"Hi, I'm Joe Williams," I answered and walked to him. I extended my hand. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow but shook my hand.
"Follow me please, the rest of the staff is eager to meet you," he said. He led me through another series of rooms, which included a large dining room, a library, and a study. He led me to what appeared to be servant's quarters. We stopped in a kind of living room where several people were gathered. I recognized the chauffeur. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Joseph Williams, the new owner."
I smiled at all of them. They looked at me nervously. I looked at Jennings and saw him looking at me as well. "Oh, well, uh, sorry," I said. "I know this is probably a shock to all of you, and it is to me, too. And from what Miss Flanagan said, I don't know if I'd call myself the new owner yet. Sounds like Richmond & Westfield need to verify my 'claim' a bit." I heard a few soft, disgusted sighs. Perhaps the staff didn't care for the law firm either? "If you don't mind me asking, what was going to happen if they didn't find a will?"
"As we understood it, sir," Jennings answered, "Richmond & Westfield would have assumed full control of Master Wooten's estate, including this mansion."
"What would that have meant for all of you?" I asked.
"We would likely have been dismissed, sir," Jennings answered again.
"Yea, thrown out like the trash," said a woman in a maid's uniform.
"Alice, please," Jennings said.
She stood up. "Oh, please, Thomas," she said. "You know what they'd been trying to do these last few years."
"That is none of Mr. Williams' concern," Jennings said.
"No, please, tell me," I said.
Jennings said, "Very well, sir. You see, Mr. Wooten was in declining health for the last two years, both physically and mentally, I'm afraid. The law firm tried to have him removed from this mansion to a rest home, but they were never successful," he explained.
"Why were they so eager to do that? I was just told Mr. Wooten was their biggest client and practically family," I said.
"They would say that," Alice chimed in again. "They just wanted to get their hands on this place so they could sell it off to someone else or turn it into a museum or use it themselves. But they were going to throw us out, no matter what!"
Jennings interrupted her. "In all likelihood, Alice," he said. "We don't know for sure, but it seemed the most probable outcome."
"But why?" I asked. "I mean if they were going to possibly sell it to someone else, why not keep you all?"
"For several reasons," Jennings said. "First of all, we all live here in the mansion. That costs money, for which they would have been responsible. Second, they would not likely sell right away, as they would wait for the housing market to rebound so they could maximize their return. Third, they believed that there was no need for all of us to be live-in employees, or even permanent employees. And finally..." he stopped and looked at the rest of the staff. "Finally, they believed that we created the will in order to save ourselves."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it was discovered only yesterday in Mr Wooten's private safe in his private upstairs study," Jennings said. "And that was the very first place they searched for a will after Mr. Wooten passed on."
Interesting, I thought. My wish had created quite the entanglement. "You seem to be very honest with me, and I appreciate that," I said. "So I hope that you will be now as well." I almost said 'I wish' but that would defeat the purpose of my next question. "Did any of you forge that will?"