Chapter 30
Abigail returned to The Potting Shed and almost knocked into Zoe in her haste to get upstairs to the office. She closed Lili’s computer down in a hurry and rushed back down the stairs. Zoe was surprised she was leaving so early. ‘I thought you were here all afternoon.’
‘Sorry, I’ve got to go. Tell Lili something came up.’
What had come up was her conversation with the two sisters. It couldn’t be true. The solicitor hadn’t mentioned the lighthouse when she had visited the flat with Toby’s will and the deeds. But she had mentioned that Toby had been given the cottage and all the land in Daphne’s estate. Did that include the lighthouse too? Surely not.
Abigail walked quickly through Cobblers Yard and along the small lane to High Street, where Penelope was parked at the kerb outside the Co-op. Abigail set off, the Beetle’s engine roaring as she put her foot down, driving through Aldeburgh, along the country lanes and back on to the main road leading to Southwold. ‘It can’t be true, just can’t,’ she said under her breath as she clenched her hands on the steering wheel, her knuckles white.
Forty minutes later, Abigail turned the car into the drive outside the cottage at such a speed that she skidded on the gravel as she hit the brakes. The car ended up parked at an odd angle, taking up some of the space where the old man parked his car. Abigail got out of the car, looked at Penelope and thought,I’m not straightening up the car.
Abigail unlocked the cottage door, leaving it wide open as she rushed inside and dumped her handbag onto the sofa. Taking the stairs two at a time, she ran into her bedroom, picked up the suitcase she’d left on a chair in the corner of the room, and unzipped it. The deeds were inside, in an envelope at the bottom of the suitcase, under a pile of clothes. As she reached for the envelope, it fleetingly crossed her mind that perhaps she should deposit them with a bank.
Abigail sat down on the end of the bed, opened the flap on the envelope, and pulled out the single sheet of paper that was the title deeds of the property. She took one look at the property boundary, which included the lighthouse, and shook her head from side to side.
‘No, no, no no!’ Abigail grabbed her mobile phone off the bed, forgot about the poor reception, and tried dialling the solicitor’s number. She ran up to the window and tried again, frantically dialling the number. This time, she heard the phone ringing before someone picked up. It was working, barely.
‘Benjamin and Hart.’
‘Hello – can you hear me?’
‘Just about,’ a voice said on the other end.
Abigail kept still. She didn’t want to lose reception and get cut off. ‘Can you put me through to Miss Watson, please?’
‘One moment.’
‘Don’t put me on—’ Lili sighed when the receptionist put her on hold. She raised her eyebrows when she heard the old theme music to the movieThe Pink Panther. The music kept fading in and out. Abigail kept as still as she could, hoping Miss Watson was in and could take her call as soon as possible. She eyed the title deeds she’d left on top of the cushion in the window box. ‘Come on, come on,’ she said under her breath, getting impatient.
‘Mrs Forrester. How can I help?’
Abigail thought she sounded surprised to hear from her. She was surprised herself to be making this call. ‘Look, I want you to clear something up about the cottage I inherited. There’s a converted lighthouse next door.’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, someone said that the lighthouse is part of the estate. What I mean is does the cottage come with a lighthouse too?’ Even when she was saying it, Abigail thought that it sounded completely barmy.
‘Yes.’
Abigail frowned. What did she mean – yes? ‘I’m sorry, what did you just say?’
‘You didn’t give me any time to go over things. I attempted to come and see you, and you just weren’t very receptive.’
Now Abigail was getting irritated, and very put out. ‘My husband had just died – what did you expect?’
‘I know that, but I expected you to give me more time to go over the will.’
‘I inherited a cottage – what more was there to say?’
Miss Watson went quiet for a moment. Abigail thought she’d lost reception. ‘Miss Watson, are you still there?’
‘Yes,’ a small voice said down the phone.
‘Just tell me if I own the bloody lighthouse too with a lifetime sitting tenant!’
‘Yes,’ Miss Watson said in barely a whisper.
Forgetting she was trying to stay still so her phone didn’t cut out, Abigail sat down on the window seat next to the title deeds. Outside her window, through the small panes of glass in the cottage window, she could see the lighthouse. She sighed.It wasn’t really the young solicitor’s fault that she’d only just found this out. Abigail knew she was being unreasonable. She’d put Miss Watson in an impossible situation, not giving her a chance to go over her inheritance properly.