Lawyers
Carrie stepped out of the way so that Charlie and Meg could follow Jonathan down the hallway toward the stairwell, and then the lady-in-waiting trailed until they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Are you certain you’re ready for this?” Charlie asked, pausing in the foyer to turn and face her.
Meg nodded. “I assume it’s not the most difficult task I’ll be called upon to complete in the near future.” Thoughts of what it would be like if she had to testify against her uncle in court made her stomach lurch again.
“True,” Charlie replied with a shrug. “You are planning on marrying me.”
That was enough to make her giggle, and she playfully nudged him in the arm. “That wasn’t quite what I was referring to.”
“Nevertheless….”
“I’ll just wait for you here, miss,” Carrie said as she stepped out of the way.
“You can have a seat,” Charlie informed her, gesturing toward a sitting area at the end of the hall.
“Any questions before we enter?” Jonathan asked, looking at Meg.
She noticed his eyes were a bit bloodshot, and she wondered if he’d also been having trouble sleeping. It would make perfect sense that he would be struggling as well. She shook her head, and the three of them made their way to the parlor.
Meg hadn’t been in this room yet, although it resembled the library with its dark mahogany furniture and red velvet cushions on all of the seating options. There was a large table, and four men sat around it, encircled in a cloud of cigar smoke. It took them a moment to halt their conversation and notice the door was open. By then, Jonathan was most of the way across the room, Meg and Charlie just behind him.
“Gentlemen, may I introduce Mary Margaret Westmoreland,” he said, gesturing in her direction.
“How do you do?” Meg asked, giving a nod in their general direction.
Jonathan continued with the introductions. “This is Tom Halsey, Charlie’s primary attorney, and these are his assistants.” Tom Halsey was a rather large man with gray hair and a protruding belly. Meg nodded directly at him. “This is David Whicksmith, Clyde Overton, and Stanley Brubaker.” Each of the men made quiet niceties as Meg looked from one to the next. Mr. Whicksmith was rather short with red hair and a kind smile, which made her instantly like him most of all, while Mr. Overton and Mr. Brubaker were taller with dark hair. Mr. Brubaker was the only one who wore spectacles, and they were quite large on his thin face.
Charlie greeted each of the gentlemen before pulling out a chair for Meg and sitting down himself between her and Mr. Brubaker. Jonathan found a seat on the other side of the table next to Mr. Overton.
From the head of the table, Mr. Halsey said, “Miss Westmoreland, it is our understanding that you would like to know the specificities of the contract your father put together with Mr. Ashton before his death. Is that correct?’
“Yes,” she replied with a nod. “I’d like to know what my options are. And I’d also like to know how one best goes about letting the world know she is still alive.”
Mr. Halsey had a stack of paperwork in front of him, and Meg wondered if one of the documents was the original contract, the one that would have her father’s very own handwriting on it. “I’m not exactly sure what you know, so I will go over the terms of the contract with you, miss. Firstly, the contract calls for you to marry Mr. Charles Ashton by your twenty-first birthday. If you do so, the sum of fifty thousand pounds will be released to your mother, Mildred Westmoreland, and to your uncle, Bertram Westmoreland. At that time, full title to your father’s company, Westmoreland Textiles, will transfer to Charlie.”
Meg nodded. She knew that part very well.
“Your father was quite clear that this is what he wished to have happen. Not only is it noted in the contract, but he expressed that desire to Mr. John Ashton both upon requesting the agreement and when the contract was signed.
Meg swallowed the lump in her throat. Would her father have still wanted it to go that way if he knew what her uncle had done? How her mother had treated her?
“Secondly, there are provisions for what must happen should you fail to marry Charlie before or during your twenty-first year.”
“And those are?” Meg asked, though she had a bit of an idea.
“If you do not marry Mr. Charles Ashton at all, the company becomes yours upon your thirtieth birthday, but the money will go to charity.”
“That’s not really a concern,” Meg reminded him, and Charlie’s reassuring smile let her know he wasn’t interested in dwelling on that condition either.
“Very well,” Mr. Halsey nodded. “If you marry Charlie after your twenty-first birthday, the money will be yours, but Charlie will still own the factory.”
Meg looked from Charlie to Jonathan, who didn’t appear to be as interested in the discussion as she thought he would be—perhaps because he already knew all there was to know about the situation. “And what should happen if either my mother or uncle passes away or is incarcerated before we wed?”
Mr. Halsey’s brow furrowed. He glanced down at the paperwork and back at Meg. “Well, there is a contingency within the document that says if one of them were to pass, the totality of the funding would transfer to the other. There’s no recommendation for what happens if one of them is incarcerated.”
Charlie was looking at her curiously, too, but Meg wasn’t quite sure why. He must know the reason she’d asked the question. “Legally speaking, what might happen?”
The confused expression still sat upon the lawyer’s face. Mr. Whicksmith spoke next, looking at Meg as he asked, “Do you fear that is a possibility, Miss Westmoreland?”
She appreciated the fact that the attorney spoke straight to her without looking to Charlie for permission first. “I believe my uncle may be in some trouble.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
