Chapter 2

As Darla sat in the motorcar, she was happy. She had all her personal possessions behind her ready for a new start. Relief is the strangest thing, it takes a hold on you but once that hold is gone, it's like floating on air. She was restarting her life, she had sold the Parkinson home. She thought she'd be sad to let it go but she wasn't. There were too many memories in that house, some that should be long forgotten.

Eustice always held on to the purse strings including her dowry. He didn't like her spending money without it being accounted for. After the funeral, Eustice's solicitor had sat her down and read through all the documents pertaining to Eustice's estate. He had made her the sole beneficiary, she wasn't aware of any other family that he had other than his parents. She was taken aback with how much money there was. She was quite the wealthy woman, especially since she sold the house.

She remembered a few weeks prior sitting in the parlour, when Mister Routledge from Parkinson and Routledge came to take tea with her. Parkinson and Routledge was Eustice's law firm, it made a sizable amount of money according to the solicitor. She had only ever met Mister Routledge once or twice. Eustice never brought work home with him but he did like to entertain at dinner parties.

"Mrs. Parkinson, I am so sorry I have not come sooner to give my sincere apologies for Eustice's demise," he said. She could tell he was lying through his teeth. They had many arguments and were constantly fighting about all sorts of things. He was a nice young man with ambitious dreams, that her husband had never approved of. She noticed he went back to wearing more colourful ties, he used to wear them when he was Eustice's junior solicitor but when he was promoted to partner, Eustice bullied him into getting rid of them. Black suits and ties were always more appealing to Eustice.

"What do you require Mister Routledge?" she'd had enough with everyone pitying her.

"You must have read the Last Will and Testament of Eustice?" she gave him some tea and offered him some biscuits, which he refused.

"Yes, it was read after the funeral by his personal solicitor." She had a feeling that he wanted to buy her out of the company and make it less of a partnership and more sole ownership.

"We need to discuss the fate of the law firm. I believe that even without the Eustice's half of the law firm, you are quite a wealthy woman. Not that I'm prying," he said, very serious and to the point.

"Yes. Eustice made me sole beneficiary of his estate including the law firm." She could see that made him angry. It was understandable for him to be upset, by rights Eustice should have left the law firm to him. It was all his hard work but that didn't make her a fool. She knew that Eustice may have been a cruel man but he wasn't stupid. There must have been a reason that he left her the firm.

"I am willing to buy you out of the firm. With all the money, you currently have and this house, you will be set up for the rest of your life." What he was saying was incredibly true. With everything excluding the law firm she was worth over a million dollars.

"Make me a decent offer, I will have the solicitor look it over and then we will do business," he looked startled by her response but in all fairness, why would she want a law firm? She knew nothing about the law and couldn't practice in it anyhow without a degree.

Mister Routledge wasted no time in getting paperwork to the solicitor. The solicitor told her she could get more for the company but she didn't care. She signed the paperwork. The money went into her bank and she couldn't be more content.

She would miss Holmes but he was an old man and she made sure that he would live out the rest of his life in luxury. She bought him a little cottage and gave him a generous last wage payment. She would need to make more confidants when she got to her new home.

She was delighted when she saw the sign for her new home. Hope Valley, three miles and she drove faster and faster along the path reminding herself to be careful when she got to the turnings.