Free The Sinners Club by Kate Pearce Page A

statement from the local vicar to confirm my sister was married in a private ceremony to the earl in St. Deny’s church.”
    â€œI notice that you are one of the witnesses, Mr. Picoult.”
    â€œIt was my privilege to do so.” Simon bowed to his sister. “Do you wish to examine the earl’s last will and testament as well?”
    â€œI suppose I should.”
    Simon vacated his chair and waved Jack into it with a gracious gesture that set his teeth on edge.
    â€œGo ahead. It is rather a lengthy document. Would you prefer it if we left you alone to peruse it?”
    â€œI’d rather you stayed, Mr. Picoult. I might have some further questions.” He smiled at Mary, the apparently legitimate Dowager Countess of Storr. “If you don’t wish to stay as well, my lady?”
    Mary rose. “I trust my brother to represent my interests fairly in this matter, and I must see to my household.”
    Both men rose as she swept out of the room. Jack resumed reading while Simon sat and stared out of the window, one hand tapping against his thigh. The clock on the mantelpiece ticked merrily in the silence, and the fire crackled, sending out puffs of warmth into the chill. Eventually Jack sat back.
    â€œThis will was made the night the earl died.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd you and Mrs. Lowden witnessed it.”
    â€œWe did.”
    Jack stared down at the closely written pages. “I should imagine you were privileged to do this for your sister as well. Did you write the whole thing too?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Simon started to rise.
    â€œWell, someone did, and if the earl was dying one might assume that such a task was beyond him and fell to you.”
    â€œI wrote down his words, yes, but he read through them before he signed. What exactly are you trying to suggest?”
    Jack whipped off his glasses. “Nothing, Mr. Picoult. I’m just trying to understand the sequence of events.”
    â€œIt’s not that difficult, Mr. Smith. After the earl married Mary, he decided to change his will. He sent down to London for the last version, read it through, and told me which parts he wished to alter. When he was taken by a sudden illness, he insisted that we finish the new draft and get it signed and witnessed before he died.”
    â€œTo ensure that his new, young wife would be sufficiently protected for the rest of her days.”
    â€œWhat else would you expect? He was truly enamored of her.”
    â€œSo I hear.” He glanced down at the text. “I doubt the rest of the Lennox family are going to feel quite so kindly toward her when they find out they are getting nothing.”
    Simon shrugged. “They hate us anyway. They refused to receive my sister after her marriage and made several very public remarks about her and the earl, which ensured that the local gentry shunned us as well.”
    â€œHow uncharitable.”
    â€œOne of them even thought he was in line for the title!”
    â€œWhich one?”
    â€œGeorge Mainwaring. He lives at the Grange on the opposite edge of the village. His mother was the previous earl’s aunt.”
    â€œWhich makes him ineligible as long as there are male heirs.” Jack paused. “If your sister has a male child, the title will be secure beyond doubt.”
    â€œExactly.” Simon shifted restlessly in his seat and avoided Jack’s gaze. “It is something of a slender hope to rest one’s future on, though, isn’t it?”
    Jack glanced down at the closely written pages in front of him. “But according to the will, the countess will receive a pension for life even if she delivers a girl. Surely that is enough?”
    â€œIt will have to be.” Simon stood and paced over to the window, presenting Jack with his broad back. “One has to wonder if that comes to pass, whether the new earl will allow her to stay at Pinchbeck Hall or expect her to move