‘Now, as she was quite specific, I think the best thing to do would be to read what your grandmother wrote.’ He pulled a pair of glasses from his breast pocket and put them on, then held up the documents.
‘I, Lucinda St John Meldrum, being of sound mind, do hereby bequeath and bestow upon my granddaughter, Lady Alyson Elizabeth Sheridan, all my worldly goods and possessions. All companies in their entirety, all bank accounts as listed herein, my houses in London, Scotland and St Barts, detailed below. Other entitlements and holdings, without restriction.’
He held up the thick stack of paper. ‘There’s a complete list here for you of the properties, both corporate and domestic.’
Allie just stared at him, her lips parted in surprise. The words were simple but she couldn’t seem to process them. Her grandmother had been one of the most successful businesswomen in the country.
If she’d left her everything…
She couldn’t even conceive of what that would mean.
I don’t even know where St Barts is. And I’ve got a house there?
She turned to Isabelle as if she might be able to make sense of it, but her attention was focused on the attorneys.
‘Tom. Please read her the section we discussed. I think it’s important she should hear this, as it impacts her directly.’
‘Of course.’ He flipped a page and searched until he found the passage in question. ‘Here we go.’
‘To my stepson, Nathaniel Ptolemy St John, I leave neither money nor possessions. Instead I leave a word of warning that is more valuable than either. Nathaniel, your place within this world is not to sit atop it. That location belongs only to God. Your role is to walk among men as an equal. Do that, and you will find all you seek.’
He took off his glasses and put them away. For a moment no one spoke.
‘I don’t understand.’ Allie turned to the headmistress. ‘Isabelle, how is this possible? I’m only seventeen years old. I can’t own companies.’
‘That’s a good question.’ The headmistress turned to the two men. ‘I suppose this is the time to discuss trusts and holding corporations.’
‘That’s where I come in.’ The younger man cast a deferential glance to Tom, who nodded. ‘I specialise in financial planning at the firm, Miss Sheridan. And I’m here to explain your options.’
He pulled a very thick binder from his briefcase.
Allie’s heart sank.
‘Oh good,’ she said weakly.
‘So, wait.’ Rachel stared at Allie. ‘She left you everything?’
‘Everything. I have a house in St Barts.’ Allie paused. ‘Where’s St Barts?’
‘Someplace very pretty.’ Rachel’s tone was light, but Allie could see the stunned surprise in her expression.
Dinner had just ended and the two were in the empty library. Allie had kept the secret of Lucinda’s will as long as she could. She could hardly bear to be away from Dom’s office – from Carter – but she had to tell someone.
The second the meal ended, she’d dragged Rachel away from Nicole.
For more than an hour in Isabelle’s office, Will Ainsworth had explained trusts and inheritance tax, handing Allie sheets of papers with enormously long numbers on them, and others with endless lists of corporations.
Allie wasn’t completely certain what any of it meant.
‘Lucinda owns Nabisco?’
‘Uh… No.’ Will’s smile had become fixed. ‘She owned stock. That is your list of stock derivatives.’
‘Oh,’ Allie had replied without comprehension. ‘Derivatives.’
Now she and Rachel were sitting on the floor in the Ancient Greek section, talking quietly. The library was mostly empty – just a few students were at tables in the front – too far away to overhear them.
For a while, they tried to amuse each other by calculating how long it would take Allie to spend all of Lucinda’s money if she started spending a million pounds a day. They gave up when they reached a hundred years.
‘This is bonkers, Allie,’ Rachel said. ‘Lucinda had more money than the Queen. What are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know. It doesn’t seem real. She owned everything. I thought for a second I owned Weetabix. But it turns out she was just on the board. Whatever that means.’ She leaned back against a row of leather-bound books with a sigh. ‘Help, Rach. How can I be on a board when I don’t know what a board is?’
Rachel shook her head. ‘I guess you’ll have to learn what a board is.’
‘The bosses?’ Allie guessed.
‘Kind of… I think they’re like extra bosses.’
‘Extra bosses?’ Allie was baffled. ‘I’m an extra boss?’
‘I think you get paid for nothing, if that helps?’
Allie held up her hands. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Rach. Lucinda must have thought it would help me but it just seems like crazy responsibility. It’s all going into some trust until I’m twenty-one, and Isabelle’s going to help but… she says I have to understand it all.’ She pulled a string from the binding of one of the books. ‘I’m not ready for any of this.’
‘At least you’re rich,’ Rachel said. ‘Which is nice.’