The Lady of the Manor

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day, I drove down to the lawyer's offices in town. I found a space to park my car in the massive multi-story car park and walked the rest of the way. I signed in at reception and waited in the cold plastic chairs for Mr Barnes. I tried ringing my boyfriend, Oliver while I waited but it went through to voice mail. I clicked off, without leaving a message. He would ring me back later and I could tell him about Grandma then. This past week he had been on a business trip and I hadn't been able to get hold of him. Thank God for Liv being here to help and support me through all this.

The office door opened and Mr Barnes came out into the waiting area, just as I put my phone back into my bag. He extended his hand and we shook hands.

"Come on in. Do you want a tea, coffee?"

"No thank you. I'm okay."

He held his office door open for me and I stepped inside. He had a massive wooden desk, taking up most of the room. I took a seat in one of the two chairs on my side of the desk as Mr Barnes sat in his big chair on his side.

"Now, as I mentioned, some money will go towards the cat rescue centre, which if you sign here, I can take care of that."

I signed.

"Thank you. The bungalow and Periwinkle House and all their contents belong to you. You already have the keys and deed to the bungalow but here are the keys to Periwinkle House." He held out a massive bunch of keys, a mixture of big, old ones and small modern ones.

"I'm sorry Mr Barnes. You must be mistaken. My grandmother only owned one property and that was the bungalow. I don't know anything about a Periwinkle House."

Mr Barnes shuffled some papers round on his desk, searching for something. "Ah, here it is." He showed me an old black and white picture of an old mansion. "Your grandmother's family home."

I took the picture and stared. Surely I was dreaming. Grandma couldn't have a massive mansion in the country. "Where is this house?"

"About five miles away from here. We could go there now and I can show you round. Your grandmother showed me the ins and outs when she wrote her will."

I nodded. "Could we go now. I think I need to see it with my own eyes to even start believing it."

"Sure, do you have your car here? You could follow me in mine."

I drove behind the lawyer and kept laughing out loud. Grandma hadn't left me a house. This was a prank from her. Or the lawyer was actually shady as hell and was taking me to an empty field to murder me.

Mr Barnes indicated left and turned down a small lane. I followed and slowed my speed as the lane was nothing more than a dirt track. As we drove though, a roof came into view and then more and more of the house. I took my foot of the accelerator completely and allowed the car to grind to a halt. Periwinkle House. It was beautiful, full of character. Whoever had named it though had clearly never seen a regular house because this 'house' was bigger than most of my university lecture halls.

Noticing Mr Barnes had pulled up past the fountain on the circular drive, I shook my head and continued on to park behind him. I got out of the car, only just remembering to shut the door.

"We'll go in through the front door. Your grandmother said it was the best way to view the house for the first time." He unlocked the huge double doors and pushed them both open. "Obviously, should you choose to live here, the servant's door is more modern so easier to open but for now, we shall use this door."

He walked in, beckoning me to follow. I stepped through the door way and a gasp left my mouth. I stood rooted to the spot, my head rotating to try and see everything. The entranceway was a grand affair, with big sweeping ceilings and a massive staircase that dominated the hall space.