Free The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

old man wants you there, and your coming will make him very happy.’
    â€˜Why did he remove the photographs?’
    â€˜I beg your pardon?’
    â€˜You said earlier that he used to keep a “whole gallery” of this girl’s photographs in his room. Doesn’t he still?’
    â€˜You’re very quick.’ She sounded appreciative, as of a favourite horse who was showing a pretty turn of speed. ‘He didn’t get rid of them, don’t worry; he keeps them in a drawer in his office, and he still has one in his bedroom. He moved the others last year, when he had one done of Julie.’ She eyed me for a moment. ‘She’ll be coming up for her summer holiday before very long. You see?’
    â€˜I see why you and your brother might want to work quickly, yes.’
    â€˜Of course. You must come home before Julie persuades him to be reasonable about Annabel’s death . . . and to put Julie herself in Annabel’s place. Whatever happens, it’ll happen soon. It’s doubtful if the old man’ll see the year out, and I think he’s beginning to realise it.’
    I looked up quickly. ‘Is he ill?’
    â€˜He had a slight stroke three months ago, and he refuses to take very much care. He’s always been strong and very active, and he seems to resent any suggestion that he should do less. He takes it as an encroachment . . .’ Her lips tightened over whatever she had been going to say, then she added: ‘The doctor has warned him. He may live for some time, but he may, if he does anything silly, have another stroke at almost any moment and this time it might be fatal. So you see why this is so urgent? Why meeting you like that seemed, to Con, like a gift from heaven?’
    I said, after a pause: ‘And when he’s gone?’
    She said patiently: ‘It’s all thought out. We can go into details later. Briefly, all you have to do is to establish yourself at Whitescar, be Annabel Winslow, and inherit the property – and her share of the capital – when the old man dies. I tell you, there’ll be no question. Don’t you see, you’ll not actually be coming back to claim anything, simply coming home to live? With luck you’ll be able to settle quietly in and establish yourself, long before there’s any sort of crisis, and by the time the old man does die, you’ll have been accepted without question. Then, after a decent interval, when things seem settled, you’ll turn over your legacy to Con. You’ll get your cut, don’t worry. Annabel’s mother left her some money, which she could have claimed when she was twenty-one; it brings in a nice little independent income. You’ll have that – in any case, it would look absurd if you attempted to hand that over. As for the main transaction, the handing over of Whitescar, that can be arranged to look normal enough. You can say you want to live elsewhere . . . abroad, perhaps . . . whatever you’d planned for yourself. In fact, you’ll be able to lead your own life again, but with a nice little assured income behind you. And if “Annabel” decided to live away from Whitescar again, leaving the place to her cousin, who’s run it for years anyway, there’s no reason why anyone should question it.’
    â€˜The young cousin? Julie?’
    â€˜I tell you, you needn’t be afraid of her. Her stepfather has money, there’s no other child, and she’ll certainly also get a share of Mr Winslow’s capital. You’ll rob her of Whitescar, yes, but she’s never given the slightest hint that she cares anything about it, except as a place to spend a holiday in. Since she left school last year, she’s taken a job in London, in the Drama Department at the BBC, and she’s only been up here once, for the inside of a fortnight. All she could do, if the place was hers, would be