title: To Sup with the Devil
author: Taylor, Melanie V.
description: The day Melissa Carlile returns to The Old Manor House for her Great Aunt Hetty's funeral and puts the key in the lock of the door, she has no idea how different her life is about to become. Lord Edward de Braose, the 12th Earl of Poultney; his grandson William and the loyal Mr & Mrs Podger all help her come to terms with her bereavement and to accept what is revealed in Hetty's will. Why can she not remember anything of her life before she was orphaned at the age of four? A trip to the tax haven island of Jersey opens long closed doors to her memory, and introduces her to the world of the uber-rich. With inheritance comes responsibility and the amount of money she has inherited is a hefty one. Lord Edward dies suddenly and the de Braose title, the 500 year old house and park are inherited by his son, Tobias (a slick City international investment banker) who sells the parkland and house to an offshore company. The faceless shareholders plan to turn the Elizabethan house into a health spa and clubhouse and the park into a golf course. Melissa and William are plunged into the world of high finance where faceless individuals hide behind the safety of offshore companies in order to salt away profits and avoid paying taxes. Is development of a golf course the real intent of the new owners of the de Braose estate? Having known each other since they were small children, William and Melissa share a love of the park and the countryside around it and fight hard to save it. Do they manage to save the rare chalk grassland and endangered species on the de Braose estate or are they defeated by those who believe that profit and personal riches are more important than protecting the world we live in?