Bellona Club

 George goes into a hysterical fit when his grandfather's death is discovered and Peter calms him down.  He too has suffered shell shock and knows how the War affected many men who were not career soldiers... 

After the death, Peter is visited by his family's solicitor, Mr Murbles a rather Victorian old chap who also acts for the Fentiman family, and he hears something of the back story of the Fentimans.  The old general had had a sister, Felicity, who had been somewhat unhappy as a girl.  The family were not well off and most of the money was spent on the boy, Arthur, to start him in his military career.  Felicity received an offer of marriage from an elderly man and refused him.. then ran away with a middle class man, Henry Dormer, who had a successful business.  Her family were horrified at the mesalliance, but Felicity's marriage was happy.  She tried to make up with her relatives but the family snubbed her.. Many years later, she was an elderly and rich widow, who lived alone and had no contact with her brother, but who occasionally saw her grandsons George and Robert. 

She had acquired a young companion,  a relative of her husband's, Ann Dorland who came to live with her, but she had become rather frail.  Just before Armistice day she became ill and sent for her brother to try and see him before she died.   She had made a Will, and it turns out that the money would go to General Fentiman if he survived her, but if he died before her, it would be left to Miss Dorland... So it turns out that it is a matter of importance to find out exactly when Fentiman died....

Murbles asks Peter to do a discreet investigation as to when the old man died.  Peter is wary.  He likes the younger Fentimans and feels that digging into things sometimes makes matters worse.  He asks if the 3 people involved, Miss Dorland and the Fentimans could not agree to divide up the money... but Murbles persuades him to go ahead with the investigation.  

Peter starts asking questions and finds that it is not easy.  The general had visited his sister the previous day and knew what she intended.. and he had left his estate to his grandson George, who was out of work and in poor health.  But the addition of a large fortune to his own small property might make people greedy.