Page 3 of Beyond Her Manner
“Can’t it wait until another day, Walter?” Gillian asked, swapping her empty wine glass for a full one as a waitress passed.
Walter’s face twitched. “It’s urgent!” He took a glass of wine and handed it to her. “You’re going to need more than one.”
Gillian’s stomach tightened at his firm tone, and she relented, gesturing for him to head to a door off the large hall. Following behind Walter, she issued a few smiles to guests as they moved through the hall.
“What’s this about, Walter?” Gillian asked as she closed the door to the drawing room behind them.
“I’ve finished assessing all the finances for you,” Walter replied as he sat on the brown leather Chesterfield next to Agatha, a small black cat.
Placing her wine glasses on the coffee table, Gillian took a box of matches from the mantelpiece and lit the ready-made fire in the hearth.
“It can’t have escaped your notice that funds have been a little tighter in the last few years,” he continued.
Lifting one of the wine glasses as she sat opposite Walter, she noticed a chip in the rim. Turning it around, she took a large gulp and placed the glass back on the table.
“Jonathon spoke about redirecting funds into some investments,” she confirmed. “Tightening our belts a little nowto enable us to live more comfortably in our final years, he’d said. I’d always thought there was no better investment than the manor.” Noticing Walter shifting uncomfortably and scratching at his balding head, she asked, “Why? Have the investments gone bad?”
“Not exactly.”
“Oh, good,” Gillian added, exhaling noisily with relief.
Walter winced as he said, “I’m afraid they were never good.”
Gillian’s body tensed as if each muscle was under an invisible grip. “How much is left?”
“Very little, I’m afraid.”
“But I have the estate; I have the manor.” Gillian’s breath caught in her throat. “Please, tell me I have them at least.”
“Well, yes. If you can pay for them.”
“Pay for them!” Gillian screeched. “Jonathon owned them… I own them!”
“Not according to the mortgage taken out four years ago, you don’t.”
A cold sweat ran through her. She wiped her hands on her knee-length, black dress. “Mortgage?” Gillian chuckled. “Is this some kind of joke?”
Walter remained silent, his lips pressed together as he met her gaze, the sadness in his eyes speaking more than words could
“What about my plans? I can make the estate pay; I just need the chance!”
“I’m afraid you won’t have the chance.” Walter extracted some paperwork from his briefcase and placed it on the table between them. “From what I can establish, he re-mortgaged to cover some bad debts and has been rerouting money from other loans to cover the payments ever since.”
Gillian ran her hand around the back of her neck and rubbed it to relieve the tension which was building as Walter continued.
“As you can see, the monthly payments are here.” Walter pointed halfway down the page.
Gillian’s hand shot to her chest, feeling the wind knocked out of her. “No wonder the bastard had a heart attack. I think I’m about to have one.”
“The bank has decided to foreclose. I’m sorry, Gillian, but you will have to sell the estate. It’s not simply the mortgage; it’s the other loans as well.” Walter proceeded to extract more papers from his briefcase.
Gillian’s mind raced as another cold sweat made her shiver. This couldn’t be it; there must be something she could do.
“Walter, the Carmichaels have owned this house for over four hundred years. We’ve lived through civil wars, world wars, famines, plagues, and even the decimation of our local railway network. Are you telling me there is nothing I can do to save it?”
“I’m afraid so. I’ve made some calculations and have some suggestions that won’t leave you completely destitute. You’ll have a small income, but you will need to tighten your belt — considerably. I’ll fetch you another glass of wine before we talk details.”
Gillian looked at the two empty glasses in front of her, not even recalling having drained them. Her hand reached out to Walter as he passed, grasping at his arm in desperation, wanting him to take it all back.
