FOLLOW YOUR HEART

Chapter 31 - Making Decisions

"Are you sure you'll be OK on your own?" Shawn asked.

"I am. I'm exhausted after getting the cast off and the boot on, but hey, way earlier than they expected. I'm glad we insisted on that new x-ray. A slight crack is way better than the break they thought I had." Camila replied, laying on the bed.

The hotel room was beautiful and comfortable, he had room service bring up a meal for her, and she had a big bottle of water beside her and the TV remote. He lay a blanket over her and she smiled at him appreciatively.

"What exactly does the solicitor want to see us about anyway?" she asked.

"I guess I'll find out when I get there," Shawn said, keeping his face averted. She'd be able to tell something was up just be looking at him, so he kept himself busy putting his coat on with his back to her. He schooled his face and turned to kiss her goodbye.

"I've got my cell phone with me if you need me, I'll see you soon."

"I'm just going to watch TV and nap, I'll be here when you get back so you can catch me up."

He caught a cab to the solicitors' office and was shown into an empty conference room, the walls lined with bookcases full of law books.

"Mr Smith will be with you in a moment," the woman said as she closed the door. She came in a few minutes later with a tray holding a jug of water and a couple of glasses. He could see a gaggle of women in the hallway peeking in and hid a smile. He would go and say hello when the meeting was over.

"Shawn, good to see you," Roger Smith said as he strode into the room, hand outstretched. Shawn shook it and sat down again and Roger sat opposite, opening the file in front of him as well as his laptop. "So, we've done a lot of research and pored over everything with a fine tooth comb and I think we've come up with a plan."

"What kind of a plan?" Shawn asked cautiously.

"A plan that will possibly mean you can finish the monthy visits without it affecting the future plans of the property for a start," he smiled.

"Really? Are you saying we could have done this ages ago?"

"No, this really is based on how thing are right now, in fact you would have to come next month and then that would be the last one."

He felt such a surge of relief. Trying to start tour and fit in a week's break in the same month was proving to be a big hassle, this would make things a lot simpler.

"Now, onto the matter of Mr George Barry Singh, who the DNA test has proven to be Sir Gareth's grandson, via his daughter Jamila Putri Singh, and his employee Mr Sam Dougal McMurray, employee of the estate.

Sir Gareth wrote a letter as a codicil to the will in which he expresses his wishes that the estate not be passed on to Mr Singh as he didn't want his grandson to bear the burden of it's upkeep, however the books show that thanks to the yearly open days in May, the garden open days through Spring, Summer and Autumn, and some canny investments, that the property estate is more than paying for itself, including salaries and taxes. That being the case, and Mr Singh being agreeable, we could write up new documents claiming Mr Singh as Sir Gareth's true heir and making him beneficiary of the will.

Now, my suggestion would be to enter into new arrangements with one of the purchasers to invest in the property and run it as a hotel as planned. Mr Talbot will be retiring in June, as he was planning to do so once the Hall was sold, so the coach house will once again be available if Mr Singh wishes to use it as his accommodations for when he comes to the Hall. We can reach out to him and present this plan to him, and take it from there. However, if he rejects the plan, you and Ms Cabello will need to continue to visit until May, the last visit, as originally planned. Does all that make sense."