A Question of Trust

by Angeline Fortin

  They stood with their mother by the newly built mausoleum in the churchyard, erected according to instructions he had laid out with his executer in previous years. It was a modest crypt given the Preston wealth, but representative of their father and his heritage.

  A lone piper played Amazing Grace so mournfully it echoed in the foggy morning air. Echoed through Kitty, and she suspected Eve as well, as they laid their father to rest.

  The reception at their mother’s Fifth Avenue home following the service had been a crush of well-wishers. Her father had been a powerful man in New York for three decades, with his fingers in nearly every industry’s pot. The rooms were full of business associates, bankers and investors, as well as the cream of the Knickerbocker set. There were Astors, Ogilvies, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts aplenty in attendance.

  Kitty and Eve stood by their mother’s side to greet them all, but with every lull her mother pestered her with questions about Jack. She asked who he was. A friend of Francis MacKintosh’s, Eve had explained, trying to leave it at that, but Margaret Preston had a watchful eye and clearly she could see Jack paid more attention to her daughter than his friend. Kitty could see the wheels spinning in her mother’s head. It had taken every evasive tactic she could think of to avoid the direct line of questioning she knew was hovering just over the horizon.

  Today they had come to the law offices of Mr. Jensen to listen to the reading of her father’s will. An official stamp punctuating the life of her father more completely than any other of the other rituals could. Jack squeezed her hand as he felt the tremor shake her and she sent him what might have been the hundredth grateful smile given in the past two days.

  Eve sat with Francis, clutching his hand much as Kitty clung to Jack’s. Their mother sat between them, weeping copiously, alternately leaning against first Eve then Kitty. This morning her mother had been full of questions regarding what she considered as Kitty’s questionable decision to divorce Freddie. The entire thing was a social disaster, Maggie Preston told her. She had been prostrate with grief and humiliation when she had heard the news, of course. It wasn’t the first time Kitty had been subjected to her tirade, but this morning her mother had been less heated on the subject and added sly glances at Haddington, hinting, not so subtly, that a good marriage might be the only solution to the scandal. Kitty only rolled her eyes, glad that Jack had not overheard that conversation and was thankful when her mother moved on to expounding Eve’s good fortunes.

  Now, as the lawyer shuffled papers on the desk, a commotion rang out in the reception area beyond the office doors. “I have every right to be here!” came an insistent voice that was very familiar to Kitty. She cringed and turned to face the door just as her husband forced his way in.

  “Katherine!” he called, “tell them to let me in!”

  No! Go away! she wanted to scream in alarm. Kitty could barely resist the urge to cower against Jack as he stood to create a physical barrier between Kitty and her husband. He crossed his muscular arms over his thick chest, legs spread as if to buffer her from an oncoming storm. That storm was Frederick Hayes.

  “Perhaps it would be best,” Eve whispered softly, leaning over their mother to address Kitty, “to just allow him to stay and get it over with.” Kitty nodded tightly, unable to vocalize her fears, knowing Eve was probably correct. Francis indicated to the secretary to allow Hayes’ entrance.

  Hayes crossed quickly around Jack to Kitty and tried to take her hands, but Kitty kept them tightly folded in front of her and backed a step away from him. Her posture bespoke wariness and dread loudly to every occupant in the room less the one it was intended for. Her voice was, thankfully, cool when it emerged. “Mr. Hayes, what brings you here today?”

  “I knew you would be here. That you would not miss this. I haven’t seen you in almost two months, my dear!” he complained, his voice an odd combination of annoyance and desperation as he again reached for her. “Where have you been?”

  “I don’t think this is the time for these questions.” Jack stepped forward, inserting himself protectively again in front of Kitty. The emotion pouring off Kitty was palpable to him, though her husband was too much a fool to see it himself. She would not have to face him while he was here to protect her.

  Hayes looked him up and down, and then to Francis, and back. “Just who are you?”

  “Haddington,” Jack drawled uninformatively, and indicated his friend, “Glenrothes. And you are?” Jack’s slow scrutiny from head to toe ended in a derisive smirk that said Hayes had clearly been found wanting.

  Hayes stiffened in offense at the examination. “Mr. Haddington, I…”

  “No, my good man, not Mr.,” Jack corrected, projecting an aristocratic hauteur Kitty had never seen from him.

  “Not Mr.? I don’t understand.” Freddie’s bluster was momentarily overridden by confusion. “Then what?”

  “Haddington, as in Earl of,” Jack corrected in such a way that Kitty was almost compelled to smile.

  Hayes sneered. “You’re that Scottish earl Evelyn married so scandalously.”

  MacKintosh snorted. “No, that would be me.”

  Hayes looked back and forth between the two Scotsmen, who dwarfed him with their height and brawny builds. That he was somewhat intimidated was obvious to everyone, but being as brash as he always had been, Freddie drew himself up like the cock of the walk. “Then who the hell are you?”

  “He is my friend, Freddie,” Kitty told him, clutching Jack’s arm and shaking her head slightly in response to his enquiring look. “This is not the time for confrontation. I am here to hear my father’s will and nothing else. Freddie, if you want to stay, please take a seat and allow Mr. Jensen to proceed or I will have the gentlemen escort you out.”

  Taken aback by her commanding tone, Hayes tried again to take her arm but Haddington blocked his access. “Sir…”

  Francis cleared his throat meaningfully.

  “My lord,” Hayes corrected sarcastically.

  “Please allow me access to my wife.”

  “No.”

  “No?” Hayes’ eyes rounded in disbelief.

  “No,” Jack repeated softly. He turned and courteously seated Kitty back in her chair before resuming his seat next to her. Hayes clenched his fists, ready to argue.

  “Frederick Hayes,” her mother snapped imperiously and glared at him levelly, pointing to a chair at the back of the room, “take a seat over there this instant and behave yourself, or you may be certain I will have words with your mother!”

  Hayes hovered uncertainly while Haddington added a little shooing motion with his hand that, though clearly displeased, Hayes followed. He took a seat near the door, scowling mightily. Kitty, despite the quiver of fear that had chased through her since Freddie walked in, was hard pressed to suppress a smile.

  “Thank you, Mother,” Kitty whispered.

  “Clearly there is more going on than you let on, young lady, on two very different topics,” Mrs. Preston whispered back. “I will be demanding answers.”

  Kitty shared a look with Eve and whispered back, “Do not fret, Mother, I will explain later.”

  Her mother shrugged, and motioned to the lawyer. “Please, Mr. Jensen, let us begin.”

  “Very well.” The lawyer shook out the sheath of papers before him with a crisp snap, adjusted his spectacles and cleared his throat. “The final will and testament of Lelan Gerald Preston.” He began to read:

  “I, Lelan Gerald Preston, being of sound body and mind, do, on this fifth day of February in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and ninety-one, make this, my last will and testament…”

  The will was over a year old, Kitty realized numbly as Jensen read on. How things had changed in that short amount of time! Listening with half an ear as the will was read – first bequests her father made to various employees of long standing, and then charitable bequests – she digested the contents absently, not focusing on the specifics but rather the whole. He had always been such a generous
man! The pain of loss flooded her once more. Never again would they dance, play or even argue. Her grief was overwhelming, pulling her back in…

  “To my alma mater, the University at Princeton, I bequeath the sum of one million dollars, for the establishment of a school of business; to St. Patrick’s church, I bequeath the amount of five hundred thousand dollars; to the…”

  And on it went. Jack looked over Kitty’s head at Francis, exchanging a dazed look at the sums of money so casually mentioned in the lawyer’s professional monotone. Any person in their acquaintance would consider any single amount a fortune. Any of those amounts would spare Jack the misery of the past year and suddenly he understood Kitty’s almost smug assuredness when she said she could give him the money without feeling the pinch to her bank account.

  The bequeaths were plentiful and generous, yet Eve and Kitty showed no distress as their inheritance was casually distributed.

  “Now we arrive at the portion which directly involves Mr. Preston’s family,” the lawyer announced, to gain the attention of both girls, as neither had been paying any special attention up to that point.

  “To my darling wife, Maggie, of so many years, I leave our home at 810 Fifth Avenue and the amount of ten million dollars, to see to her living in comfort for the rest of her days. Knowing she, too, has her favorite causes, I leave it to her to dispose of any remaining funds at her discretion. The remaining bulk of my estate will go, naturally, to my lovely daughters, Evelyn and Katherine, as will our home, Kilberry Manor, at Newport, Rhode Island. The manor is for them to share together as it is surely large enough to hold them both, I believe…”

  Both Eve and Kitty had to smile at that. They could easily picture their father insisting they share.

  “And as I do not expect my girls to sacrifice their own lives in the operation of my diverse business interests, it is my wish that my other holdings and properties listed herein be liquidated at the time of my death and the profits split evenly between them.”

  Here Mr. Jensen stopped, and regarded them both over his spectacles. “I have already begun the process of procuring buyers for Mr. Preston’s interests. In many cases, other investors or partners have already stepped forward with offers. Apparently, they were aware of your father’s intentions regarding these sales. I worked up some rough numbers for you based on what I have so far…” He shuffled for another piece of paper. “At this time, it appears that the sum of inheritance less the other bequeaths made here today will be approximately eighty-nine million dollars…”

  Neither Jack nor Francis could stifle their involuntary gasps. The sum was so staggering. Hayes had pushed away from the wall, a greed-induced glaze already descended over his eyes.

  The lawyer cleared his throat again and moved the paper back under the others. “Um, that is actually the sum for each of Mr. Preston’s daughters.” Ignoring further exclamations, he cleared his throat yet again as he went on, “I will continue with the reading:

  “In recent years, I have come to realize that perhaps the choices I made regarding the men I married my darling girls to were not the best they might have been. I regret my choices sincerely and hope that my daughters will someday forgive me for pressing them into a union neither one wanted. It would seem they knew better than I.”

  “What’s that?” Hayes pushed away from his place against the wall. “Katherine and I married for love! I can’t believe that old bast–”

  Every eye in the room turned and glared at him, making Hayes remember where he was and who was present. Gnashing his teeth, he shouldered the wall once more.

  With a final glare, Jensen went on.

  “I beg my girls’ forgiveness and hope that one day they will find it in themselves to forgive me.

  “In addition, as neither man has proven to be one of strong business acumen, nor would I say neither could be considered much of a man at all–”

  “I say!” Hayes protested, coming away from the wall again.

  “Mr. Hayes, I will proceed without interruption, if you please.

  “Therefore, the inheritance that I leave to my daughters is to be held solely in their own names. Should the death of one of my daughters proceed that of her husband, the full amount is to be divided equally among her offspring, to be held in trust solely by the remaining sister. Should both of my girls die for any reason, the total amount of this inheritance will be divided equally among the charitable institutions previously given bequests. At no time is any amount of this inheritance to be allowed into the hands or control of my daughters’ current or future husbands.”

  “He can’t do that!” Hayes rushed forward abruptly and slammed both palms down on the desk. “That is my money! Mine!”

  Mr. Jensen removed his spectacles and laid them on top of the will. He regarded Hayes calmly. “These are Mr. Preston’s wishes, as noted by me before witnesses. I can assure you, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Preston was fully within his rights to disperse his fortunes in such a manner.”

  “It’s unheard of!” Hayes protested.

  Eve and Kitty shared a speaking look. Their father had known! He had known even before Eve’s first husband died that he had done them wrong in that one decision he had made arbitrarily for them. Tears of love sprang to Kitty’s eyes and she saw them reflected in her sister’s. How gratifying it was to know their father had tried to correct his mistake and to see them freed from their husbands’ control!

  The money, as little as it mattered, was hers, and hers alone. Freddie would never have any of it, no matter how hard he fought. As for Jack, she supposed any reason he might have thought to marry her had just been denied him as well. Her fortune would never be his, nor would he ever be hers now. Not that he needed to wed her for money anyway. She had already agreed to give him enough money to be freed from his past and there wouldn’t even be the temptation of more to bring him back to her.

  “The law here in New York allows a wife to hold monies in her own name, separate from her husband. Normally a wife’s fortune as a beneficiary of a will would fall to the husband under regular inheritance law or through a standard marriage contract, but the conditions written into Mr. Preston’s can prevent that. I can assure you the wording that details the dispersal of funds through this will is iron clad. You will find no loophole to gain the monies for yourself.”

  Though Hayes looked on the verge of apoplexy, he stifled further argument but went to Kitty’s side. “I regret that your father held me in such low esteem, but now that he is gone our lives will move on together.”

  “Freddie…”

  “Come, my dear, let us go home.” He wrapped his hand around her upper arm in a way Kitty was painfully familiar with, and she couldn’t resist trying to pull away. He frowned, as did Jack.

  “Remove your hand from her, Hayes.” Haddington stood, growling low in his throat.

  “I say there,” Freddie bristled. “Mind your own business, man.”

  “She is my business.”

  “Remove yourself, Hayes.” Francis stood as well, laying a hand on Jack’s arm lest he do something rash. Satisfying but rash. “You were allowed to remain as a courtesy but, since you were not a benefactor of the will, that courtesy is now revoked. You will remove yourself from this office.”

  Intimidated by the powerfully built Scotsmen, Hayes had the good sense to relent. He released Kitty but added, as he left the room, “I will wait for you outside, my dear.”

  Kitty watched him go with a shudder of dread.

  The rest of the meeting proceeded without incident, with their father’s closing sentiments. Kitty, Eve and their mother then moved to Jensen’s desk to review the charitable bequests in detail and sign the necessary papers. Standing to the side, Jack and Francis exclaimed in low tones over the details of the will. “It’s incredible, old man!” Jack whispered. “The amounts being tossed around to this hospital, that school and this servant are unthinkable.”

  Francis nodded with a chuckle. “I will agree I never imagined my Eden was worth so
much. I wonder what she and Kitty will do with it all?”

  “Anything they like,” Jack offered drily. Francis laughed and Jack reluctantly joined him.

  “Something must be done about Hayes, however,” Jack added, rubbing his bottom lip thoughtfully.

  “Indeed,” Francis agreed, looking at the door of the office, knowing Hayes waited to pounce on the other side. “He seems almost…I don’t know exactly. Delusional? He truly believes after all that has happened she will come back to him.”

  “Insane is more like it,” Jack grunted, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “It’s unnatural.”

  A chuckle shook Glenrothes’ shoulders. “’Tis not unnatural to love a woman, my friend.”

  Jack just shook his head stubbornly. “That’s not love, MacKintosh. It’s obsession. It’ll not end well.”

  Eve joined them shortly. Francis wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. “About done then, my paradise?”

  “Almost.” She leaned into him and sighed wearily. “Da was an incredibly generous man, was he not? I am so proud of him for thinking of others.”

  Curious, Jack could not help but ask, “You’re not upset he gave away so much of your inheritance?”

  Eve shot her former nemesis a wry look. “Not everyone is as enamored with money matters as you, Jack Merrill.”

  “Says a woman who has never done without,” he shot back, disliking the implication that he cared for little else. It might be his top priority of late, but so it would be to anyone in his position.

  “Don’t start with me, Jack,” she sighed tiredly. “For your information, we were not always rich. Da came here with nothing and was little more than a clerk when he married my mother. Our early childhood was no better than yours.” She looked over to her mother and sister, who still spoke with Mr. Jensen. “Perhaps that will help you understand Kitty’s offer to you, Jack. She does understand what it’s like to do without.”