Chapter 4: First Arrival in London 4 First Impression: Strange Lawyer...

It's so weird!

A trainee lawyer from an ordinary family lives in such a mansion built with money. The Empire-style bronze and gilded clock in the corner of the study alone looks like it is worth three years' salary of an ordinary lawyer.

A serious gentleman who seemed to have received strict aristocratic training in every gesture, not only did not introduce his name, but also spoke such confident and arrogant words.

Heather struggled to maintain a stiff smile. "Is that so? Then it's an honor to meet a lawyer as capable as you, Mr. Westin."

The man opposite finally couldn't help but smile when he saw her trying hard to pretend to trust him. Although he quickly returned to his expressionless look, he did look genuinely happy.

Heather's expression was almost out of control.

What on earth was he so happy about, God!

"Excuse me, it's a good thing you come from a privileged family. Otherwise, even with your looks, it would be difficult for you to become a performer at Covent Garden Theatre, because you have absolutely no talent for acting."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize that his tone might have offended the other person, so he immediately continued, "I'm sorry, but I just think you don't need to pretend to trust Westin. He's not a professional lawyer you can trust. He's just a student who got into the Supreme Court by sheer luck. He might need to spend a whole day looking through law books before he can give you a not-so-practical answer."

Heather couldn't help but say, "I may have misunderstood you, but was it 'he' you just said?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm not Westin. Please allow me to introduce myself, Robert Lancaster. I happened to be looking for Westin today and arrived here about half an hour earlier than you. But he obviously forgot two appointments at the same time. The butler here told me that he didn't come home all night last night, and I had planned to wait for him to come back."

Heather had completely given up on the lawyer Westin. He could easily accept someone else's invitation but forget two agreements at the same time. He didn't sound like a reliable lawyer, but more like a playboy who was too playful.

She raised her final puzzlement: "Then, Mr. Lancaster, why didn't you identify yourself when I just came in?"

"Because I don't want you to turn away immediately after knowing that I'm not Westin. I really want to be able to help you."

After Lancaster finished speaking, he worried that his expression was not convincing enough. You know, this was the first time in his life that he had to choose his words so carefully to win the other party's commission.

Most of the time, it was only others who asked him for help. He was too lazy and didn't need to take the initiative to maintain the relationship. This was the first time he had a strong desire to keep in touch with someone.

Lancaster thought for a moment and added, "Besides, I'm a lawyer specializing in aristocratic estate planning, but competition among lawyers in London is fierce these days. Even top lawyers sometimes run out of work."

He didn't sound very confident when he said this, but Heather didn't notice.

She suddenly realized that the job market in the legal industry in 19th century Britain was also very tight. Even such elite lawyers needed to seize every opportunity to promote themselves!

Heather relaxed and changed to a more comfortable position. There was nothing more joyful than discovering that she was actually the interviewer, and the person opposite her was a job applicant with a perfect resume and a pleasing appearance.

"I'm so lucky to have found a professional lawyer like you. I'm happy to entrust all matters related to property inheritance to you. I hope we can both achieve our respective wishes and have a pleasant cooperation, Mr. Lancaster."

Lancaster didn't know which of his words had won Heather's favor, but he was indeed pleased by this inexplicable trust.

"It's my honor to be your exclusive lawyer." Lancaster gently shook the hand that Heather extended, still with that calm expression.

But Heather always felt that there was a pleasant sense of comfort around him.

Heather sighed in his heart that the iceberg was showing signs of melting. It seemed that he really wanted this job.

The first step in the battle to defend the property went quite smoothly.

Lancaster was indeed very proficient in this area as he said. In just two hours, he quickly sorted out the main components of Earl Lawrence's estate, explained the various certificates and applications that needed to be prepared and submitted to the ecclesiastical court, and accepted the commission fee quote without any objection.

The process of obtaining all the property was not as easy as Lancaster initially said. In fact, it required a long and complicated process.

But judging from Lancaster's clear and logical statement, the lawyer is indeed very sure about this.

Since Heather knew nothing about these things, the conversations on specific matters were mainly conducted by Butler Johnson, who was allowed to enter, and Heather was only responsible for listening.

The whole morning passed quickly, spent in listening to lectures and occasionally daydreaming. Mr. Lancaster's voice was as pleasing as his appearance, making the boring legal provisions and case analysis less boring.

Mr. Westin did not return home until Heather and his party left.

Mr. Lancaster took Heather downstairs with familiarity.

He stood beside the carriage, the midday sun turning his hair almost golden, making him look much softer.

Heather leaned her head out of the carriage. The smooth start of finding a suitable lawyer made this afternoon the most relaxing and enjoyable moment in the past two weeks.

She was so eager to rush off to her wonderful new life that she completely forgot to play the role of a grieving lady who had just lost her husband.

"Thank you, Mr. Lancaster. I hope to hear good news from you soon."

Lancaster looked at Heather deeply and said, "Looking forward to meeting you next time."

After watching Heather's carriage leave, Lancaster quickly got into another carriage and left Bond Street.

A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped at the door of the House of Lords' chamber two streets away. Lancaster got out of the carriage and his assistant Evan, who was waiting at the door, immediately came up to him.

"Good day, Your Excellency. This afternoon's emergency cabinet meeting will discuss wartime economic policy and Queen Caroline's divorce case. The meeting will be chaired by the head of the department in charge, and you will only need to participate in the discussion."

Evan was reporting while looking at the notebook in his hand. When he looked up, he found that his boss was walking very fast and he could only see the fluttering corners of his black coat.

He quickly jogged after him and successfully handed over the materials in his hand the moment his boss stepped into the conference room.

The door of the conference hall slammed shut in front of him. Evan leaned against the wall, panting. He only had time to quickly eat a sandwich at noon and was now dizzy with hunger.

But soon, a servant saw him in the corridor.

The House of Lords' butler walked forward respectfully, and after asking, immediately took him to a splendidly decorated lounge on the other side of the corridor, where exquisite snacks and steaming Ceylon tea were prepared in a well-trained manner.

Being an assistant to Lord Lancaster was not an easy job, but it was obviously a very respectable job no matter where one went.

Because Lancaster was not the idle property lawyer he said he was waiting to be called by a few big clients, but the youngest chief judge of the Court of Chancery in the British Empire.

In a sense, Lancaster's claim to be one of London's top five property lawyers is not a lie.

The Chief Justice hears cases that cannot be resolved under common law. When the caseload is high, dozens or even hundreds of cases involving will executions, mortgage disputes, and other issues need to be heard overtime each week.

Therefore, no matter how experienced a property lawyer is, he cannot say that he is more experienced than Judge Lancaster.

The current rules of equity are jokingly called "the Lord Chancellor's feet", which shows the Lord Chancellor's status.

In addition to holding court and reviewing files, the Chief Justice is also a member of the cabinet and needs to attend cabinet meetings from time to time, running around at the center of power every day.

Therefore, as an assistant to the Chief Justice, even a noble with a hereditary title would not easily offend Evan. After all, it is impossible for anyone to never encounter a case that goes to court in their lifetime.

However, Evan is not as powerful as outsiders imagine, because his immediate boss is a tough, serious and ruthless workaholic.

Although the timing of court sessions depended on the Chief Justice's personal schedule, Lancaster often held court for six days a week after becoming a judge.

When he is not in court, he either works in his office on the top floor of the Royal Courts of Justice or attends cabinet meetings.

This also means that the assistants following him have no time to go out and chat with the powerful and influential, let alone accept any connections.

If it weren't for the emergency meeting in the afternoon, today would have been a rare day off for Evan.

Because Mr. Lancaster decided to take advantage of the recess to make a surprise inspection of his nephew, or his future heir, George Westin.

Evan was once a law student. Although his boss, Mr. Lancaster, was extremely demanding and difficult to guess at, his strong work ability and deep legal knowledge still earned him the respect of those around him.

In Evan's mind, almost every decision made by Mr. Lancaster was wise.

Except for one thing, that is, this cold-blooded workaholic who is almost forty and still unmarried chose a sociable and promiscuous idiot as his heir.

Evan believed that Mr. Westin had no outstanding qualities other than his relatively good looks and his social skills, especially in the legal profession.

What's more, he and Mr. Lancaster have absolutely nothing in common, either in character or hobbies.

Evan even felt that Mr. Lancaster chose such a person as his heir entirely because Westin was the eldest son of his only close relative. However, since he was too busy with his work and had no obsession with the inheritance of family property, he did not conduct any subsequent assessment and training after hastily selecting the heir.

Apart from occasionally taking his nephew to some unavoidable upper-class social events, Lancaster rarely summoned his heir alone.

Lancaster's only requirement for his nephew was to attend court sessions regularly and told him that if he was absent or late once, his pocket money would be reduced by 100 pounds next month.

This requirement was not harsh and could not really restrict Westin. Except for the few hours of court time, he was nowhere to be seen most of the day, at least not in the law school, study or any place related to his profession.

Anyone who asks around can actually tell about Westin's popularity, but Evan is not sure whether his boss knows about his nephew's lifestyle, because he never wastes a word on it except to deduct money.

He learned from the coachman that Mr. Lancaster had used his free time this morning to visit the house lent to the heir, and happened to encounter his nephew who had not returned all night. The housekeeper there also said that he was often asked to send a car to pick up people from some entertainment venues.

Evan thought that even if Mr. Lancaster didn't fly into a rage and kick him out, he would at least be in a bad mood.

However, on the contrary, in the short minute that he walked from the door to the conference room, Evan found that his boss was in an unexpectedly good mood today.

Although he still had that expressionless and decisive look, the personal assistant who had followed him for four years was very sure that Lord Lancaster's steps were always relaxed and joyful.

Mr. Lancaster was in a very good mood after catching his heir fooling around and being dragged to a meeting on his day off!

Could it be that his boss felt relieved because he had made up his mind to replace the successor? Evan was completely puzzled.