The Fortune of Lashire Bluff Book I by Bella Benz
Table of Contents
Title Page
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Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Bella Benz – All rights Reserved
The Fortune of Lashire Bluff
From the author
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 Bella Benz – All rights Reserved
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.
The Fortune of Lashire Bluff
The clock hanging on the wall ticked loudly, carving out the seconds. It felt like I’d been sitting in the reception room forever, nervously tapping my foot while I waited to be called.
I still didn’t understand what I was doing here. When I got the letter from the lawyer summoning me for a meeting, it didn’t give any details other than to say it was a matter of ‘grave importance’, and the mystery was killing me.
“Ms. Fortune?”
The door to the lawyer’s office finally opened. A short man with greying ash blonde hair in a combover stepped out and smiled reassuringly at me.
“I’m Ronald Sutton. Call me Ron. If you would come with me?”
I followed him into the office.
“Please, sit down.”
He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk and I perched nervously on the edge, desperate to hear what was so important.
“When it is my unfortunate duty to deliver bad news, I feel that this is best done in person.”
His opening words sent my heart racing. Bad news?
“I’m afraid I have to inform you your Uncle Gregory has passed away.”
I couldn’t prevent the laugh from escaping, my shoulders sagging with relief.
“Uncle Gregory?” I shook my head. “You’ve got the wrong girl. I don’t have an uncle.”
I got up to leave, but Ron gestured to me to sit down again.
“Please, Ms. Fortune. I need you to hear what I’ve got to say.”
I rolled my eyes, but did as I was told. I’d spent long enough waiting around for this meeting. I might as well see what all the fuss was about.
“Your uncle was your father’s brother. The two of them became estranged following an incident when your father was in his late teens.”
“Incident? What incident?”
Dad died in a car crash when I was 16. This was the first I’d ever heard of a brother, let alone a family feud so serious they stopped speaking.
Ron shuffled his papers around. “I’m afraid I don’t have those details to hand. However, your uncle did leave a letter, which he instructed me to give you following the reading of his will, which may well answer your questions. So, if I may proceed?”
“Yes, yes. Proceed away!” I nodded vigorously, desperate to get the will out of the way so I could find out more about the uncle I’d never known. I just hoped he hadn’t left me his cat. I couldn’t keep a pot plant alive, let alone a pet.
Ron picked up the will and cleared his throat.
“It’s very straightforward. Your uncle has left everything he owned to you.”
“Oookay...” I leaned forward, waiting to hear more. Maybe he’d left me a bit of money. With the amount I owed on my credit card, every little bit helped right now.
“This includes his home in the mountain town of Lashire Bluff and all its contents, a number of vehicles and everything in his bank accounts – minus taxes and my fees, of course.”
“Of course,” I murmured, as Ron passed over a statement of accounts. When I saw the numbers, my jaw dropped.
“Are you serious?” I gasped.
“Of course. Those figures have been calculated by our accountants. Your uncle’s final tax liability is here, which was more than covered by his bank balance, so I have arranged for that payment to be made on his behalf. My fee is here and I would kindly request you pay it by the end of the month. Everything else is yours to keep, subject to one or two caveats detailed in your uncle’s letter.”
He smiled.
“I think it’s safe to say you are a very wealthy young woman, Ms. Fortune.”
***
I sat in my beaten-up Ford, too stunned to move. Ron had given me my uncle’s letter as I left, along with a request that I consider the firm of Sutton, Denholm, and Sutton for all my legal requirements.
I supposed I was going to need a lawyer now I was ridiculously rich. I’d never have to work again if I didn’t want to. I could write that novel, spend the rest of my life sitting on a beach in Fiji, sipping cocktails all day.
“Thank you, Uncle Gregory,” I whispered, kissing the letter he’d written to me before tearing it open.
Everything changed when I read it.
My dear Libby,
You have no idea how happy I was to hear of your birth and how it broke my heart to know we would never meet. I will always love my brother, but he was the black sheep of the family and so strong willed. He could never understand the decisions I’ve made and why.
I admire his strength in walking away from his heritage; if I were in his position, maybe I would have done the same. But it doesn’t matter how far you run; the ties of blood can never be broken.
I suppose it’ll sound a bit strange
