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supposed to accept that two days before he died he wrote out a will in her favour in his own fair hand.’
    â€˜It was properly witnessed,’ Harry said. ‘There is no question of its being a forgery.’
    â€˜And who were the supposed witnesses? Two part-time care workers who didn’t have a clue what they were signing. How can we be sure it was the so-called will that they put their names to? It could have been any scrap of paper.’
    Harry shook his head. ‘Sorry, Matthew. Charles told them it was his last will and testament. He even mentioned that he meant to be generous to Vera - because she had been very good to him’.
    Roy paused in his doodling to roar with merriment.
    â€˜Hey - you don’t think they were lovers, do you? The mind boggles. Perhaps they did it with paper bags over their
    heads.’
    Harry saw Tim Aldred turn crimson again and glanced over Roy’s shoulder to see the latest work-in-progress. It was a lewd sketch of a bullfrog mounting a busty blonde. The assurance he had given to Luke that everything was under control looked increasingly like wishful thinking.
    He said hastily, ‘As some of you probably know, Charles’s original will was drawn up years ago by a lawyer named Cyril Tweats, who also acted for the Trust. My firm took over his practice and we have the will in safe keeping. Apart from a few minor bequests, Charles gave everything to the Trust. So far, so good. The snag is this: the act of making a new will destroys the old one.’
    â€˜In other words,’ Frances said, ‘unless we can discredit the new will, the Trust will get nothing.’
    â€˜Appalling,’ Matthew said. ‘And wholly unacceptable. Look at how much we’ve been spending, especially in view of the blank cheque that the chairman gave to the Waterfront Players when they wanted to put on Promises, Promises . I did warn him against it. Musicals always cost the earth.’
    â€˜It was a reasonable decision at the time,’ Frances said. ‘Luke was confident he could persuade Charles to give
    the Trust a loan to alleviate any short-term financial problems.’
    â€˜To think,’ Roy murmured, ‘that we spent so many years toadying to Charles - and it may all have been in vain. I never thought he had any sense of irony. Maybe I was wrong.’
    A gloomy silence settled upon the gathering. ‘I do wish Luke were here,’ Frances said.
    Harry said, ‘The real question is whether there are any grounds for contesting Vera’s claim.’
    â€˜What was Charles’s mental state towards the end?’ Matthew asked. ‘Everyone realised that he had been doolally for years. Including, I’m sure, the Blackhurst woman. She was obviously prepared to take advantage of a mentally infirm man. I simply can’t believe that the law will allow her to get away with it.’
    Harry had practised his most impassive expression before coming out here. Just as well: it was having to work overtime. ‘There’s no evidence that Charles was certifiable. But that isn’t the end of the matter. I have told Geoffrey Willatt the trustees may contest the will.’
    â€˜Good for you!’ Matthew said. ‘Hit ’em hard. That’s what my father always says to the family lawyers whenever we have a spot of legal trouble.’ During their brief acquaintance, Harry had heard Matthew make passing reference more than once to Lord Gralam’s solicitors; it seemed that they were Mayfair-based rottweilers who made even Maher and Malcolm’s fees seem like an unmissable bargain.
    â€˜What exactly can we hit them with?’ Tim asked.
    Harry shrugged. ‘For starters, we might say that she exercised undue influence over her employer when he was seriously ill. She was in the same room when Charles and the witnesses signed it.’
    â€˜Is that legal?’
    â€˜Sure. You can have the Household Cavalry present at