The World Walkers: Pendragon: Clara: Declining An Inheritance (part 2)

[k_a_webb]

Part 1

Clara turned to look at her mother, trying not to show any emotion at all, but that was almost impossible when faced with the burning anger in the older woman’s eyes. “I want to live my life my way, Mother,” she said, knowing she needed to be strong to get through the inevitable argument between the two of them, especially as they had an audience.

“We all do, to begin with, Clara, but you’ll soon come to regret declining your inheritance. You’re young and you don’t know what you want. Don’t walk away from this.”

“It’s my choice and I know I won’t regret this.” Clara couldn’t stop herself from glancing at where the visitors to the town were sitting, including her husband, and when their eyes met she knew she’d done the right thing. “By declining my inheritance I give myself freedom.”

“Vel,” Clara’s father muttered, his voice quiet but still travelling in the silence of the room, “you can’t make Clara do anything she doesn’t want to do. It’s up to her if she accepts or declines her inheritance, because she is of age, even though I know you don’t want to think of your little girl being all grown up.”

“Maybe you’re happy to let our daughter make the biggest mistake of her life, but I’m not. Clara, accept your inheritance, and we can talk about this when we get back home.”

“They’ve already been declined. The rules we made when this system was set up make it impossible to accept an inheritance after it’s been declined, no matter how much other people may want you to, and I’m glad it’s that way. You may think I’m making the biggest mistake of my life, but I know I’m not.”

“Where are you planning on living?”

Running a hand through her hair Clara glanced once more at her husband. “Maybe we should talk about this in a less public place.”

“You should have thought about privacy before you chose to turn your nose up at everything we offered you.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Clara sighed. “If my life hadn’t taken the path it has I would have loved to have lived in Rose Cottage, but accepting it now will just tie me to a place I don’t want to be any longer.” Breathing deeply she knew there was only one way to explain her choice. “I want to live with my husband, on his boat.”

For the first time ever Clara had made her mother speechless. Whispers started in other parts of the room, gossip starting up, because they obviously had nothing better to do. Clara ignored them. She’d never cared what other people thought of her and that wasn’t going to change on the day she was going to leave them all behind. It mattered more to her what her father would say, as she’d always been close to him, and she’d hated keeping everything from him, but she knew he’d just tell Velia. As soon as her mother had found out what the plan was she would have done her best to stop it.

Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.

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*laugh* On his boat! I love it.