“I’m going to make a phone call,” Darcy said. “Do you want anything while I’m gone?”
I squeezed her hand. I knew what running the estate took out of her, especially as she knew eventually she’d have to walk away from everything she’d done. I’d never understood why she didn’t leave, find something of her own to put all of her energy into.
She twisted her hand free and shot me a tired smile.
“We need to talk,” my grandfather said as soon as Darcy had gone. I never liked those words coming from anyone’s mouth. Bad news always followed.
I leaned back into the chair, ready to take on whatever it was that he had to say.
“I’m getting older, Ryder.”
Christ, had Darcy been on at him about me marrying Aurora? We’d agreed to keep Grandfather out of it. I didn’t want him to worry that he was leaving behind a big mess for Darcy and me when he died.
My stomach turned over and I leaned forward. “If you’re worried about the hip surgery, don’t be. You heard Darcy; it’s perfectly normal after a break. You’re going to be fine.”
“I need to tell you something before I go in to surgery.” His eyes fixed on mine just like they had when I was a child and I was in trouble. I hated to disappoint him. What had happened? “It’s about my investment in Westbury Group.”
“Your investment?” My grandfather had given me a couple of thousand pounds when I started up and in return he’d taken a special share. But he’d always refused to take any dividends from the company and he’d never shown any interest in the day-to-day operations. I’d almost forgotten about it.
“We should have sorted this out a long time ago. I guess I just liked the idea of being an investor in your success.”
“What are you talking about?” He sounded defeated, and that wasn’t the man I knew and loved. “Do you need money for the repairs Darcy mentioned?”
He chuckled and patted the hand I had resting on the side of the bed. I’d never question my grandfather’s love, but he didn’t show it through hugs and declarations. Darcy and I just knew from the way he was always around, making sure we never needed anything, weren’t in trouble, alone or forgotten. He was our anchor.
“No, I don’t want your money.” He glanced at our hands before nodding. “I’m afraid if your cousin gets his hands on my share, he might have a different view.”
I squinted as the early morning sun reflected off the windows and into the room. “I’m not following you. What’s my business got to do with Frederick?”
He took a deep breath and began to cough. Jesus, I hated to see him so frail. I poured him some water from the plastic jug on his side table but he waved me away. “I’m fine,” he said, wheezing.
“You need to take it easy.”
“I said I’m fine.” He inhaled and his breathing evened out. I sat back in the chair, trying to look more relaxed than I felt. “Do you remember when I invested in Westbury Group? I took that special share so you wouldn’t have the burden of a loan?”
“Yeah, of course.” I scanned his face, wanting to get to the crux of what he was saying.
“Well, the money came from the estate, and so the share is in the estate’s name.”
“I remember,” I replied.
“Well, a year or so ago I went to Giles to see if there was anything we could do about this blasted succession thing. It’s not right that you should have to be married to inherit. The estate, Woolton, the title. It’s all rightfully yours.”
I’d been to see our family lawyer and estate trustee to discuss the future, but I’d never had a conversation about it with Grandfather. I didn’t like to be reminded that one day he wouldn’t be around to keep me in line.
“You know that it’s not important to me. I have my own money and I can more than look after Darcy.” I hated talking about what happened after. The thought of a world that my grandfather wasn’t a part of wasn’t something I wanted to think about.
“Well, that’s the point. I’m not sure it will be yours.”
Had I heard him correctly? “What do you mean?”
“The terms of the trust set out that I can’t alter or sell any of the assets of the trust after I turned eighty.” My grandfather may be the Duke of Fairfax and heir of the Woolton estate, but everything was managed through a trust that governed exactly what could and couldn’t be done in order to preserve the estate for future generations.
“Right. I’m not following you.” I glanced over at the door, expecting Darcy to return at any minute. Perhaps she’d understand what grandfather was trying to say.
“So I can’t transfer that share back to you. You can’t buy me out,” he said.
I shrugged. “So. Your investment hasn’t affected the way I run the business at all. Keep the share.”
“But it’s not mine. It belongs to the trust. Which means when I die”—I winced as he said the words—“it passes to Frederick.”
I still wasn’t understanding. I studied his face, trying to work out exactly what he was saying. “So he’ll have a minor share. So what?”
“Have you looked at the paperwork we put in place at the time?” he asked, shifting on the bed.
I couldn’t remember any of the nuts and bolts of what we’d done. I’d been too excited to get my business off the ground to care. I’d found a small biotech firm in Cambridge I’d wanted to invest in, an opportunity that wouldn’t have lasted long. And it had been one of the best decisions I’d made. It had made me a fortune, and opened the door to new opportunities. It was from that investment that all my success had come and I’d finally felt as if I deserved my place in the world. A much as I loved my grandfather, as I child, I still lived with the reality that I wasn’t enough for my parents. Westbury Group helped me feel grounded. It was mine. And it wasn’t going anywhere. “I can’t remember the details. But everything has worked out fine. What’s the problem?”
“In order to give you the money from the trust, the share needed to have certain powers. So, if I don’t like the way you’re running the group, I can take control of the company.”
“That’s never been an issue, though.” There was no one in the world who I trusted more than my grandfather to go into business with.
“But when the share transfers to Frederick . . .”
The scrape of my chair echoed around the room as I stood abruptly. I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to keep calm. “Are you telling me that Frederick is going to be able to take control of my company?” My grandfather was the person I could trust most in the world. Frederick was the person who I trusted least. “That he could take everything I’ve worked for all these years?”