An Unexpected Affair by Elizabeth Lennox
Chapter 13
It was bitterly cold and overcast the day the heavy coffin of Edward Meyers was lowered into the ground. Brock stood by the edge of the casket, watching alongside Frankie, Kinsley, and Stevie. They stood side by side, each taking mental notes for their spouses.
The minister said some words, but they weren’t relevant to the deceased man’s life, so they were ignored. The ceremony was brief. Only five people in attendance. And afterwards, they all filed out silently, not a word was spoken as they piled into Brock’s SUV. Still in silence, they drove to the law offices of Hensley and Brockman.
The lead attorney was surprised to find only the spouses in his office. “I’m sorry, but the names I was given by Ms. Windward were…” he paused, noting the bored expressions of the three women and one man. Nervously, he cleared his throat. “I was expecting the direct descendants of Mr. Meyers for the reading of the will.”
Frankie sat down in one of the chairs, folding her hands over her big belly. “They aren’t coming. We are here as their representatives,” she explained, handing him the letters of proxy.
The man unfolded the letters and read through them quickly. “This is highly unusual. There is a rather large inheritance here.”
Kinsley shifted in her chair. “We are here to witness how Edward treated his children after his death, since he abandoned them all before they were even born.”
The lawyer was clearly surprised by her harsh words. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware of my client’s treatment of his children.” He shuffled some papers around on his desk. “But I can guarantee that he was very generous with his wealth.”
He smiled, but the four spouses stared unfeelingly back at him. “Right,” he muttered. “Well, then, I’ll just go ahead and read the terms of the will.” He perched a pair of reading glasses at the end of his nose, then peered down at the page. “I’ll skip the legal terms and just get to the monetary bequeaths, if no one has any objections?”
“That’s fine,” Stevie answered for them all.
The lawyer cleared his throat and began. “Basically, he didn’t stipulate which child would get the money, but it was to go to whichever child showed up to his funeral.” He glanced up nervously, then returned to the paper. “Since none of the children showed up, Edward stated that the money should be divided equally among the guests that did show.” The lawyer smiled weakly. “When I questioned him about this stipulation, he said that he wanted it publicized, so that his children would know what they had missed out on. Since you are married to those children, then…” he shrugged awkwardly. “Well, they’ll know.”
“We’ll be sure to pass along Edward’s final snub,” Brock replied, his face absolutely blank.
The lawyer’s mouth opened in surprise. Once more, he adjusted his glasses, looking down at the papers in front of him. “Quite right.” He shifted the papers again, clearly uncomfortable. “So I’ll have those funds distributed to you within the next few days.”
The four stood up and left without another comment.
Outside, Frankie breathed in the clean, fresh air. “Good grief, that was harder than I’d thought it would be.”
Kinsley laughed. “I agree. Keeping a straight face was almost painful.”
Five days later, Frankie walked into the house where Edward Meyers had lived for the past eighty years. It was a stuffy old mansion with dark wood panels and heavy velvet curtains.
“Good evening, Ms. Wilson,” the housekeeper greeted Frankie.
Frankie noticed that her eyes weren’t red or swollen, but the woman looked worried. “Are you Florence?” she asked.
The woman nodded, her head heavy. “Yes ma’am.”
“How long have you lived here?” Frankie asked.
The woman’s hands clenched together. “Well, for a while now. But I know that Mr. Meyers passed away. Me and the other servants will clear out. There aren’t many left. It was hard to keep a staff. It was….”
“I know,” Frankie interrupted softly. “The man was…something else.” Frankie pulled out an envelope. “I won’t take up much of your time. I just wanted you to know that you and the others don’t have to leave. In fact, please consider this your home until you are ready to leave.”
The woman blinked, not sure what to say.
“In addition,” Frankie pulled several envelopes out of her pocket, “these are checks for each of the long term servants, as well as an investment firm that can help you manage this money. It should be enough to last you in relative luxury, especially since you won’t have housing expenses. The expenses for this house, including taxes, will be paid for out of Edward’s estate.”
Florence peeked into the envelope with her name on it. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth. “Is this…?”
“It’s for you. It couldn’t have been easy to serve Edward. So please, consider this payment for years of service.”
With that, Frankie walked out.
“In separate news,” the anchorwoman said, smiling at the camera, “The Women’s Shelter, The Seattle Humane Society, Girls Inc, which helps raise the next generation of women to be stronger and more confident, and ‘Running Start’, which helps women enter public office, each received large donations of over ten million dollars today.” She turned and smiled into the other camera. “And on Wall Street today…”
