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“Hello, Rodney.”
“Hello, my dear.”
“Shall I ring for tea?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Once the order for tea was made, the siblings settled onto a couch. They exchanged pleasantries until the tea tray arrived and any prying ears were out of range.
Selena poured the tea as she listened to her brother.
“I have been thinking about our last conversation.”
“Which part?” She handed him a cup and saucer.
“The part about you wanting to secure your future should things not work out with Owen.”
“And?”
Rodney took a bite of a watercress sandwich. “I think I have come up with a solution. There is an older estate in Wales, Sutcliffe Manor. It is not part of the entitlement. His mother bequeathed it to Owen on her death. Anyway, it needs some work, but it would be perfect.”
“Perfect for what?” Selena sipped her tea.
“Perfect for you to live there.”
“In Wales?”
“It would be away from Owen. Look here.” Rodney shuffled through some papers in the satchel he had brought. “It is surrounded by farmland with plenty of space to raise livestock, and with the rents from tenants, you could live comfortably. Plus, we would make sure to have Owen settle an allowance on you as well.”
It sounded too good to be true. Did Owen even know that he owned this remote estate? If so, would he just hand it over to her?
“Do you think it could work?”
Rodney grinned. “It might. I already drafted up the papers that would transfer the estate into your name. It also states that Owen is of sound mind, so hopefully he could not take the estate back, if it came to that.”
That was the problem. If Owen’s memories returned and he went back to his old ways, he might try to take the manor away just out of spite. It was a risk worth taking.
“How do you propose to give Owen these papers? It seems odd to just give them to him out of the blue.”
“I already thought of that.” Rodney put down his plate. “We can say it is a late wedding gift. Between his time in the military and his other activities, it fell to the wayside.”
Doubt nagged at Selena. It felt wrong to deceive Owen, especially given what had just happened between them, like a betrayal. No, it wasn’t betrayal, it was protection against an uncertain future. Hadn’t Owen said that he would protect her? Well, this was the same thing.
“Do you need it signed today?”
Rodney shook his head. “You may return it to me at your earliest convenience.”
She put her hand over his. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, dear sister. I only want to see you happy and safe.”
It seemed everyone wished to see her safe. But where was that? Here with Owen or in Wales, hundreds of miles away? She didn’t know that answer yet.
“Well, I should be leaving.”
“You don’t want to stay for dinner?”
“I actually have dinner plans elsewhere?”
