Page 5 of Hunted By the Guardian
“I think these papers should be reviewed by a solicitor,” he said smoothly. “And you’re in luck, because mine happens to be here with me. He’s waiting in the carriage. I’ll go and fetch him, and I’ll meet you in the house. Then we can talk about this further.”
He turned and walked off.
Violet simmered—she hadn’t invited him into her house, and he presumed to tell her he would meet her inside? But this did need to be straightened out, of course, and perhaps the only way to make sure that happened was to sit down and speak with him. If there really was a solicitor out there, that would be the perfect person to review the will and to make sure the duke knew he was wrong in his claims. That would put a stop to this once and for all.
She made her way back inside. Williams was waiting for her. “Williams, I need you to go and find Noah,” she said. “I have unexpected company, I’m afraid.”
Williams nodded. “I saw you speaking to someone,” he said.
“Do you know that man?”
“The Duke of Alderwick?”
“So he is who he says he is.”
“I don’t know what he’s told you, my lady. I know he had some business dealings with the dowager viscountess before her death, but I never knew the details.”
“I see.” Violet sighed.
“Should I have tea sent in for the two of you?”
“No, he isn’t going to be here that long.” She pressed her lips together. “Just make sure, please, that Noah is all right.”
“Yes, my lady.” Williams turned and went out to the garden.
By this time, the duke was coming up the front walk with another man, who must have been the solicitor, in tow. Violet watched them through the window, noticing for the first time that the duke was a rather handsome man. If she had been meeting him under different circumstances, she might have admired his broad shoulders, his square jaw, the defined muscles of his arms, and the softness of his dark hair. As it was, all she could see when she looked at him was an enemy on her doorstep.
The solicitor reminded her of a weasel. He was unpleasantly skinny with patchy hair and beady eyes. She wished she didn’t have to sully her first day in her new home by inviting the two of them in.
But it’s the best way to solve the problem and to get rid of them.
She took a deep breath, threw open the door, and walked off in the direction of the sitting room without looking back. “Shut that behind you,” she called over her shoulder, and was gratified when she did hear the door close behind her.
Once in the sitting room, she turned to face them. “I have the document here,” she said, pulling it out of her travel bag, thankful for the fact that she had decided to carry it there instead of tucking it away somewhere that would have been harder to access. She addressed the solicitor, ignoring the duke altogether, and passed him the paper. “You’ll see that everything is in order. My aunt left this house to me, and it’s my intention to live here.”
The solicitor unfolded the paper and skimmed over the contents.
“It’s absurd,” the duke pronounced, folding his arms. “Perhaps she led you to believe you would inherit the house, but she was in the process of selling it to me. I’ve made a sizable investment here. That doesn’t just go away now. That money was paid, and I’m entitled to what I bought.”
“His Grace is right,” the solicitor said. “Money did change hands, and that means there’s a question of legal ownership to be resolved. But, Your Grace, the lady is also correct. This is a legally binding will, and it does say that the home belongs to her.”
“Preposterous,” the duke said firmly. “If that’s the best you can do, we may need to bring in another solicitor.”
The man lifted his chin. “Anyone else will tell you the same thing,” he said. “You have a conflict here to be sure, but it doesn’t stem from either of you being mistaken in your ideas. You both have reason to think that the house should belong to you.”
“But then what are we to do?” Violet asked, feeling anxious. She needed this house—it wasn’t as if she had anywhere else she could go. Not that she was going to let these men find that out, of course. She could never let them know how desperate she was. If she did, they would find a way to use it against her. “We can’t just both own the house.”
“The most straightforward solution would be for one of you to buy it from the other,” the solicitor said. “Since His Grace has paid about half the amount due for the purchase, he could pay the remaining half to you, Lady Violet…”
“I’m not selling,” she said. “Perhaps my aunt wanted to do that, but I do not.”
“Then you can pay him back what he already paid on the property.” The solicitor named a sum.
“I would accept that,” the duke agreed.
Violet’s head spun. “I don’t have anything like that kind of money.” She didn’t know what kind of household budget she had, but even that, she was sure, wouldn’t add up to the amount they were talking about. And that was if she was even allowed to spend that money on something like this. Maybe it was tied to the house itself, so that she wouldn’t be permitted to use it to purchase part of the house. She didn’t know.
“If you can’t pay, I’m not going to transfer ownership,” the duke said.
