 'I'm only repeating what Asvina Rani told us. It's up to you whether you believe her or not, but I would if I was in your shoes.'

'It's all right Rory,' Kirsty said. 'I think they may have a point. Especially if Alison tells them how my father treated her in the last few years. I don't think he would come out of it very well.'

'What do you mean?' Maggie asked softly. She thought she already knew what Kirsty Macallan was going to say.

'He...he was having an affair, we were pretty sure of that. All of us. Elspeth and Peter too.'

Maggie gave her a sympathetic look. 'And do you know who the other woman was?'

Kirsty shook her head. 'No, we never found out. Someone from the village or the base I expect.'

'What about Alison?' Jimmy asked. 'Do you think she knew?'

'She knew he was having an affair,' Kirsty said, frowning. 'That's one of the reasons the marriage broke down. But I'm not sure if she ever found out who it was with. It obviously didn't come to anything, whoever it was. I mean, my dad didn't run off into a glorious sunset or anything like that. I guess it just fizzled out like all the others.'

Like all the others. Maggie smiled to herself, thinking how that might play out in front of the sort of prim magistrate that often presided in the family court these days. It wasn't likely to deliver a good outcome for the Macallan twins, that was for sure.

'Look, there is a way out of this,' Maggie said, adopting a serious tone. 'Alison gave me a proposal of what she would accept in way of settlement, and I would thoroughly recommend you and your sister should try and come to an amicable agreement with your stepmother. Because if you don't, there's a risk of the court making an award that neither of you would like. To be honest, what she's asking for is a bit over the top, but I think there's room for negotiation. I suspect if you made a counter-proposal that lets her stay in the lodge, then she'd probably accept.'

Jimmy nodded. 'Aye, I'd do that if I were you two. You and Elspeth I mean. It just takes any risk off the table. Smart move in my opinion.'

'No way, absolutely no way,' Overton said, shaking his head. 'Forget that. We get the house, we get the estate, we get half the money. That's what the will says and that's what we want, isn't it babe?'

It's actually Kirsty that would get it all, not you, Maggie thought, but she knew there would be little to gain in pointing this out. Rory Overton was hostile enough and she didn't want to throw any more fuel on the fire.

'Very well then,' she said, giving a sigh. 'It doesn't look as if there's anything more we can do for you.' She smiled at Kirsty. 'But let me ask again, just before we go. Are you absolutely sure there's no-one who can vouch for you being the elder?'

She gave a resigned look. 'I don't think so. I thought there might be some records at the hospital where we were born, but it closed ten years ago. Well, not actually closed, but they moved the old maternity unit to a new general hospital somewhere else in Vancouver. And they seem to have lost track of the births that happened before the move. I don't know if...'

'Right, I think we're done here,' Overton