Blog Tour: A Sneaky Peek from Alison Knight's The Legacy
Delighted to have been asked to join The Legacy Blog Tour and I'm delighted to offer a Sneaky Peek from Alison Knight's new release, The Legacy.
Huge thanks to Alison, Darkstroke Books and Rachel's Random Resources for the invite. But first, just to tantalize you a little, here's a little bit about the book...
The Legacy Blurb
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| Available here |
London, 1969.
James has his dreams of an easy life shattered when his aunt disinherits him, leaving her fortune to her god-daughter, Charlotte. He turns to his friend, Percy, to help him reclaim his inheritance – and to pay off his creditors. But when their plans backfire, James becomes the pawn of Percy and his criminal associates.
Charlotte is stunned when she is told of her windfall. After an attempt at cheating her out of her inheritance fails, James tries to intimidate her. But she is stronger than he thinks, having secrets of her own to guard, and sends him away with a bloody nose and no choice but to retreat for now.
Resigned, James and his spoilt, pampered girlfriend, Fliss, Percy’s sister, travel across France on a mission that promises to free James from the criminals for good. But James isn’t convinced he can trust Fliss, so he makes his own plans to start a new life.
Will James be able to get away, or will his past catch up with him? Will Charlotte’s secrets turn the legacy into a curse?
Sneaky Peek
THE LEGACY by Alison
Knight:
Background: London, 1969. James is expecting to inherit a fortune from his spinster aunt, but when the will is read, he is in for a nasty shock.
“Is
this some kind of a joke?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“But … she … I don’t believe you. My aunt
assured my mother on her death bed that she would make me her heir.”
“And she has fulfilled that promise. A
bequest of five thousand pounds is very generous.”
James Jarvis glared at the solicitor who
had been reading out his aunt’s will. “It’s a pittance. She was worth a hell of
a lot more than that and you know it.”
The solicitor – what was his name? Irving?
No, Irwin. Gerald Irwin. The man regarded him, his expression cool. He’d been
looking down his damned nose at him since he’d arrived. Now James knew why.
He’d been fleeced – robbed of his rightful inheritance and this Irwin had
allowed it to happen.
“Your aunt felt that this sum was more
than adequate for a young man with a good degree. It’s sufficient to buy you a
modest property and provide the security that your mother wanted for you.”
“I have a degree in Classics,” said James.
He didn’t add that he only got a third. “Hardly a subject to open many doors.”
“Oh, I don’t know. The civil service is
always looking for the right people.”
James narrowed his eyes. “Thank you for
your careers advice. However, that doesn’t address the issue at hand. I know
for a fact that my aunt intended to make me her primary heir and that her
estate is worth far more than five thousand pounds.”
“Well, I’m afraid that your aunt had a
change of heart,” said the solicitor, barely able to contain his glee.
“When?”
“A week or so before she died.”
“When she was in the nursing home?”
Irwin nodded.
“Well, there you are. She was pumped full
of drugs and not in her right mind. This will must be set aside and her
previous one brought back. That’s the right one.”
Irwin raised his eyebrows. James wanted to
reach over the desk and throttle the damned man. He could do it, too. At
twenty-seven, he was decades younger and fitter than the bloated, middle-aged
buffoon sitting there, intent on ruining James’s life.
“I’m afraid there’s no question that your
aunt was of sound mind when she executed this document,” he said, tapping the
will in front of him. “The witnesses spent some time with her, going through
the document, clause by clause, and your aunt explained her reasons for the
changes she had requested.”
“Nonsense. She would have been doped up to
the eyeballs. I refuse to believe she could have been lucid.”
“I can assure you–”
“And I can assure you, sir, that this is
totally unacceptable.” James took a deep breath, trying to hold onto his
temper. Didn’t this idiot realise what a disaster this was? He needed more than
five thousand pounds. His debts were more than that, and were rising daily. And
the kind of people he owed didn’t take kindly to waiting for payment.
“I’m very sorry you feel that way, Mr
Jarvis. But this will is valid, and I would strongly advise you not to waste
time and money trying to challenge it. Your aunt gave a statement to witnesses
to explain her decision and I have checked with everyone who saw her in her
final weeks …” He paused and his look pinned James to his seat. “All of them
will confirm that your aunt was in charge of her faculties right up to the end
– a fact that you would have been aware of, had you taken the trouble to visit
her yourself.”
James felt his cheeks flush. He hadn’t
felt this wretched since he’d been hauled before the headmaster at school after
he gave another boy a bloody nose. He’d had a good reason for hitting the
little shit, but because the boy’s father was rich and James’s had been dead,
no one was interested in listening to his side of the story. He’d got a
thrashing and had nearly been expelled. Now, years later, he was facing the
same humiliation. Only this time, he was facing a punishment far more deadly
than a caning.
“I telephoned regularly,” he said. He’d
wanted to know how long the old girl had left. “No one suggested that she
wanted me to visit. Is that what this is all about?”
Irwin shrugged. “I can only report what is
in this document and the supporting statements.”
James sat back and looked at the ceiling,
blinking hard. “I can’t believe she did this to me. I thought she liked me.”
“I believe my client was thinking of your
best interests,” said Irwin, his tone a little gentler. “She said you had a
good mind and could do well if you just applied yourself.”
James shook his head, letting out a
guffaw. “My best interests? That’s rich. Leading me on all these years, then
cutting me off like this … “
“Not cut off, Mr Jarvis. You have a
generous lump sum to start with. I can give you a cheque for your bequest now.”
He opened a drawer and brought out a cheque book.
“It’s not enough. This will isn’t right. I
refuse to believe my aunt was in her right mind, no matter how many witnesses
you parade before me.”
Irwin sighed and put the cheque book back
into the drawer and closed it. James felt a moment of panic. He couldn’t go
away empty-handed.
“What are you doing?” he asked, pointing
towards the drawer.
“I’m afraid that if you’re intent on
challenging the will I’m not at liberty to pay out any of the bequests. The
estate will have to be kept intact until such time as this dispute is
resolved.”
“You can’t do that!” He stood up and
slammed his fists down on the desk. “For God’s sake, man. I need that money.”
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
In her mid-forties
Alison went to university part-time and gained a first-class degree in Creative
Writing at Bath Spa University and an MA in the same subject from Oxford
Brookes University, both while still working full-time. She signed her first three-book
publishing contract a year after she completed her master’s degree.
The Legacy is her fifth novel and the second book published by
Darkstroke Books. It is a drama set in 1960s London and France, exploring how
we don’t always get what we want, with themes of greed, intrigue and
desperation. Her previous Darkstroke book, Mine, is a drama also set in
1960s London, based on real events in her family, exploring themes of class,
ambition and sexual politics. Some of the characters from Mine also
appear in The Legacy, although this is a standalone story.
Alison teaches
creative and life-writing, runs workshops and retreats with Imagine Creative Writing Workshops (www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk) as well as working as a freelance editor.
She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists’
Association.
She lives in
Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor.
SOCIAL MEDIA
LINKS – ALISON KNIGHT
www.facebook.com/alison.knight.942
@Alison_Knight59
on Twitter
www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk
www.darkstroke.com/dark-stroke/alison-knight/
Catch up on The Legacy Blog Tour
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