Key to the Kingdom | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Key to the Kingdom | Previous Challenge Entry
By DJ Evans
01/25/08
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Phinnaeus D. Duckworth III had died a very wealthy man indeed. His two sons, Nigel and Paul, were now gathered at an office with his very efficient attorneys, Hargood, Haywood, and Greaves. As instructed, the meeting was taking place exactly one week after Phinnaeus went on to his final reward.

Nigel, the older of the two Duckworth boys, was no youngster. At fifty-eight years old, he had made his life working in the family hotel business and seeking every opportunity he could find to increase his own wealth. Nigel had little time for social concerns and remained a confirmed bachelor.

Paul, at forty, was practically an infant in his brother's eyes. A surprise to his aging parents, he had been a joy and enthusiastic liver of life from the beginning. Nigel often thought that Paul had been their father's favorite, but such sentimentalities rarely bothered him, as long as he got his share.

As they faced the attorneys of their father, both men, red-haired and handsome just as their father had been, looked with interest at two boxes on the large oak desk in front of them. Dunston Hargood (the senior partner himself) cleared his throat and explained their father's simple instructions left in his last will and testament.

"Each of you is to view the contents of these boxes and pick one. Nigel, being the eldest, shall have first choice. There will be further explanation once this has been done."

He said nothing more as he removed the lids of the boxes and each of them looked in.

The first box contained a rusty, ancient-looking key and a very old and well-used family Bible. The second box contained priceless jewels that had been in the family for generations, in addition to the keys to their father's beloved Bentley. Nigel did not hesitate. He picked the second box immediately, doing his best not to sneer at the first. With a smile, Paul took the first box.

"I was going to take this one anyway--I wanted Dad's Bible. It will always make me think of him. Do you remember how he read to us from it when we were kids, Nige?"

Nigel was eyeing the jewels, trying to estimate their value in his head. Before he could answer his brother, Hargood spoke up.

"Well, you have made your choices, boys. The rusty key is the key to the original Duckworth Homestead. With it comes all corporate and financial control of Duckworth Enterprises. Your father wanted the business run by the son who valued the important things, so that he can trust that the family legacy will be carried on. The jewels, Nigel, are of course quite valuable, and the Bentley is yours to keep."

Nigel felt as though he had been duped. With a sigh, he realized he had been--by his own shortsightedness. He left Paul staring dumbfounded at the rusty key and battered Bible as he walked out of the dark wood of the lawyer's office. He needed to think, to clear his head. Maybe a drive in the old Bentley would be just the thing.

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