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The will (1207 words) "You're awful!" Davinia smacked Edmund's hand lightly and leaned towards him. "I adore it," she whispered. He caught her hand and raised it to his lips. "And I you." Sam walked to the windows and looked out on the garden to avoid witnessing yet another impropriety. It was hot outside, and the gardener's broad shoulders glistened with sweat as he knelt over the roses. Harvey had a tattoo on his right bicep, and Sam watched in fascination as it rippled with the effort of removing an entrenched weed. Sam shivered. Appalling how Davinia insisted on turning the airconditioning so high. He spun around to address his mother. "When is Ludwig arriving?" he asked. "I have better things to do than wait around." Davinia's eyes snapped towards Sam, all hint of the seductress gone. "What, is it time for prayers already? You spend far too much time on your knees, darling." Sam forced a smile. "I pray for you, Mother. It must be so difficult for you and Uncle Edward." Edmund sighed theatrically and adjusted his tie to a more rakish angle. "Please, we shouldn't fight. Family disputes are so common. For Beth if nothing else." "So you're doing Mother on Beth's behalf, Uncle?" Sam said, clenching his fists. Edmund and Davinia froze. Finally, Sam thought. I've done it. He has to take me seriously now. Davinia burst into tears just as the French doors to the lobby swung open and Ludwig entered the room. He surveyed the room grandly before smiling widely. "Excellent! A star has left us and I find a room of tearful mourners. What a wonderful day for such sad business." Ludwig wore only the brightest colours, and today had clad himself in an orange suit with a checked red shirt. He lived entirely in the gap between propriety and shamelessness, and never did a man who should be unhappy smile so often. He clapped his hands and fluttered them at Sam and his family. "Come now, you all know me! Let's not stand on ceremony. Please Samuel, take a seat with your dear mother. Hurry now! Beth had so much in life and I must keep to my schedule." "We'll talk about this later, Sam." Edmund said, gesturing to him to sit between he and Davinia. Ludwig carried on speaking as if Edmund hadn't said anything and, buried under his alternately charming and badgering words, Beth's husband, sister and nephew found themselves seated in line with Ludwig's desire. "Wonderful. But wait, where is Harvey?" Ludwig said. Edmund, Davinia and Sam looked at each other suspiciously. "Is that a joke, dear?" Davinia asked. "Of course not! Beth was extremely fond of young Harvey. Why, he will receive the bulk of her estate." Ludwig beamed at the trio. "The bulk of her estate," Sam said flatly. "She's giving the bulk of her estate to her gardener." He walked to the window, opened it, and shouted, "Get in here Harvey!" before closing it and returning to his seat. "But of course. Surely Beth mentioned this to you all." Edmund leaned over to the side table and poured himself a glass of wine from the decanter. "No. No she did not." Despite Ludwig's best efforts, the room was silent while they waited for Harvey. An eternity later - and two glasses of wine for Edmund - Harvey appeared, thankfully in a shirt. "Evening," He said. "Excellent," said Ludwig. "Now we can begin. Beth has willed a 68 per cent stake in her companies to Harvey, comprising..." Sam watched Harvey carefully, but the man gave no hint of his thoughts, content to just sit stony-faced as Ludwig gave him the world. He had better hair than Sam too, and evidently a better thyroid too, with his muscles and everything. Bastard. Eventually the torture was over, and the will was done. Sam had received the beachhouse and a tiny annual pension, restricting him to no more than six months abroad every year. Wracked by disappointment, Sam wasted no time catching up with Edmund's drinking. Neither Ludwig nor Harvey stayed after the will was done; Harvey left with a brief speech about how much he'd enjoyed working with the family. Edmund told him the family would be considering its options. Ludwig just laughed and said he knew exactly what to do, and after his usual florid goodbyes, they left. Edmund stood up and locked the door. "We need to deal with this deplorable situation," he announced. "I spent decades with that old bitch, and she goes and gives it all away to some peasant. We need to take him out of the picture." Sam was surprised. He'd never expected Edmund to be so honest. Davinia nodded. "I rather think we should kill him." She blushed, but this was more familiar territory for Sam - Davinia was the meanest person he knew. "I don't think that will work," Sam said. "Won't that leave the money with his family?" Edmund shook his head. "I don't care. He has to pay." Sam liked the idea of making Harvey pay. Maybe Harvey could be forced to work for him? The beachhouse had lawns. "I don't want to do time. Let me talk to him." Davinia laughed. "Darling, you look like a pudding. You're hardly going to be able to seduce him. Allow me." Seduce him? Sam felt the colour rise in his cheeks. Davinia had never tried to get to know him, but to be that wrong! He was embarrassed for her. Edmund was saying something. "... perhaps we can take it from him with some terrible advice? You know, like in House of Cards." Davinia nodded. "Yes, I like that. I'm sure he would welcome a friend at this time. Sam, you can help us, but don't even think about making a pass at him." There was a strange smell in the air, something Sam associated with kitchens. But it had been many years since he'd been in a kitchen, so he paid it no mind. Doubtless one of Beth's servants would deal with it. She still had servants, right? "What is that smell?" Davinia asked. "Such a curious scent. Oddly pungent." Edmund pulled out his pipe and began the elaborate process of filling it. He was painstakingly slow. "It's probably the chef. I suppose he's making us lunch. Why, I remember it when I used to visit cook in the old days. Show's the oven's ready to be turned on or something. I'm surprised Beth tolerated the smell getting through the house like this. Seems frightfully permissive of her." That didn't sound quite right to Sam, but he was too excited about their plans to ruin Harvey to worry about it. So instead he listened eagerly to Davinia and Edmund as they started to lay out a plan to destroy the gardener that grew ever more elaborate in scope and intent. While they spoke, the strange smell grew stronger and stronger, and Sam started to get lightheaded. "Perhaps I should open a window?" he murmured to the others. Edmund took out his matches. "Oh, if you must, go ahead." And then he struck his match, and things ended rather poorly for Beth's surviving family, but not without cause.
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Jan 4, 2015 11:47
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 08:37 |
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In penance for my DM, I'll crit some stories, not in any particular kind of order. Nethilia, Out of My Life: I'm not sure how I feel about this one. The first paragraph is a clunker, but the rest of the story is better. The broken tooth seems shoehorned in. Noah being a pedophile/supercreep is a big twist to throw into the last few lines but it kind of works - we've all met guys who are far too old to be dating schoolgirls (I'm assuming they can't be the same age because the parents were called and Joyce was watching frozen on an ipad - that's toddler/early primary school fodder, right?). You probably could have put more clues earlier in though, possibly with the parent's reactions to her drinking/pregnancy. Your Sledgehammer, Two Bullets: I like the plot concept, the dialogue works, but something about the whole doesn't work for me. I think it's the mix between nice short sentences and the long flowery ones. Your main character doesn't talk like the kind of person who thinks about tentacles craving ignorance (as interesting a metaphor as that is). I'll do some more of these later.
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Jan 6, 2015 22:25
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