The Ardmore Inheritance by Rob Wyllie (reading the story of the .txt) 📕

earlier had hosted the wake of Commodore Roderick Macallan and his son Peter. Births, marriages and deaths. It was the only decent place for miles around and had seen plenty of all three. Glancing at his watch he said, 'Time for a quick lunch then?'

'Yes, I'm starving,' Maggie said, then remembering the sausage roll she had consumed earlier, 'although goodness knows why. But yes, we've got time and it's stopped raining too. It's just a fifteen-minute walk to Alison's from here and it'll be nice to stretch our legs after the journey.'

Lunch dispatched, they made their way along the beautiful lochside. An old Ford Focus, much in need of a good wash, had been parked at an oblique angle on the gravelled driveway, leaving the narrowest of gaps to squeeze through between it and the laurel hedge. They found Flossie the labrador lounging in the small porch that sheltered the front door, and after looking them over with mild suspicion, she struggled to her feet before padding over to greet them.

A few seconds later Alison Macallan opened the door and emerged.

'Hello again Alison,' Maggie said, smiling. 'I hope you're well. This is my associate Jimmy Stewart.'

'Hi,' she said. 'Come through, please. And sorry about my parking, I was in a bit of a rush.' Why that should have been so, she did not explain.

Maggie had been vague as to why she wanted to meet with her again, reasoning that complicated explanations about backstop agreements might not go down well. But she need not have concerned herself, because it seemed that Alison intended to take charge of the agenda, and she wasn't wasting time with any small-talk either.

'There's been a development,' she said. 'You see, I haven't been exactly truthful with everyone.'

'What do you mean?' Maggie asked, raising an eyebrow in Jimmy's direction.

'I know. I've always known of course. I just didn't want to cause any trouble between them, that's why I didn't say before.'

'So, are you telling us you know which of the twins is the elder one?' Jimmy said, sounding surprised. 'For definite?'

'Of course for definite. I was their step-mother. I am their step-mother,' she said, correcting herself. 'So of course I would know.'

Maggie nodded uncertainly. 'Well that would certainly clarify matters, no doubt about it. So which of them is it? Elspeth or Kirsty?'

Alison gave her a sharp look. 'I'd rather not say at the moment. Not until everything's tied up.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Our lawyers say we should keep it confidential until everything's properly tied up. Until all the paperwork is completed and signed off.'

Our lawyers. Maggie shot Jimmy an ironic glance which he returned with a wry smile. She could tell he was thinking the same thing as her. Whenever there was money, there was always a lawyer. They could sniff the stuff out, in the same way a police dog could sniff out a drug stash.

'Who have you used, if you don't mind me asking?'

'McTaggart Ward,' she said, giving a suspicious look, 'they're a small Glasgow firm, but quite well known I'm told.'

'And are all three parties involved in this agreement or contract, or whatever you want to call it?' Jimmy asked in an innocent tone, causing Maggie to smile. She had been thinking exactly the same thing. CunningAlison Macallan has done a deal with one of the sisters, cutting the other one out. The trouble is, it wouldn't work, and the only party to gain from it would be her new lawyers. They were evidently cunning bastards too, but then again, it came with the territory.

'I wanted to make sure my rights were protected,' Alison said, sounding defensive, 'so I have agreed a very acceptable settlement with the elder twin. It will all be neatly documented in a contract so that no-one can take it away from me, that's what our lawyers said.'

Maggie smiled. 'Well I don't blame you for trying to protect your position, but there is still a risk that a court will throw it out. I'm sure your lawyers will have explained that to you.' She was pretty sure they wouldn't have, which prompted her next question.

'So I'm guessing they're taking the case on a no-win-no-fee basis? That would be pretty standard for a matter like this.'

Alison hesitated. 'No. We've agreed what is a very acceptable fixed-price fee. And of course I only have to pay half of it. The other half will be paid by....by the elder twin. The whole thing is very satisfactory from my point of view.'

'Aye, but you'll still have to prove that the one you're claiming is the oldest one, really is the oldest,' Jimmy said, scratching his chin, 'if that makes sense. How's that going to work?'

'My lawyers say a court is almost certain to believe me,' she said, sounding more convinced than surely she must have felt. But Maggie knew there was a lot of sense in what Alison was saying. She'd married Roderick Macallan and taken on the twins when they were only four or five years old, and so had been in their life for more than twenty-five years. If she said she knew, definitely, and said it with sufficient conviction and authority, there was every chance that the judge or magistrate would be convinced too. Not a big enough chance though, she noted wryly, for her lawyers to go no-win-no-fee.

'Well, I guess that's to be seen,' Maggie said, shrugging, 'because I'm sure the other twin is likely to contest it. More fees for the lawyers I'm afraid.' Which was true, and of course the lawyer likely to be doing the contesting would be Asvina Rani of the prestigious London firm Addison Redburn. At twelve hundred pounds an hour, she could see this development, as Alison had described it, wouldn't be without its silver linings. And as for McTaggart Ward, the little Glasgow firm who were apparently quite well known, well pretty soon they would find they were way out of their league. But all of that was for some day