Or if you exist at all,
And are not a twisted, fevered, silver creation of my brain.
― Mercedes De Acosta
Lillin Yardley
Arthur Reid, my family's lawyer, had the nerve to show up at my door unannounced just days after I retained Luther Crowe as my personal attorney.
It seemed fishy to me.
And he would have to show up just when Clare and I had the opportunity to be alone for the first time.
I was incensed but didn't want to create a scene if front of Clare, so I asked her to check out the few things Tess brought over from the Yardley estate while I dealt with Arthur.
I waited until Clare went upstairs before opening the front door.
Arthur was flushed and had a wild look in his eyes. I knew this was not going to go well.
" I just heard from Luther Crowe, Marcus—why the hell didn't you come to me if you weren't happy about the way I was managing your affairs?"
"I might ask you the same, Arthur. Why were you meeting with Ray Hull and talking to other townsfolk about my affairs?"
"I had dinner with Ray Hull. It was a purely social matter."
It looked more like conspiring than conversing to me."
Arthur's face turned an even deeper red and a vein stood out on his forehead.
"Are you spying on me now, Marcus?"
"No, that was a chance occurrence, but I happen to know you've been spying on me and lying as well."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he parried.
I decided the time had come for a showdown.
"You lied to me when you gave me the impression you were our family lawyer. My father hadn't been consulting with you for years."
"My family has always represented your father," he spat back angrily.
"More like black-mailing my father, Arthur. Hell, you and the Hulls are the reason my dad sent me to private school in Toronto to avoid bullying because you spread rumours and tarnished our family name."
"I don't know who's feeding you this information, Marcus, but that's a lie. Why would your father have my father draw up his will and manage his affairs?"
"You know the answer to that. The Hulls and Reids used their influence to bribe a magistrate and threaten to accuse my father of smuggling booze when it was your family who used my father's property to carry out their scheme."
"Look, there was no other official will when your father died, Marcus, and you certainly weren't capable of managing your affairs from the trauma unit."
Arthur's personal slight against me was a bridge too far.
"Yes, I was wearing a medical bracelet when I came back here but you didn't correct my assumption that Father retained you. You even contested Luther Crowe's claim that my father had drawn up a new will."
"Because it wasn't formalized, Marcus, and you were in no position to manage the family estate."
"So, you had yourself declared executor and have been managing my finances ever since."
"Be reasonable, Marcus. I was coming here today to tell you about an urban renewal project that can make us both a lot of money. Don't let anger cloud your judgment."
"Actually, I'm seeing things really clearly now, Arthur, and I'd like you to leave. Luther Crowe is retaining a forensic accounting firm for me and will be doing a complete audit of my estate. I'd be advised, if I were you."
I thought Arthur was going to hit me.
I watched the anger build inside him as he sought control over his emotions. He actually leaned in toward me so I could clearly see the red veins in his eyes and the huge vein bulging on his forehead, but at the last moment he turned and abruptly stomped away.
I actually breathed a sigh of relief. I had never been in a fight and this close to being assaulted. It was the same feeling of terror I felt the day I ran from the caves in a panic.
I watched in morbid fascination as Arthur stormed away. He climbed into his dark blue Lexus and slammed the door so hard the car actually rocked.
There was a slight squeal of rubber as he peeled away and I watched until he was out of sight.
I stood there transfixed for a moment, and then remembered Clare.
I hurried back into the house and up the stairs but just as I entered my bedroom my heart stopped—
Lilian Yardley was standing at the foot of my bed, sadly staring at me, clothed in her white dress.
© 2020, John J Geddes. All rights reserved