“Do you mean her estate?” Aaron arched his eyebrow at him.
Les nodded. “Our attorney here in town, Whit Conover, drew up an agreement when she and I got married. Did Norma ever discuss it with you?”
Aaron shot a curious glance over at Carly before he said, “Why, no.” His manner was very guarded now. “Why, Les, was she supposed to?”
“She was, yes.” Les sipped at the dregs of his coffee. “She promised me she would. I’m surprised she didn’t, given the state of her health. Then again, I guess she didn’t want to think about it. We never do, do we? I feel I ought to fill you in now-in my capacity as executor of her estate.”
“You re the executor?” Aaron appeared thrown by this. “How can you be? Surely you’re the beneficiary.”
Les shook his head at him. “Six years ago, when things were starting to get serious between us, Norma sat me down in this very room, poured me a Scotch, and said, ‘Lester, you may want out when I tell you what I’m about to tell you.’ Christ, I thought she was going to tell me she had incurable insanity in her family.”
“Oh, she does,” Ada said. “Most assuredly.”
“She simply wanted me to know that when she died, Astrid’s Castle would pass to you, Aaron. She and her brother, Herbert, agreed ages ago that that’s how it would be-they’d leave it to their children. Herbert never had any. She had you. Therefore, you now are the sole proprietor of Astrid’s Castle.”
“Oh my God,” Carly whispered, flabbergasted. Des would have paid cash money to see the expression on her face. Too bad Carly couldn’t formulate one. All she could manage was a stricken blank.
As for Aaron, he was goggle-eyed, his face drained of color.
“This was understood between us from the get-go,” Les explained. “Whit drew up a pre-nuptual agreement specifying it, and I was happy to sign it. It didn’t matter to me. She mattered.” He glanced at Aaron curiously. “You didn’t know this?”
“Les, she never said one word to me about it,” Aaron said huskily. “I just… I assumed you would be taking over. Frankly, I thought that’s why you married her.”
Les bristled, greatly offended. “Thanks a lot, pal. It’s nice to know what you think of me after all of these years.”
“Forgive me for being honest, Les,” Aaron said. “If you’d rather I lie to you, I certainly will.”
“I’d rather you go screw yourself.”
“Look, I am aware that you were very fond of Mother,” Aaron acknowledged, retreating somewhere over near the neighborhood of an apology. “I didn’t mean for that to sound so harsh.”
“No, I’m sure you did,” Les said angrily. “You’re known for choosing your words carefully. Hell, you’re goddamned famous for it.” Les got up and went over to the window, his shoulders noticeably hunched. In mourning, the ruddy innkeeper seemed older and frailer. “I simply wanted you to know that I’d be happy to stay on in an employee capacity, if you wish,” he said, gazing out at the frozen river and the snow-capped hills of Essex beyond. “I’m sure Jory and Jase would like to stay on, too.”
“Les, it’ll be months before Norma ‘s estate is settled,” Carly pointed out. “Aren’t we getting a bit ahead of ourselves?”
“Not if Aaron wants to keep the inn open while we’re in probate,” he replied. “Our food and liquor suppliers will have to be taken care of, our kitchen staff paid. We’re running a business here.”
“Well, I certainly don’t wish to run it,” Aaron said loftily.
“Like I said, I’m happy to stay on,” Les persisted. “But I can’t access the inn’s accounts without some form of temporary legal authority. We have to sit down with Whit and draw up an agreement.”
“Les, my mother is dead upstairs,” Aaron said frostily. “I don’t wish to talk about food and liquor suppliers right now, okay?”
Les held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Fine, some other time. But if it’s not soon then I’ll have to contact the guests who’ve booked reservations and tell them we’re shutting down.”
“Do not try to strong-arm me,” Aaron warned him.
“I’m not trying to strong-arm you, Aaron. I’m simply explaining the reality of our situation to you so we can deal with it responsibly. This mattered to Norma. It mattered a great deal.”
“Relax, Acky.” Carly reached over and patted Aaron’s hand. “Les is just as upset as you are.”
“I should think more so,” Ada said. “After all, he’s the one whose life has been turned completely upside down.”
“Wait one second…” Aaron said suddenly, his eyes narrowing at Les. “It just occurred to me what this is all about. You’re afraid I’m going to sell this place to some big hotel chain, aren’t you? And then you’ll be out of a job and a home. That’s what this is really about, am I right, Les? Tell me I’m right.”
Les refused to respond. Just moseyed over to the pool table and rolled a ball against a cushion, watching as it caromed back toward him.
“I have no intention of selling Astrid’s Castle,” Aaron assured him. “Mother would want it to stay in the family. As far as I’m concerned, you can continue to run it for as long as you choose.”
“Thank you, Aaron,” Les said faintly. “That’s good to know.”
“After all, I happen to enjoy a seven-figure income,” Aaron boasted. “It’s not as if I’ll need the money anytime soon-or ever, for that matter.”
Ada let out a heavy sigh. “Dear Norma was right. You are very young, Aaron.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded.
“It means, dear boy, that it is always a mistake to predict one’s own future. Because if you can imagine it happening, if it is rational and makes good sound sense to you, then that is not what will happen.”
Aaron frowned at her. “What will?”
“Life will.”
A life, Des reflected, in which Carly might very well decide to hire herself that shark lawyer and divorce him, in which case she could end up with the seven-figure income he so enjoyed. Hell, she might even end up with Astrid’s Castle.
Des heard some polite throat clearing and turned to find Jory standing there in the taproom doorway, an ingratiating smile on her face. Des wondered if she’d been there long enough to overhear that Aaron would be the new lord and master of Astrid’s Castle.
“Les, I’ll be plating breakfast in five minutes,” she informed him, her pink-cheeked face betraying not a thing. “And, believe me, the food won’t stay hot for long.”
“Thank you, Jory. You’d best let the boys know, too.”
“Hannah’s outside fetching them.”
Now Des heard the stamping of feet out in the entry hall and the resounding echo of husky male voices.
Hannah appeared behind Jory in the doorway. “I encountered very little resistance when I said the words ‘hot’ and ‘food,’” she reported.
“I believe I shall dress,” Ada announced, getting slowly to her feet. “I can’t stand to eat in my bathrobe. It’s a detestable habit.”
“Don’t take too long, Ada,” warned Jory as the old lady wafted past her. “Or your food will be ice cold.”
“Feel free to start without me,” Ada said with a dismissive wave.
The rest of them started out of the taproom in the direction of the dining hall, where the lumberjacks were trying to warm themselves before a roaring fire, all three of them looking frozen and starved. With his full beard and stocking cap, Jase looked as if he’d just wandered in from the Great North Woods. He also gave off a noticeably gamy odor.
“Hey, Master Sergeant,” Mitch exclaimed, his frigid hands held out toward the flames.
“Back at you, Mr. Bunyan.”
Teddy wandered in as well, furrows etching his long thin face. He seemed lost in his grief, very far away.
“I think I’ll go upstairs for a minute, too,” Hannah decided. “Try and do something about my face.”
“Good,” barked Ada, who was gliding toward the stairs. “Without your makeup on, you look as if you belong behind the counter of the Burger King.”
Hannah immediately rolled her eyes at Jory.
“I saw that, Hannah,” Ada snapped at her.
“Aha, so you do know my name,” Hannah said, pursuing Ada to the stairs.