Page 38 of Leafpoint Lighthouse

“Dad, that’s so sad.” Poppy pulled a miserable face.

“Anyway. It pleases me to see you girls got the inheritances you deserve. Just be mindful of Christopher and Lyle. Especially Lyle, as he thinks he’s entitled to it,” Edmund warned.

“I’m just going to check on dinner,” I said. “Does anyone need a refill?”

“Please. All that talking has made me dry,” Edmund replied with a smile.

I gathered up the mugs and headed downstairs. Edmund’s story about him and my mum had thrown me for a loop. She’d never mentioned Edmund, but… oh. I rushed back upstairs.

“Two minutes,” I called as the others stared at me in confusion. In my bedroom, I opened the drawer that held some jewellery. Carefully, I pulled out a gold necklace with a heart pendant. Mum always cherished this.

“Did you give Mum this?” I asked Edmund when I returned downstairs.

Edmund looked at it in surprise. “Susan kept it?” He slowly reached out a finger and touched it.

“Mum treasured this. Told me that the man who’d given it to her had been her real love,” I whispered.

Edmund smiled. “That warms me. Did Susan have a good life?”

“We were happy. Here, take this. It belongs with you,” I said, pressing it into his hand.

“Thank you, Lyra.” Edmund nodded.

I headed back downstairs to make drinks.

William

What Lyra had just done was incredibly kind. Edmund’s generation was a hell of a mess. It was lucky they hadn’t inherited. Lyle and Christopher would have sold Leafpoint out from under me. They wouldn’t have given a damn about anything but their own needs. Even so, knowing what I did now, I had cause to be more concerned. The living always served their own goals. Lyra wasn’t worried about mine. And that was dangerous.

It was time to make Lyra uncomfortable, but I decided to let her have tonight.

Lyra

Despite my offering the spare bedrooms, Poppy and Edmund headed for the Gull’s Nest. It had been great spending this evening as a family, something I’d craved since Mum’s death. Edmund made us smile with his stories of Poppy as a young girl. It was obvious Thea missed her dad; you could tell she wished Simeon was there to share tales too. But as much as he spoke about their life, Edmund pried into ours more. He wanted to know everything. Even Ophelia warmed up. She was also booking into the Gull’s Nest.

When they left, I tidied up and washed the dishes. William was watching; I could sense him. Just as I picked up the leftover casserole, William appeared in front of me, and I threw it over him. He stared in sheer disbelief as I gaped, horrified.

“Oh no!” I whispered as he continued to glower. Without a word, William wiped his face and clothing and then stomped away. A giggle escaped me. That was twice; what would be my encore?

The town meeting was in full swing. Keith Keating sat on the raised dais as business was conducted. His smirk widened when he saw me. He let the discussion continue until the mayor stood up.

“Now we come to Mr Keating,” she exclaimed and took a seat. Joseph slipped in beside me and offered a wink.

“I’m proposing a motion to tear down the Jasper lighthouses as they are known. I have here a surveyor’s report stating that the four are unstable and should be torn down for public safety,” Keith said, standing. Murmurs rose through the crowd as everyone looked to my cousins and me.

“You say they are structurally unsound based on a surveyor in town?” Joseph asked, getting to his feet.

“Who are you? This is a meeting for residents!” Keith snapped.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the solicitor for the Jasper family.” Joseph smiled.

The whispers rose again as we kept our faces blank.

“You’ve no say in what happens to those lighthouses,” Keith spat. “If this council condemns them, down they come.”

“Since when can the council authorise the demolition of private property?” Joseph asked.

“When it becomes a danger to the public,” the mayor snapped. Oh, she was in on this too.