Will and Testament // Sequel to the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Twenty-Five

School ended up being a relatively quiet affair considering the morning I had had.

Miss Reid gave us the morning to go through our plans and arguments for Friday so Evelyn and I spent the time huddled together over my desk and going through the notes we had made the afternoon before. After the conversation with Marsh and the comments from Father that morning, I lacked the attention to really focus on what we were doing.

Even though I was away from home and away from Father, those anger bubbles were there. They were hidden just below the surface with new ones occasionally rising to the surface and joining the cluster of bubbles already lurking in my chest. My hands shook and I spent most of the day scrunching my hands up in my dress to make sure I had a relatively clear head. The last thing I wanted to do was allow those anger bubbles to fizz and explode in such a public place. I didn't want to direct my anger to someone who didn't deserve it.

"You're somewhere else entirely today," Evelyn said, prodding me in the arm with the back of her pen. Ink splattered across the desk and across her sheet of paper.

"Sorry. The realisation that we're losing Grandfather's house tomorrow has set in," I said.

"I'm not surprised. You seem to spend so much time at that house, I can't imagine how strange it will be once you've left once and for all."

"I still don't think the will is right, but Father refuses to acknowledge that it might be fake."

"Why? You would have thought that they would at least look into it as a possibility, especially given the fractured relationship between your grandfather and grandmother."

"That's what I said, but he didn't believe me!" I slumped back against my chair and sighed. At least someone agreed with me that something didn't feel right about it.

Evelyn chewed on her cheek. "Maybe you should find out for yourself, you can prove yourself when it comes to your choice of profession."

"I'd have to get a hold of the will in order to do that and the lawyer still has it. I doubt he's going to release it to a total stranger, especially if he's in on it."

"That's true, but I'm sure you'll find a way to figure it out, even if it doesn't end up going in the direction you thought it would."

"Girls, your debate work, please," Miss Reid said when she passed us.

Evelyn offered a sheepish smile before returning to the sheet of paper containing all our notes for the debate. Although I tried my hardest to put as much effort into the debate and the words that I would say, I still couldn't stop myself from thinking about the will and how easy everyone had brushed it aside. No one had even looked at it, not even Uncle Christopher and he was an actual lawyer. How could none of them see that something wasn't right with the will?

Still, I did my best to push down the feeling of anger and frustration and instead poured all my thoughts and feelings into the debate. Uncle Matthew may have been right about not keeping things to myself, but he said nothing about finding other outlets other than talking to people. If it meant I didn't have to tell my parents about anything that had happened, then I would throw all of my time and energy into this debate. At least then it had a place to go.

We spent the remainder of the time we had been given working out an order for my speech before coming up with a plan. By the time Miss Reid announced the end of the time we had to work on the debate, we had a somewhat decent plan of attack for the actual debate. It would still need finalising, but we had a solid base to start with and that would make all the difference when it came to the actual debate.

After Miss Reid called time on our debate work, we moved on to the poetry we had been studying, but I kept adding to my work under the table. Whenever Miss Reid would turn her back at me, I would put the sheet of paper onto the desk and scribble away some additional notes. I didn't know if we were going to be marked on the debate or it was just for fun, but I liked having something I could focus on.