“I have a will. But I haven’t thought about Bryn Bach specifically. Not yet.”
“And do you have any expectation to marry?”
“That’s nobody’s business but my own.”
She nodded, whatever thoughts going on behind her frosty exterior hidden from him. As though reaching an internal decision, she smiled at him.
“I must admit to being pleasantly surprised to hear you are restoring the old house.”
Leonard folded his arms and relaxed back in his chair. If she wanted, he could play nice. Not difficult when he thought back to the progress they had made.
“In my line of work, I deal with period homes all the time. Bryn Bach is a simple, but solidly constructed house, which lends itself beautifully to the surrounding countryside. What came as a pleasant surprise was learning the history of the house, and getting to know the local area, as well as finding traces of our family, especially Luke—”
“No!” she snapped, thumping her mug down, her eyebrows drawing together. “We do not mention that name in this house.”
Leonard frowned, startled by the whiplash change in his aunt’s mood and tone. Her face had now tightened around the mouth and eyes. After a few moments, he regained his composure.
“I don’t understand. He was your son—”
“You willnotmention that name. Do I make myself clear?”
As far as overreactions went, Aunt Millicent’s seemed absurd. Moreover, how could any mother refuse to recognise the existence of her child, even if he had taken his own life? Leonard’s mother was hardly the most maternal in the world, but at least she acknowledged and supported her son. If his aunt were intent on making him feel uncomfortable in her home, he would abandon any politeness.
“Well, while we’re on the subject of the house, can I ask what happened to the furniture? My furniture? I understand my grandfather had some nice pieces, because I’ve seen the photographs of when your family used to stay. And the will stated quite clearly that I was to be left the house and all chattels, which in my experience means the contents of the house.”
His aunt sat up even straighter and stiffer in her chair, exuding an air of defiance.
“I had the furniture sold. Many years ago. Your grandfather approved. This was long before your father took the house from us. I had children to put through schooling and my late husband was, among other things, an incompetent provider.”
Late husband? On their call, Mary had said she still kept in touch with him, and from what he could tell, she hadn’t meant through a spiritual medium. Did his aunt tell people her husband had died to save her the embarrassment of telling them he had walked out on her? Whatever. Leonard was not about to be fobbed off.
“You had my grandfather’s written consent for the sale, I assume?”
Not once did she blink when she replied.
“Consent was granted verbally. What does it matter? The furniture was old and needed replacing anyway.”
Based on the Polaroids Leonard had seen, the furnishings looked far from worthless. But without being able to corroborate her story with his grandfather, he could nothing realistically about the missing furniture.
“I see. I suppose I should be grateful for the cast-iron bed frames and the dresser—”
“Dresser? What dresser?”
“The Welsh dresser. Boarded up in the wall,” said Leonard, enjoying the moment. “You didn’t know?”
Once again, Leonard discerned a moment of surprise followed quickly by annoyance cross her face.
“I wasn’t aware. My son, Matthew, negotiated a lump sum for the furniture clearance many years ago. That particular piece must have escaped his notice.”
“Or maybe hidden by the person who should rightfully have inherited the house. There were some interesting old photographs and other items inside the dresser’s cupboards.”
She studied him coldly now, clearly curious and waiting for Leonard to elaborate. She could wait. If she wanted to play games, then so could he. Instead, he decided to move the conversation in another direction.
“Not sure if you were aware, but one of my online businesses deals in antiques. And I’m told that particular dresser is a classic piece, in almost mint condition. Would fetch a tidy sum at auction. Not that I intend to sell. A beauty like that needs to be returned to its rightful place in the living room, now the rest of the house has been restored. I’m on my way to complete the final checks as soon as I leave here.”
She sipped from her mug of tea and glowered at him over the rim.
“That’s nice. And how have the renovations gone?”
