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‘They want to take the cottage away from you?’
‘Yes. But she said they’d have a pretty hard time doing that. Apparently, the cottage and the rest of Daphne’s land was put into a trust for Toby when he was five years old. But he never knew until Daphne died.’
‘Really? That is unusual. Daphne Harris must have had a sound reason to give this place to him. It’s a shame he didn’t have a chance to find out why before she died.’
‘There are two other trustees, but I don’t know who they are. They want to remain anonymous.’
‘Have you spoken to Ray Symonds? He might be able to trace Toby’s relatives, build up a family tree.’
Abigail remembered Lili mentioning her friend Ray. ‘Is that the heir-hunter?’ she asked.
‘It is, yes. I’ve met him once, in the local supermarket. Nice chap. Do you know him?’
‘No, but my friend Lili does.’
‘Well, if you want to find out about Toby’s past, I suggest you speak to him. But first visit Toby’s family.’
Abigail nodded.
‘Okay.’
He looked around the cosy room. ‘Well, isn’t this a turn-up for the books?’ He slapped his thigh. ‘I can’t believe you’re back! Looks like the place could do with a fresh lick of paint. Your brother and I can do that, help you out with any odd jobs, get you settled in good and proper.’
Abigail bit her lower lip. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d think that now she owned a place, she’d be moving there for good. ‘Look, Gerald, I—’ She was about to tell him that the situation wasn’t permanent, when his phone buzzed.
‘Ah, I bet that’s your mother,’ he said, looking at his phone. ‘Yep, she’s wondering where we are.’ He grinned. ‘I can’t wait to tell her all about the cottage. I still can’t believe you’ve come back!’
Abigail was starting to regret taking him there. She sighed, trying to think up an excuse to delay her visit.
‘I’m really sorry, but my friend has invited me to Sunday dinner at hers today, so …’
‘Oh, that’s a shame, sweetheart. But if you’ve made other arrangements …’
She hadn’t, although it wasn’t an outright lie. She just hadn’t accepted Lili’s invitation.
‘Will you tell Mum?’
He looked at his phone. ‘Okay.’
She stood up, leaving him to the call while she washed up their mugs in the kitchen sink. When she returned, he was holding out his phone. ‘Mum wants to speak to you.’
Abigail frowned, guessing her mum would attempt to persuade her to cancel her plans.
‘Don’t worry. I told her you don’t need to stay at the guesthouse. You’ve got your own place now. She’s so delighted you’re here to stay.’
Abigail’s shoulders slumped as she stepped forward and took the phone out of his hands. Why was everyone assuming she’d moved down here permanently?Because I haven’t put them in the picture.‘Hi, Mum.’
Gerald pointed to the stairs. ‘Loo?’ he whispered.
Abigail nodded. She sat back down on the sofa, listening to her mum ask how she was. They were all worried about her. She hadn’t been answering her phone or texts. It sounded as though they had been intending to make an impromptu trip to London to check up on her. ‘I’m okay.’
‘Gerald tells me you can’t make it today?’
‘Yes, a friend has invited me for Sunday lunch. I’m really sorry, Mum.’ Abigail hated to lie, but she wasn’t in the mood for awkward conversations and hushed silences whenever Toby’s name was mentioned. Things would be even more awkward with her sister there. ‘I’ll have to pop in another time.’
‘Alright, dear. Gerald told me you inherited a cottage.’
‘I did – yes.’ She didn’t want to go into all the details over the phone. She was sure Gerald would fill her mother in.
