Daughter of the Spellcaster. Maggie Shayne

back at the French doors to see the bright orange of the sunset beaming in through them and sighed. “Nothing, I’m fine.” And jumpy, she thought. “Good to meet you, Mr. Samuels. Hello again, Bahru.”

      He pressed his hands together and bowed slightly over them.

      She let Ryan keep hold of her and seat her in the first chair, and then he took the other chair—the one she’d been heading for, the one that was closer to Bahru—himself.

      “I know this has been a miserable day for all of us,” the lawyer said. “So I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the minutiae.”

      Lena glanced at Ryan as the man went on, and they shared an unspoken “Who the hell says minutiae?” moment. He even smiled a little.

      The lawyer was still going on. “… right to the gist of it, which is really simple enough.”

      “Ryan, you of course inherit the bulk of the estate. The holdings, the money, the mansion, the fleet of cars, both jets, the businesses—”

      “I was afraid of that.” Ryan sighed and leaned forward a little, as if something very heavy had just landed on his shoulders.

      Lena reached out and slid her hand over his, then tried to take back the intimacy of the move by patting it instead of holding it. “You can sell it all. You can let the board run it. It doesn’t have to be a burden to you, Ryan,” she whispered.

      He nodded.

      “As for you, Magdalena,” the lawyer went on, “Ernst was very specific. First off, the deed to your home has been marked ‘paid in full.’“

      She blinked. “What? But I don’t—”

      “The vineyard belonged to Ernst, Magdalena,” Bahru said softly. “He was afraid you wouldn’t want it if you knew. He’d bought it long ago, hoping to retire there one day with his beautiful Sarah. They had such plans for the place—but then she died and…”

      “That’s the vineyard where you’ve been living?” Ryan burst out.

      “I bought that vineyard from Ernst?” she shouted at the same moment.

      Samuels held up both hands. “One of his holding companies, to be specific, but yes, that’s what it comes down to.”

      “But I wanted to do this on my own.”

      “Dad didn’t like to let anyone he cared about do anything on their own,” Ryan said. “Trust me, Lena, I totally get your indignation.” He tugged her arm until she looked at him. “But hey, it doesn’t have to be a burden on you,” he said, repeating her own words back to her. “You can always sell it.”

      “That’s not the point.”

      “I know.”

      All right, all right, she knew what he was saying. Her homilies about him being able to sell his father’s empire, about not letting it be a burden, were beside the point. The man had imposed his will on his unwilling son, and it didn’t feel good. She shared the feeling firsthand now and acknowledged that with a slow nod. His expression said that he received the message.

      “If you don’t mind,” the lawyer said, clearing his throat to get their attention, “there’s more.”

      She sighed but didn’t sit back down. “What else?”

      “Ernst collected an impressive number of books and even some scrolls on his travels. Hundreds of writings, obscure religious texts and—”

      “The sacred teachings of all times,” Bahru explained. “He said you were one of the few people he had ever known who would appreciate his collection.”

      Lena blinked in absolute stunned shock, and thudded heavily into her chair again. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe he did that.”

      “Wait, wait,” Ryan said. “He gives you a vineyard, you’re pissed. But he gives you a pile of musty old books and you’re in tears?”

      She spared him only a quick scowl before turning to Bahru. “But you should have them, Bahru.”

      He shook his head. “They were meant for you. Where would I put them, once I am free to return to my endless journeying?”

      “The books will be delivered to you at your home by week’s end, Magdalena,” said the attorney. “I have people packing them up for shipping right now.”

      She opened her mouth, but he held up a hand. “I promise you, these are men who know how to handle precious and rare manuscripts. They’ll be safe. Ernst also set up a trust for your child, the current balance of which is…” He shuffled papers. “Ten million dollars. With interest, it will be worth significantly more as time passes. But you are in complete control, and may use the interest at any time and in any way you see fit. The principal is to remain untouched until you deem the child mature enough to take control of it. He said he trusted you completely.”

      She felt as if the air had all rushed out of her body and her muscles had turned to gelatin. “But the interest on ten million dollars would be…”

      “At the current rate, it’s earning about five hundred thousand per year.”

      Her jaw dropped.

      “As for you, Bahru, Ernst left you exactly what you asked for. The guesthouse on the vineyard, with the caveat that it’s all right with Magdalena—”

      “What’s this?” Ryan asked, sounding angry again.

      She put her hand on his shoulder. “Easy, Ryan.” And then she turned to the bearded holy man. “Bahru?”

      He smiled softly. “He wanted me to stay close to the child, Magdalena. To advise you and your baby just as I have advised him, and to watch over things.”

      “And is that what you want?”

      “I want nothing more.”

      “Well, you got more,” the lawyer said. “He’s leaving you enough stock to provide a small income for the rest of your life, Bahru. And he told me not to take no for an answer.”

      Bahru’s face darkened. “I told him no money!”

      “He insisted.”

      Lena smiled, recognizing the irony of what she was about to say. “It’s what Ernst wanted, Bahru. It would be an insult not to take it.”

      He frowned but looked down. After a moment, though, he met her eyes again and nodded once. “I accept—if you will accept my presence in the guesthouse, Magdalena.”

      “Of course I will.”

      “Lena, I don’t know about all this,” Ryan began, but he stopped when she sent him her patented glare. She had learned it from her mother, who could wilt roses with it.

      “Fine. Fine. It’s not like I have any say in it anyway.”

      “That’s right, Ryan.”

      He was really fuming. She knew he’d never trusted Bahru, but surely he could see now that the guru had never been after his father’s fortune. He’d been clearly angry when Ernst had left him money.

      “Are we finished here, then?” Ryan asked.

      “Actually,” Samuels said, “Lena and Bahru can go now, but I need one more moment with you, Ryan.”

      Ryan sent Lena a look, as if to ask if she would be okay without him for a few minutes. She had been okay without him for her entire life, minus eight blissful weeks, she thought, but she didn’t say it out loud.

      “I’ll venture into the reception,” she said with a nod toward the door. “Come on, Bahru. It would be rude of us not to at least put in an appearance.”

      Nodding, Bahru got to his feet. Lena turned back to Ryan. “I’ll wait for you, okay?”

      “Yeah.