THREE months later Sonya was enjoying morning tea with Sharron, her mother-in-law, and Rowena when Robert Wainwright rang to give them some stunning news just to hand. Count Laszlo Andrassy-Von Neumann, who had been deeply embroiled in investigations into his affairs in the United States, Europe and Hungary, had been killed when his car had crashed into a tree on the Andrassy-Von Neumann estate in Hungary. Investigations were ongoing but suicide was a strong theory. The count had been known to have been deeply depressed and outraged by the multiple attacks against him; especially from people within his ranks who had come forward. The count was survived by his son, Miklos, and his four grandchildren, all of whom lived happily in the United States.
It wasn’t until David and Sonya were almost a year into their idyllic marriage that the whole matter of the rightful heir to the Hungarian estate was at last resolved by the courts. Sonya’s American cousins didn’t want any part of it. They had all suffered from the ruinous stories that came out about their father and grandfather. Judgment was handed down. Sonya Von Neumann-Wainwright, the claimant, was the rightful heir.
It was Sonya and David who decided the palace and the beautiful grounds of the estate would be opened to the public like many other stately homes. Permission was given for the palace to be used for grand functions. Laszlo had begun the reconstruction. It would take five more years for the palace and the grounds to be restored to their prewar glory. In this way, tradesmen and craftsmen were to enjoy years of steady, well-paid work. Everyone from the government down took great pride in the restoration of one of Hungary’s grandest national treasures.
During this time Sonya and David, his parents, and Lady Palmerston made frequent visits. They had become a closely knit family; even closer when Sonya conceived her and David’s first child in the splendour of the master suite. Robert and Sharron now had their first grandchild. It was an occasion for great rejoicing. The child was named Stefan, after Sonya’s father.
The man, Metzger, who hadn’t been detained long by the police, mysteriously disappeared, never to be heard of again. Obviously someone had given him help and very likely an injection of money to get away.
Who?