Read Online The Theotokis Inheritance by Susanne James - Free Book Online
Authors: Susanne James
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asked to stay on here until the… um… future of the house is decided.’ She sighed. ‘It will be so terrible to think of new owners taking over,’ she added. ‘But I know it’s got to happen, and everyone has to face unpleasant changes from time to time.’
‘Well, you needn’t worry about that yet,’ Oscar said. He paused, clearing his throat. ‘Actually, my aunt has left the entire estate jointly between Helena and myself, but there is to be no sale for a year. And…’ he shot a quick glance at Helena ‘… as a matter of fact, in a few weeks’ time Helena will be coming to live at Mulberry Court herself.’
Louise’s face lit up with delight. ‘Well, I shall sleep easy for the first time since Mrs Theotokis died,’ she said firmly. ‘I hate not knowing what’s going on—and Benjamin has been worried, too. We’d imagined we’d be packing our bags by now.’
Oscar put his cup down and stood up. ‘Although we were up at the house yesterday, we need to take anotherlook around today,’ he said, looking down at Louise. ‘Something might occur to us that could be done now.’
‘I’ve been up there most days since Isobel died,’ Louise said. ‘Opened all the windows and kept the dust down.’
‘Yes, we thought everything looked as perfect as ever, Louise—’ Helena broke in ‘—including the lovely flower arrangement on the dining room table.’
Louise nodded. ‘You’ll have noticed that I’ve kept the Aga going—well, Benjamin and I take it in turns,’ she added. Then, ‘I emptied the fridge but not the freezer—and I haven’t gone through the kitchen cupboards, either.’ She hesitated. ‘I didn’t really know how much I should do for the time being. Mulberry Court has felt rather like a ship without a captain,’ she added.
‘Well, we’ll be more of a crew now, Louise,’ Helena said, ‘as soon as I’ve settled things up in London. I should be back in three, four weeks at the most.’
Oscar and Helena left the cottage and after a second Louise followed them. ‘Here—you’ll want to make yourselves a drink up there,’ she said, handing Helena a pint of milk. ‘And if there’s anything you need, just shout.’
As they drove slowly up the drive towards the house, Helena glanced across at Oscar. ‘Isobel was lucky to have such a loyal person working for her all that time, wasn’t she?’
Oscar tilted his head to one side. ‘My aunt obviously appreciated her very much.’ He narrowed his eyes briefly, thinking that it was good that Louise would be staying on at the cottage because it would be company for Helena while she was staying here.
He drew the car smoothly to a halt, and they both got out and started walking towards the main entrance of the house. The weather was bright with a high wind, making Helena’s loosely tied hair fly wildly, almost covering her face for a second or two. As they got to the large oak front door, she tucked her hair safely behind her ears and reached into her bag for the keys to the house.
‘My turn to open up today,’ she said lightly, glancing up.
Inside, every corner of the place was lit up by shafts of strong morning sunlight and, as Oscar followed Helena into the kitchen, he said, ‘I’ll go and find Benjamin, tell him he’ll be needed here for the next twelve months.’ He paused. ‘Of course, the new owners may decide to keep him on when the time comes. Left unattended, the place would be a wilderness in no time,’ he added.
Helena didn’t need reminding of that. It had always been a full-time job for her father, who’d only ever hired extra help in the autumn for harvesting the fruit.
She put her bag and the bottle of milk down and glanced up at Oscar. ‘I liked him—Benjamin,’ she said. ‘He seemed really nice, and he and Louise seemed happy enough, relaxed enough, together, didn’t they? It could have been really difficult if they hadn’t got on—living next door to each other.’ She smiled. ‘And that
‘Well, you needn’t worry about that yet,’ Oscar said. He paused, clearing his throat. ‘Actually, my aunt has left the entire estate jointly between Helena and myself, but there is to be no sale for a year. And…’ he shot a quick glance at Helena ‘… as a matter of fact, in a few weeks’ time Helena will be coming to live at Mulberry Court herself.’
Louise’s face lit up with delight. ‘Well, I shall sleep easy for the first time since Mrs Theotokis died,’ she said firmly. ‘I hate not knowing what’s going on—and Benjamin has been worried, too. We’d imagined we’d be packing our bags by now.’
Oscar put his cup down and stood up. ‘Although we were up at the house yesterday, we need to take anotherlook around today,’ he said, looking down at Louise. ‘Something might occur to us that could be done now.’
‘I’ve been up there most days since Isobel died,’ Louise said. ‘Opened all the windows and kept the dust down.’
‘Yes, we thought everything looked as perfect as ever, Louise—’ Helena broke in ‘—including the lovely flower arrangement on the dining room table.’
Louise nodded. ‘You’ll have noticed that I’ve kept the Aga going—well, Benjamin and I take it in turns,’ she added. Then, ‘I emptied the fridge but not the freezer—and I haven’t gone through the kitchen cupboards, either.’ She hesitated. ‘I didn’t really know how much I should do for the time being. Mulberry Court has felt rather like a ship without a captain,’ she added.
‘Well, we’ll be more of a crew now, Louise,’ Helena said, ‘as soon as I’ve settled things up in London. I should be back in three, four weeks at the most.’
Oscar and Helena left the cottage and after a second Louise followed them. ‘Here—you’ll want to make yourselves a drink up there,’ she said, handing Helena a pint of milk. ‘And if there’s anything you need, just shout.’
As they drove slowly up the drive towards the house, Helena glanced across at Oscar. ‘Isobel was lucky to have such a loyal person working for her all that time, wasn’t she?’
Oscar tilted his head to one side. ‘My aunt obviously appreciated her very much.’ He narrowed his eyes briefly, thinking that it was good that Louise would be staying on at the cottage because it would be company for Helena while she was staying here.
He drew the car smoothly to a halt, and they both got out and started walking towards the main entrance of the house. The weather was bright with a high wind, making Helena’s loosely tied hair fly wildly, almost covering her face for a second or two. As they got to the large oak front door, she tucked her hair safely behind her ears and reached into her bag for the keys to the house.
‘My turn to open up today,’ she said lightly, glancing up.
Inside, every corner of the place was lit up by shafts of strong morning sunlight and, as Oscar followed Helena into the kitchen, he said, ‘I’ll go and find Benjamin, tell him he’ll be needed here for the next twelve months.’ He paused. ‘Of course, the new owners may decide to keep him on when the time comes. Left unattended, the place would be a wilderness in no time,’ he added.
Helena didn’t need reminding of that. It had always been a full-time job for her father, who’d only ever hired extra help in the autumn for harvesting the fruit.
She put her bag and the bottle of milk down and glanced up at Oscar. ‘I liked him—Benjamin,’ she said. ‘He seemed really nice, and he and Louise seemed happy enough, relaxed enough, together, didn’t they? It could have been really difficult if they hadn’t got on—living next door to each other.’ She smiled. ‘And that
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