The Fortune Hunter Page 0,4

the table for reassurance. When it did not come, she burst into tears and fled again.

"What's the matter with her?" asked Jasper blankly. "If I did marry an heiress I'd see Jassy all right."

"I'm afraid that will be a while dear," said Amy. "I doubt you'll be able to marry a fortune for a good many years."

"Oh. Well then," he said carelessly, "I think you should. With your looks, you should be able to snaffle a duke as easy as falling off a chair."

There was silence. Then, "Of course," said Aunt Lizzie blithely. "What a clever young man you are, Jasper. We will use the money to take Amethyst to London. She'll be the toast of the town and marry a duke and we'll all be rich."

Amy felt as if she couldn't breathe. It must be the punch. "But what about Beryl?" she protested, the first defense she could think of. "The eldest should marry first."

Beryl laughed. "I couldn't catch a duke, dear. Nor would I want one. I will choose a husband with a small estate, a man who stays at home."

She was off in one of her dreams. As far as Beryl was concerned, "I will" was as good as done. Amy slapped her wits back into order. Was it possible? Marriage was a way out of poverty, after all, and she would do anything to make all right for her family.

"It would be madness to spend all the money," she said cautiously. "A thousand should be more than enough if we're careful. In fact," she added thoughtfully, "it may not be necessary to go to London at all. We live on the edge of the Shires, and it is still hunting season. There must be many wealthy gentlemen in this locality. As Jassy said," she added dryly, "I have only to be seen to slay."

"It would be much more fun to go to London," said Beryl simply.

Amy didn't have the heart to tell her it would be far to expensive for them all to go. Beryl's words merely stiffened her resolve to try other means. It would be perfectly horrid to be gadding about Town while Beryl and Jassy pined at home.

"If we are to do this," she said firmly, "we must remember that I will need to marry a very rich man, one willing to lay out a lot of money to bring the estate back into heart immediately and provide dowries for you and Jassy. I think on the whole I should look for an older man. A nabob, perhaps, or a wealthy cit."

"What!" declared Aunt Lizzie. "Marry beneath you when your mother struggled to raise herself up."

"We are not so high now, Aunt," Amy pointed out.

"You are a de Lacy of Stonycourt."

Amy shrugged. "Let us hope that makes me worth extra at market."

"But a gentlemen who marries a golden dolly," said Beryl doubtfully, "raises her up to his status. A lady who marries a wealthy cit sinks down to his. I don't think you'd like that, Amy dear. You should marry the duke."

Amy shook her head. "If one offers," she said gently, "be sure I will consider him most seriously. But we must be practical. Money is our main object, accompanied by a generous disposition."

She summoned up a merry smile and raised her teacup. "To fortune hunting!"

Over the next days Amy marshaled her family like a general. Aunt Lizzie was set to writing to her acquaintance in London to discreetly enquire about rich tradesmen interested in marrying into the gentry. As Beryl had pointed out, such a marriage was not as popular as the linking of men of good birth with lower-bred fortunes, for it did not automatically raise a man up as it would a woman. But it did give useful connections, and the children could expect to step into the gentry if they'd a mind to, so it had some benefits to offer.

Jasper had returned to his school at Uppingham and was asking if there were any nabobs or such living in the nearby villages, here for the hunting. There was a degree of urgency to this. It was April and the hunting season was winding down as the crops began to grow. Soon all the wealthy Meltonians would be off to London.

Amy and her sisters took to paying especial attention to local gossip but were frustrated by the fact that all anyone wanted to talk about these days was Napoleon Bonaparte's abdication. This wonderful news would normally have delighted them, but