Lavender Lane (Larch Tree Lane #4)

Chapter Two

Weeks passed and Nina was fed up to the teeth about how long it was taking to sell her flat, and to get all the paperwork and official permissions completed for her to go and live permanently in England. She’d been told by her older son it was better to arrange that sort of thing from your present country. It was a good thing she had Laura to keep her company.

Nina might have been born in England, but her parents had emigrated to Australia when she was a baby and they hadn’t kept any of the necessary documents to prove that. Indeed, they’d always been very secretive about where they had been born and lived and had even changed their names, so she’d had to investigate her own situation and get validated copies of every scrap of information needed. And even with her sons helping, it had all taken longer than expected.

But the delays had been made worse because her sons had patches where they were incommunicado, either for a lock-up, shut-up workshop with their employers, from which they couldn’t contact any outsiders, or an urgent project overseas for a week or two.

Shakers and movers, those two, or as she sometimes thought of it, they were ‘shaken and moved’ by their employers.

She’d been to England before, of course, but had simply used her Aussie passport for that because it was easier and she was only going for a couple of weeks. But that had been years ago, before her sons were born and the family had had to take cheaper holidays closer to home.

After Charles died, she’d not been able to afford overseas trips for a good while, or anything else much, either. He hadn’t been brilliant with money, on the contrary. She’d taken a job as a personal assistant, and had proved so efficient at organising her employer’s business life that she’d earned and saved more than her husband ever had. But she’d missed Charles greatly. He’d been such fun, a good friend as well as a beloved husband.

Perhaps that was why she’d moved so quickly into another relationship. And had to move out of it equally quickly.

Over six months had passed now since she’d first started organising the necessary changes to her life to join her sons Brandon and Kit in the UK. She couldn’t believe it when at last she found herself in possession of the necessary documentation to settle permanently there.

She hoped that another benefit of moving to the UK was that her ex, who didn’t have UK citizenship, wouldn’t easily be able to follow her and continue his harassment.

The company she’d worked for had moved its office across the continent to Sydney, but she hadn’t gone with them because she’d expected to arrange the move more quickly. During those intervening months she’d done some temping in office work to pass the time, but actually it was to be with people as much as to earn money, because the house had sold for far more than she’d expected. Though it never hurt to add to your savings.

So she’d spent quite a lot of time with Laura and, in the end, her biggest regret about the move was that she’d be leaving her friend behind. She’d also come to understand how much her visits meant to the older woman, who seemed to have gone noticeably downhill health-wise in that time.

Laura wasn’t very good with technology and couldn’t be bothered with what she called ‘fiddling on the phone’ but she was better at emailing and going online, so they agreed to ‘chat’ that way after Nina’s move to the UK.

One evening her estate agent rang to say that he had a good cash offer on the flat, and that the whole sale could be finalised and possession given to the new owner in only a couple of weeks, since there was no mortgage to pay off. Within the hour, Nina had booked a one-way flight to Heathrow and emailed both sons with the news.

Laura was visibly saddened by her coming departure but said that she understood why Nina had to go to England. ‘I know that you were meant to live there,’ she said, although Nina couldn’t understand why Laura was so certain that was case. Did she consider herself psychic or something? Surely not.

They had a final meal together and Nina promised – cross her heart! – to email every day. And she would. Only it wouldn’t be the same as being there. They both knew that they might not see one another again in person because of Laura’s deteriorating health – make that definitely wouldn’t see one another, Nina amended mentally, feeling very sad.

After the meal, Laura hesitated, then said, ‘I wonder if you’ll look after some important family papers for me?’

‘I’ll be in the UK, remember.’

‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll specify in my will what needs doing with them, and they’ll be going to someone there.’

‘Let’s hope that’ll not happen for a good while.’

Laura smiled sadly. ‘We both know I’m getting worse.’

She stopped pretending. ‘Can’t the doctors help at all?’

‘No. I’m getting a bit old now, eighty-three, just imagine it, so I haven’t done too badly. Nature is still our boss. But I didn’t want to leave these papers lying around here and I don’t want to give them to my lawyer, either, because he’s going to be retiring soon and they’ll be taking on a new partner who’ll handle my affairs. So will you look after them for me, dear?’

‘Yes, of course. I’ll take them with me in my hand luggage and keep them very safe once I’m there, I promise.’

Laura pointed across the room. ‘The documents are in that big file on top of the bookcase. They’re my original family documents from the past couple of centuries. Such beautiful manuscripts, even if they are faded. Are you sure you don’t mind? They won’t use up too much space in your luggage? I can pay for any extra costs.’

Nina picked up the folder and smiled. ‘These weigh nothing compared to all the sentimental stuff I’ll be taking with me. I’ll be paying for excess luggage as well as sending a couple of tea chests full of bits and pieces so your folder won’t make any difference at all. And anyway, I’m happy to help you in any way I can.’

‘Good. When the inevitable happens my lawyer will let you know what to do with the papers.’

At least the horrible niece was still in prison awaiting trial, because there was little doubt that she’d caused her husband’s death. That meant Laura would have no safety worries, just the usual ongoing concern about how to fill your days when you were confined to the house, mainly on your own due to the deaths of friends and lacking the energy to be very active even inside your own home.

Their final hug was a long, lingering one and they both had tears in their eyes as they drew apart.

Sadly, other changes had seriously marred Nina’s plans. Her son Brandon’s partner had left him a few months previously and she’d quickly found someone more ready to settle down and start a family than he had been.

As a consequence, he’d become restless, especially as the two of them still ran into one another regularly because they were part of the same crowd. It turned out that he’d started looking to move on to a new job without telling anyone, and had found himself one in California with excellent future prospects.

He apologised to his mother but moved over there almost immediately and before she was anywhere near to being able to leave for the UK. ‘At least you’ll still be getting away from Ratface,’ he’d said.

‘I’m not doing this to get away from Sandor.’

‘But it’ll be another advantage of the move to the UK, won’t it?’

So much for them persuading me that the family should be living nearer to one another! she thought angrily. They aren’t mentioning that at all now.

Brandon’s apologies hadn’t rung true. He’d been happy and excited about his new life and a mere few lines of apology to her showed where his priorities really lay. And yet he had been the one who’d first contacted her about moving so that they’d all be living in the same country.

Perhaps he’d been tempted to settle down with his partner and then changed his mind. He didn’t seem to be tempted by anything but work and making money now, so that family idea hadn’t lasted.

Well, at least Kit would still be around.

Then, two weeks before her big move, her younger son had phoned her. ‘Ma, there’s a problem. I’ve been offered a job in New York at double my current salary.’

‘Oh, no! Sorry! I should have congratulated you, but what a time for it to happen.’

‘Yeah. And the company wants me to start work within a couple of weeks. I’m not going to do that. I’ll delay my departure by a few days beyond that so that I can at least help you settle in the UK.’

She spoke her thoughts aloud. ‘I’m not sure I want to come now.’

‘But you’ve sold your Australian house and the flat and you’ll still need to get away from Ratface. And I won’t be gone for ever, I promise you. Probably two years at most for this job.’

‘You can never be sure of that sort of thing, as you and Brandon have just proved. And there will be other job offers over there, I’m certain.’

‘Well, I’m certain that I prefer the UK to America, Ma, and that’s where I intend to settle long term. In the meantime, I thought you might like to move into my flat. I don’t want to sell it and if you pay enough rent to cover the mortgage, it’ll be much cheaper for you than other commercial rents would be, and I know it’ll be looked after. I don’t want or need to make a profit out of you.’

‘Hmm.’ She didn’t know what to say or think.

‘And the flat is fully furnished so you’ll not have to worry about buying furniture and stuff until you’re ready to settle permanently somewhere of your own.’

She sighed. ‘I suppose taking your flat will help me transition more easily, though London isn’t my preferred place of residence, not permanently.’

‘It does have some advantages. There’s a lot to see and do in the capital.’

‘Yes. I suppose so.’

So she went on the flight she’d arranged.

Kit met her at the airport, giving her a big hug and then holding her at arm’s length. ‘I’m truly sorry about this, Ma.’

She didn’t try to pretend. ‘So am I. With neither you nor Brandon here, I doubt it’s been worth all the upheaval and I’ll probably go back to Australia again. At least I have a few friends left there.’

‘It’s unfortunate, I know, but this is a dream job and it’ll not only be interesting, it’ll set me up for a highly lucrative future and I’ll probably transition to starting a business consultancy of my own. Don’t you fancy having a billionaire son one day, Ma?’

‘No. Just two sons within reach.’ And maybe even grandchildren too , she thought, but she never let herself say that. There had certainly been no real signs of either son settling into matrimony.

‘Well, for the record, Ma, I didn’t apply for this job and I won’t be applying for any others. They headhunted me. And I really do intend to settle permanently in the UK in a few years’ time. It feels like home and always has done, even though I was born in Australia.’

That’s what you say now , she thought but kept it to herself. You couldn’t tell other people how to live their lives.

‘At least you’ve got away from Ratface,’ he said, as Brandon had done.

That was not why she’d moved. Sandor had been a bit annoying but not desperately bad, only she didn’t say so.

After a few moments he waved one hand at the world outside the car window. ‘I’ve always been happy in England. Remember how much I liked it when I came here for that school trip all those years ago. Strange, that, because Dad wasn’t so keen on coming and always managed to avoid it.’

She could only shrug. She’d done the move now, so the least she could do was give it a try. Anyway, you didn’t hang yourself round your sons’ necks like a millstone, or anyone else’s for that matter.

Kit helped to carry her luggage into the lift and then into his flat, which was a two-bedroom place on the fourth floor, with one large living and cooking area, and an ensuite for each bedroom. It was clearly not designed for families. There were apparently two other similar flats on this floor and it was the same on each floor, with two larger flats on the sixth floor.

His place was comfortably furnished in a minimalist style, not at all to her taste but the chairs were reasonably comfortable so she’d put up with their appearance for a while.

But even going into the six-storey building with its series of homes had made Nina feel a sense of pressure at having so many people ‘living all of a heap’, to use her grandma’s way of describing multi-storey buildings.

She had never been a big city girl, much preferring the open spaces and greenery of the countryside. Living down under had suited her nicely when Charles was alive, even if the grass hadn’t always been literally green but bleached beige in the hot, dry summers of Western Australia. At least it never snowed in Perth.

‘I’ll stay here for a while,’ she told Kit, ‘but I doubt I’ll want to settle in London for more than a month or two. If I do decide to stay permanently here, it’ll be somewhere in the country, a village preferably.’

‘Oh.’ He stood frowning then said, ‘Well, I’d better find an estate agent tomorrow, someone who can manage the renting out of this place once you move away.’ He gave her a guilty look and added, ‘I have to leave the day after tomorrow, I’m afraid. That was all the postponement I could negotiate. Will you be all right?’

Pride kept what she hoped was a convincing smile on her face as she lied to him. ‘Yes, of course I will. I’m a grown-up and I’ve been completely on my own for a few years now. I may one day need an end-of-life carer, but that won’t be for a good few years yet, if ever, I hope.’

‘I don’t like to even think about you growing that old and needing assistance,’ he said softly. ‘You’ve always been a strong woman, physically as well as mentally.’

‘ Merci du compliment .’ She dropped him a mock curtsey and managed to keep the smile on her face – well, she hoped she’d managed some sort of grimace that looked convincingly cheerful.

She didn’t know where she wanted to live permanently now, not even in which of the two countries. But definitely not in London or any other big city, wherever she wound up. That was a start, wasn’t it? She’d manage to find somewhere acceptable, surely?

She probably had relatives here and there in the UK but her parents hadn’t kept in touch with them, so she’d not know who they were, let alone where to start looking for them. And anyway, they’d not be close relatives.

She might hire someone with relevant expertise to find them for her later on, though, out of sheer curiosity. Or she might not bother because they might be as inward-looking and quiet as her parents – talk about joined at the hip and not much into socialising with other people. She’d never met anyone as focused on themselves as her parents, but at least they’d been happy living together like that. You couldn’t ask for more than happiness in what you were doing, could you?

For a day or two after Kit left for New York, it was touch and go whether Nina cancelled everything and went back to live in Australia straight away; she felt so very alone in what was, to her, a foreign country. She occasionally met another resident in the lift, but those interactions didn’t go beyond a nod or a brief exchange of comments about the weather.

Then, as the jetlag ebbed away, she grew angry at herself for moping around and thought, To hell with everything . She’d be stupid not to give the UK a decent try-out, and anyway, if she stuffed things up there would only be herself to know about it, wouldn’t there? She was in her early fifties, which wasn’t exactly antique for a human being, and she had some money saved, after selling her house and flat and previously inheriting a pleasant sum from her parents, who had only made it to seventy-five. If she managed her finances carefully, she wouldn’t need to look for a job for years, perhaps never.

She decided to travel round the UK and visit a few of the more interesting historical and scenic places she’d not managed to see while on holiday here previously. If she found some region she liked, she could rent some furnished accommodation there for a while and try the area out for lifestyle and friendliness of locals.

There! That was a plan, wasn’t it? It showed she was coping – well, more or less.

If she wasn’t tempted to live anywhere in England, she could always go back to Australia later, so it would be a no-lose situation from now on. She’d make sure of that by not rushing into anything.

A distinct factor in her final decision to stay had been her ex-partner. He couldn’t easily spy on her, and he wasn’t likely to move to England to continue his harassment. Well, it had already been fading and he’d probably found someone else. He was really looking for a wife-cum-mother to look after him, the lazy oik.

Sandor had been charming at first but not for long as he’d gradually begun to act as if he were her owner, not her partner. He’d started bossing her around, telling her what to wear or not to wear and becoming unpleasant when she didn’t do what he wanted.

Although the time they had spent together was mainly in her house, after the first week or two he’d made no contribution to the housework, made no effort at tidying, leaving his discarded things strewn around the house, and expected the provision and preparation of meals to be entirely her responsibility. So she’d begun cooking meals for one and leaving his dirty dishes and clothes lying around wherever he’d dropped them, still unwashed. She didn’t like doing that, preferred to keep her home tidy, but you had to make a stand when someone tries to use you.

If he hadn’t been such a good lover, she’d not have stayed with him even for those few difficult months. But their quarrels had often ended up in bed and he could be very persuasive there. Nothing, however, had changed his dinosaur views about a woman’s role.

Boy, had she made a mistake with him!

But so had he with her, if he’d thought he could train her into his chauvinistic ways and turn her into a submissive wife. Ha! As if! When he refused for the umpteenth time to discuss his attitude towards women, let alone try to change, she’d simply chucked him out.

That evening she’d watched from the window as his car screeched to a halt beside the pile of his possessions she’d dumped on the footpath outside. But he’d surprised her and turned really nasty, making threats and throwing a stone that cracked one of her windows. She had to call the police when he tried to batter his way back into her house another day.

The trouble was, she might have got Sandor out of her home but he occasionally popped up when she went out with friends.

Clearly he was still keeping an eye on what she was doing, though how he was managing to find out was beyond her. She’d had her home checked for spyware and it came out clean so someone in her circle must have been passing information to him.

Why he was doing that utterly baffled her. He surely couldn’t think it was any way to win her back. Maybe he had an even more warped brain than she’d realised underneath that glossy surface charm.

He had never fooled her sons, had he? They’d called him ‘Ratface’ from the start and avoided him as much as possible.

So here she was, on her own not really wanting to go back to Australia but living in the sort of place where you didn’t meet neighbours. And she didn’t know anyone else in London.

Her feeling that the capital city wouldn’t suit her as a place to live had only been reinforced by actually living there, and reinforced by one hundred million per cent as time passed, to quote an Aussie friend’s small granddaughter.

Nina did her research online about where she might like to live and was about to start visiting those parts of southern England when she received an email from Laura’s social worker to say that her friend had passed away suddenly and peacefully in her bed the previous night.

That upset Nina for days so it was later than planned before she set off to look round the UK. She needed to put roots down emotionally, even if not permanently, so she was determined to find a place where she could enjoy living for a while. Above all, she was desperate to meet a few people who could become friends.

She started looking in Kent because it was close to London but on her second day away, while she was still staying at a hotel in Canterbury, she received another email from the social worker in Australia, asking her to contact Laura’s lawyer directly about a bequest her friend had left her.

That upset Nina all over again, and it was three days before she could do this anyway because another tedious, lonely weekend had intervened. She didn’t need a memento of any sort to remember her lovely friend by, but she guessed it was probably just instructions about what to do with the file of family papers, so she’d have to deal with whatever it turned out to be.

And though the social worker had attached a video of the funeral, Nina didn’t even attempt to watch it. She’d rather remember Laura alive and chuckling over something gently humorous. Far rather.

She got the times of day in the two countries wrong when she tried to phone the lawyer’s office in Australia on the Monday and it wasn’t open yet. Annoyed with herself for being so careless, she left a message.

When her phone rang later, she recognised the lawyer’s number so braced herself to talk about Laura.

‘Nina Thomas here,’ she announced and waited.

‘Ah, Ms Thomas. Thank you for contacting us. John Baldock here from Baldock, Lancing and Jenkerson in Perth. I took over as your friend Laura’s lawyer.’

‘Pleased to meet you.’ If you could call this meeting.

‘I was wondering if we could meet electronically on some program with visuals? This is a little complicated to explain and you’ll probably have quite a few questions. I’m afraid I’m rather old-fashioned about preferring to see a person’s face when I’m discussing or explaining something.’

She was a bit surprised, having expected just a brief message about what the item was and getting it to her, but said, ‘Very well.’ They exchanged details and then re-connected with a visual link.

A plump, balding man offered her a bland professional smile from the computer screen and said, ‘Ah, that’s much better. So, let’s begin. You will, I’m sure, be happy to know that Ms Chadwick has left you a substantial bequest. She didn’t think you’d have been expecting one and I can tell from your expression that she was right.’

‘Yes, she was. I definitely didn’t expect anything. Is whatever it is too big to send to me here in the UK? Because I’m not coming back to Australia for a while.’ She was incurably honest enough to add, ‘Well, probably not.’

He laughed gently, his eyes disappearing into two curved folds of flesh like a jovial cartoon character. ‘Yes, it’s far too big to send by post. She’s actually left you everything she owned.’

There was dead silence because he was waiting for a comment and Nina was trying to gather her scattered wits together. She managed only a feeble response in a scratchy voice: ‘ I’m the sole heir? ’

‘Yes. And I think you’ll find it an extremely generous bequest.’

‘Oh. Right. What does it consist of exactly?’

‘A whole portfolio of items. There are some investments and money in a bank account but the main bequest is two properties: her home in Australia and one in Wiltshire, England.’

Nina gasped. ‘ No! I don’t believe it. Why on earth did she do that? I hadn’t known her for long, even though I quickly grew fond of her.’

‘To be frank, when she made this will a few weeks ago, I queried what she was doing and she told me she didn’t have any close relatives left or even close friends because most of hers had been even older than herself and had died of various age-related problems over the past few years. She said you’d been particularly kind to her at a difficult time in her life.’

He paused and when Nina still didn’t speak, he added, ‘So it’s all yours.’

‘I don’t know what to say. I’ve seen her house in Australia but I haven’t seen the property in Wiltshire and she never talked about it. What is it like?’ If it was bigger than a tiny cottage, she could perhaps go and live there, at least for a while. That county was renowned for its beauty and on her list of possible places to settle.

‘Apparently it’s rather run down though still of historical interest and is a multiple-occupancy place. But she believed the group of dwellings would be well worth renovating. And anyway, there is also a legal obligation attached to it, something connected with a charity, and that is co-managed by a small government department. She feels she can rely on you to continue to co-operate with them and help deal with their charity efficiently.’

‘So there is nowhere on this property that I could live?’

‘Oh, yes. She kept the house her cousin had used there and hoped to use it herself. Sadly, she never got to do that owing to ill health but you may like to live there.’

‘I’ll certainly do my best to continue helping this charity. What sort of effort does it require?’ She stared at him, frowning and waiting but he seemed to be having difficulty thinking what to say to her next.

‘She apparently gave you some of the paperwork associated with the property before you left Australia. She told me she had decided to leave everything to you even then. I presume you still have those papers?’

‘Yes. I brought them with me, as she asked, but I haven’t looked at them. I thought I was just supposed to pass them on to the heir.’

‘I think you’ll need to read them now, because the charitable aspects are fairly complicated. In fact, I’ve discussed the situation with my colleagues and we feel the best thing we can do is give the task of helping you to handle this legacy to a legal group we work with regularly in England and they’ll contact the government department to find someone to help you sort things out.’

‘Oh. Right. Yes, that sounds a good way to go.’

‘They’ll liaise with both you and the government department but the person originally handling it there has moved on so they’ll need to find someone else to help you carry out the associated duties.’

‘Goodness, isn’t that rather drastic? Is it really so complicated that I can’t work my way through it on my own, with occasional legal help perhaps?’

‘I’m afraid it’s too complicated because of the government involvement. But do bear in mind that this is a very worthwhile charity and we’ll be handing your side of things over to a highly reputable legal firm, so you can trust anyone they recommend to help you, and trust them implicitly, believe me. It turned out they already knew someone suitable and contacted him immediately, but he was overseas and has to wind things up there before returning to England.’

She didn’t comment beyond a little grunt to show that she was paying attention but she was surprised at all this fuss.

‘The chap in question is called Sean Reynolds, by the way. He’ll be tasked with taking you through the necessary steps to sort out your inheritance and then helping you to get started on whatever needs doing after that.’

She still thought this was excessive. ‘His fees on top of renovations to a historical property would be rather expensive, I should think. I won’t be out of pocket, will I?’ It would be no use inheriting something that might cost more than she could afford to pay out.

‘Um, such payments are already allowed for in the bequest because it has a separate joint bank account set up to pay any costs of running things. Like others in her family, Laura was a very shrewd lady financially and you will definitely not be out of pocket. There are several factors to be considered when you start on the necessary work.’

She was startled. ‘That does sound complicated.’

‘I fear so. But at least the bequest side of things will be dealt with under Australian law, so you won’t be subject to the UK’s inheritance tax. That will save you having half the value of what you inherit taken away before you even start.’

‘Oh. Right. I don’t know much about that sort of thing.’

‘Um, will you continue to be involved in handling the duties involved in working with the charity or shall you wish simply to sell what you inherit and hand the charity work over to someone else? That would be an alternative course of action. And actually, I’d advise you to think about it very carefully before you do anything and to look into it all more deeply.’

‘One thing I’m certain of is that I’d like to do as Laura wished about this inheritance. She was a delightful woman and I’m grateful to her for the bequest. I’d also welcome an interesting and worthwhile project to occupy my time till my sons come back to settle in the UK so maybe helping with this charity will be a good thing to do.’

‘I see. I wish you well, then. If you give me your permanent address over there, we’ll get this Sean Reynolds to contact you. It’s apparently a very complex set-up, you see, and the government part is confidential too, so even we don’t know all the details. I’m sure they wouldn’t offer you help if they didn’t expect you to need it.’

That seemed strange to her but she supposed you got all sorts of situations when you were dealing with people’s wills and historical properties set up as charities. Well, you did in some of the novels she’d read, if that was anything to go by.

She gave him the address of Kit’s flat as her home. She’d have to go back there till she heard from this man who’d been so highly recommended. Luckily she’d left most of her own possessions in the flat and not yet asked the real estate guy Kit had chosen to rent it out again. There were some items she’d shipped to the UK that she cared about, paintings, a few small pieces of antique furniture, and it wasn’t all that much more expensive to keep paying her son’s mortgage than it would have been to find secure storage. And besides, she’d also decided it’d be good to have a base to return to from her various travels until she’d decided where she wanted to live long-term.

‘Can I ask what it is exactly that Laura wants me to do for this charity?’

‘I can’t tell you the details because she herself only recently inherited this estate in Wiltshire, which is a property called Lavender Lane, and she hasn’t been well enough to go and see it, let alone get involved in any of the necessary work. I gather parts of it have been closed down temporarily as a consequence.’

Nina was startled by that. ‘Who did Laura inherit it from? Did the person not pass on the relevant information to her?’

‘It was bequeathed to her last year by an elderly male cousin of hers called Murray Ashworth, who had been ill for over a year. And his long-term caretaker at this property died soon after he did. From what I can gather it consists of a group of dwellings that need some attention and renovations, and which the government department makes use of from time to time to lodge employees who aren’t well. I’m afraid we don’t have full details as to how many they can cater for or how bad a condition such people are in, or even who selects them, let alone how exactly the properties and patients are serviced.’

‘But that sound impossible. How could it have been left like that?’

‘I gather that it was nobody’s fault, just blind chance.’

He paused as she lost touch with her wits again for a few moments, not even knowing what sort of other question to ask when she had so little to go on. ‘I find it hard to believe that someone has left me one house, let alone a group of dwellings,’ she admitted.

He smiled like a benign old Buddha. ‘Believe it! That at least I know to be true. You now own a group of units.’

‘But how can you not know anything else about them? You’d think there would be systems set up, paperwork and so on.’

‘I think it’s because several key figures died one after the other. And because there is a confidentiality agreement between the owner and the government about how they’re used when they’re up and running. No one else knew all the details.’

He sighed and added, ‘We have been told that the units are rather run down and in need of attention. The government and the charity share the costs of upkeep and renovation apparently so you’ll have to sort that out. Since you’ll have the use of the big house, you’ll be in the best place to sort that out after you move there, I should think.’

‘Well, that’s something, I suppose. When she inherited from her cousin, did Laura have to negotiate a new contract with the government or just allow the old one to continue?’

‘The old contract simply stays in place, apparently, and doesn’t need changing. But use of Lavender Lane has been suspended for nearly two years because of various people’s health issues and deaths. So that’s the reason you’ll need help. This chap was talking about retiring but they persuaded him to stay on to help you. He’s very highly thought of.’

The lawyer paused for a moment then continued his rather patchy explanation. ‘Laura felt it was a very worthwhile charity because apart from anything else some of the buildings are historically interesting though fortunately not heritage listed.’

‘I shall be particularly interested in that. Do you have a photo?’

‘I’m afraid not.’

She couldn’t hold back. ‘Good heavens! What a mess! How can you not have even a rough idea of what this place looks like?’

‘We were not the primary lawyers.’ He shrugged and gave her another of those polite meaningless smiles. She tried to smile back at him but couldn’t manage it. She’d been wanting a project, something worthwhile to do with her time, but she’d prefer to know more about what she was facing before she dived into one. Well, Laura had tossed her in so she supposed she had no choice but to accept responsibility for it.

‘Now, I gather Sean Reynolds is happy to undertake this job, so we’ll get the UK lawyers to sort out the financial details and maybe you should both go down to Wiltshire as the first step and find out exactly what is involved.’

Well, that at least made sense in all this chaos.

‘Reynolds has sent a message to say he’ll phone you to organise all that. He’s in some remote location at the moment, rather out of touch with modern communication methods.’

When the call ended she sat there for a while, feeling shocked to the core. A substantial legacy like this was the last thing she’d have expected from Laura, the very last. The size of it astonished her. She’d never expected to be rich. And she’d never expected to be heading a substantial charity, either. What if she messed things up?

Her friend Laura had given the appearance of someone who had to be careful with her money, which was strange when she was actually quite well off, no, very well off would be a more accurate description. She hadn’t been pretentious in the slightest and Nina couldn’t imagine her living extravagantly even if she hadn’t been in poor health. Any more than she would herself.

Money couldn’t buy you good health, could it? Or give you a family to leave your possessions to. That was sad because a woman as kind and interesting as Laura had deserved loving children or grandchildren to spend her last days with and leave her possessions to.

But life didn’t always give you what you deserved, did it? Let alone what you wanted. Look at how her sons had left her!

Nina began to smile as it slowly sank in that she didn’t have to go house or location hunting now and would probably never have to work for other people again. She’d had to put up with some highly inefficient managers at times and had loathed having to do their bidding.

And to add to the positive aspects, this bequest sounded as if it would give her something interesting and worthwhile to do for a long time to come, several years probably from the sounds of it. How wonderful!

If it was worthwhile? Or interesting? Hmm. When would she find out? And what did the government’s involvement actually consist of?

There seemed to be nothing but unanswered questions confronting her at the moment. Thoughts kept zigzagging round her mind and she couldn’t settle to anything.

There was something else she needed in her life, too, and nothing to do with this legacy: the move to England had taken her away from her Australian friends, because although you could stay in touch online she didn’t find it the same as being with someone. Surely she’d be able to make some new friends once she’d settled in Wiltshire? She usually managed to get on well with the people around her.

She wasn’t looking for another husband or partner, though. She’d been there, done that and lost her beloved husband. And she hadn’t won a gold medal for success in her recent attempts to tiptoe into a new romantic relationship. On the contrary, she’d made a right old mess of things, rushing in without taking care.

It was so sad that Charles had died young. He hadn’t deserved to get such an aggressive form of cancer. Did anyone?

He’d not only been a lovely man and a good husband, but he’d have relished doing the renovations with her.

She was tired of being alone, which was why she’d moved to England. So she was determined to make new friends.