"Be so kind as read it, Mr. Matiss," said Lionel, pointing to the will.
It had to be read; and it was of no consequence whether the codicil was
taken from the desk before reading the original will, or afterwards, so
Mr. Matiss unfolded it, and began.
It was a somewhat elaborate will--which has been previously hinted.
Verner's Pride, with its rich lands, its fine income, was left to John
Massingbird; in the event of John's death, childless, it went to
Frederick; in the event of Frederick's death, childless, it passed to
Lionel Verner. There the conditions ended; so that, if it did lapse to
Lionel, it lapsed to him absolutely. But it would appear that the
contingency of both the Massingbirds dying had been only barely glanced
at by Mr. Verner. Five hundred pounds were left to Lionel: five hundred
to Jan; five hundred to Decima; nothing to Lady Verner. Mrs. Verner was
suitably provided for, and there were bequests to servants. Twenty-five
pounds for "a mourning ring" were bequeathed to each of the two
executors, Sir Rufus Hautley, and Mr. Bitterworth; and old Matthew Frost
had forty pounds a year for his life.
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