make an approach to Jack. I’d heard he was anxious to move on again and that he planned to sell the estate. He asked to see the documentation relating to the venture and agreed that we should proceed as planned. The only difference was that he insisted on taking full control of the negotiations.’ He paused and pushed his plate to one side.
‘Then the fire broke out. That changed everything. The man who came back from the dead, so to speak, was unrecognisable. It wasn’t only his body that was damaged. Despite occasional flashes of lucidity, his mind had gone. Since then, he claims to have no memory of our agreement. All he wants to do is live in the past and revive Hyland Hall. Every time I visit him, he wants to discuss another crazy scheme that hasn’t a chance of succeeding.’ His face tautened and for an instant she glimpsed a different Victor than the suave personality she had come to know. ‘I hoped that if he moved in with me, it would break his preoccupation with the past. But you saw his reaction when you suggested it. And this new manager he intends to hire worries me.’
‘It’s for security—’ she began.
‘No, that’s not what it’s about.’ He dismissed her explanation with a shake of his head. ‘This is something bigger than stopping a few fly tippers. Whatever he’s planning, it’s going to affect me.’
‘How badly affected?’ she asked.
‘I’m hoping to become a partner in this venture. To make that investment, I need the money from the sale of my land to do so. However, the investors are only interested in the sale if Jack’s land is included.’
‘What about the documentation—’
‘I searched for it when he was in hospital and couldn’t find it. He’d left everything in a safe somewhere in Hyland Hall. Since then, I suspect he’s shredded all the evidence that we’d ever agreed on a deal.’
‘Does he have any other relatives who could inherit his estate?’ she asked.
‘No.’ He shook his head vehemently. ‘There’s just the two of us but family means nothing to him.’
‘I disagree,’ she said. ‘Hyland Estate will belong to you when he dies. If you can hold off your investors for a while, you’ll be able to go ahead with your plans.’
‘He’ll probably live to be a hundred and leave everything to a cats’ and dogs’ home.’
‘Not according to what I overheard from Jack’s solicitor. The cats’ and dogs’ home will have to wait for another benefactor.’ She tried to humour him but his expression didn’t soften. The revelations about Jack and his callousness had spoiled the mood that had carried them through the earlier part of the night.
‘What exactly did you hear?’ he asked.
‘I probably shouldn’t have said anything about it.’ She shook her head nervously. The wine was going to her head and she was already regretting her words. A watertight will that would effortlessly transfer Jack’s estate to his next of kin, Benedict Hancock had said. Who else but Victor could inherit all his uncle possessed?
‘Hyland Estate will pass directly to Jack’s next of kin.’
‘How can you be so sure?’ Victor’s intensity unnerved her, all his hopes hanging on a few words she had overheard.
Before she could reply, Brendan came to their table to enquire if there was anything wrong with their food.
‘Our meals are delicious,’ Victor said. ‘But Sophia is proving to be too much of a distraction.’ His smile embraced her as he poured the remains of the wine into her glass.
‘I’d love to believe what you’ve told me is true,’ he said when their plates had been cleared away. ‘But I know how my uncle’s mind works. I’d need to see the evidence with my own eyes before I could believe it.’
Surrounded by plush wall hangings, intimate lighting and attentive staff, Sophy had no reason to feel uneasy over the direction their conversation had taken yet it worried her.
‘Are you asking me to search for it?’ She put the question bluntly to him.
You’d do that for me?’ He pursed his lips, his head tilted to one side.
‘I’m not sure—’
‘If I could prove for definite that my inheritance is secure, the start date can be stalled for a while longer. Hancock will have the will in his office but, knowing Jack, he’ll have taken a copy of it. If I could get a photograph… He paused then shook his head. ‘Forget it.’ He spoke decisively. ‘I won’t let you do anything that would put your job