when he was a lanky blond youth of fifteen. Now he was a lanky blond man, filling out but still thin by nature. His hair hung long because he said his mother always made him look like a serf when she cut it.
He finally slowed down enough to talk. “You should have called me, that’s all I’m saying.”
He picked up a conversation from yesterday, when he had learned about Mr. Radnor’s unusual appearance.
“If you hadn’t moved into the old carriage house, you’d of already been here,” Beth muttered.
“Not that again, Mum.”
“I’m just saying that with you out back we could be butchered in our sleep and you wouldn’t even know.”
“At least he would not be butchered too,” Minerva said. “We did just fine on our own, Jeremy. He didn’t know what hit him until he came to. Now, I want to talk about the legacy.”
Jeremy grinned. “I do too. That’s a lot of money. I was dreaming of a fine pair and a carriage most of last night.”
“I’m glad you were dreaming. I didn’t sleep the last two nights at all. I’ve been too shocked,” Beth said. “Ten thousand is a fortune. And there’s more you said. Even a hundred would be riches I’d never dare pray for. You’ll be wealthier than some fine ladies.”
“We’ll all be rich,” Minerva said. “I am still as stunned as you are. It is too astonishing. All the more so since I never met this duke. I’m sure of it.”
“You must of at some time and just don’t remember,” Jeremy said.
“I’d remember meeting a duke.”
“Maybe he is one of those peculiar sorts who likes to do odd things like give money to strangers,” Jeremy said. “You were just lucky.”
“I have no explanation except that. Yet he knew about me, so it wasn’t entirely random.”
“Knew too much, to my mind,” Beth muttered.
Minerva chose to ignore that. “Someday we will learn how this happened, but I intend to take advantage of the miracle it is. While you dreamed of horses, Jeremy, I was thinking of how we could use some of that money. I have some plans I want to tell you both about.”
“You intend to visit that solicitor and claim it then?” Beth said. “I’m not saying it isn’t tempting. I’ve done some dreaming too the last day. I could use some new pots, for one thing, and a few new caps. But it seems dangerous to me. What if—” She jabbed her spoon into her porridge. “Five years you’ve been safe here. Five years no one knew about your marriage, or about—the rest of it. Now, this could be opening up a door we’d closed and bolted.” She gave Minerva a sharp glance.
Minerva considered Beth her best friend, so she took that glance seriously. Beth had worked for half wages as a servant in Algernon’s home, in order to be allowed to have her young son with her. She had become a mother to the young bride Algernon brought home too. Long before Minerva had found a way to escape that house, these two had become her true family.
“Beth, rejecting the legacy will not change the truth that my past is now tied to my new name. Both names were used in that will.”
“Stop trying to spoil the fun, Mum. Minerva is going to be rich.” Jeremy held up his arms and shook his hands while he laughed. “Rich! RICH!”
“You better tell him the rest, Minerva, before he calls me a crazy old woman for worrying so much.”
“The rest? What are you talking about?”
“Jeremy,” Minerva said. “Yesterday when I told you about Radnor’s visit, I left out a few small details.”
“How small?”
“Not small at all,” Beth said. “Big. Huge.”
“Why not let me decide which it is.” Jeremy had now turned serious.
“The circumstances of the duke’s death were peculiar enough to encourage inquiries.”
“You said he fell off a roof. An accident.”
“That is the most likely way it happened.”
“You mean maybe it wasn’t an accident?” His face tightened. “You should have told me right off. This explains why Radnor snuck in and why he was in your study. He was looking for something.”
“I can’t be certain, but my inner sense says so. If there was a question about how the duke died, it would be natural to wonder about me. I am unknown to the family and I am benefiting from his death. Under those circumstances, it should be expected that Mr. Radnor would be curious. If I were in his place, I would be too.”