Heiress for Hire (Duke's Heiress #1) - Madeline Hunter Page 0,108
folded her arms and looked out over the park. He folded his too and looked with her. What to do now? That question hung heavily between them.
“I would have gone forward and admitted it, if Minerva were ever taken to gaol. I want you to know that. I would never have let her hang. I was preparing myself for it, settling matters as best I could, when they said it was an accident. It was a gift, really.”
“I believe you would have come forward if you had to. I don’t doubt that.”
She turned to look at him, her eyes filmy with tears and memories, but not repentance. “Are you going to tell Minerva about this?”
He doubted he had to. Minerva was good at inquiries. She knew she had not used that pistol, so who had? There were only two likely possibilities. “I don’t see any reason to tell her. You may want to eventually, in case she has wondered about Jeremy.”
“I’ll still come forward if need be. If all of this comes alive again, and there’s those trying to harm her.”
“It was ruled an accident, and may just lie there as that. If anyone starts asking questions, I will try to turn their eyes on the poachers known to frequent private hunting grounds like those woods. It would be like Finley to confront one of them. It is my hope it doesn’t even get that far. But if necessary—it is good to know you would do the right thing.”
She nodded. “I’ll be hoping it goes the way you say.”
“Come. I will take you home so you don’t have to walk or hire a carriage. I have mine here.”
She brightened. “I’ve been wanting to ride in it.”
“We will have to make a stop first, if you don’t mind. Minerva will be wondering where you have been all this time. We’ll tell her I took you to buy a new dress. That means a dress must arrive, so we will stop to have one made.”
She walked faster. “I tell you I killed a man and you buy me a dress? Doesn’t seem right somehow, but I’ll not complain about it.”
He would buy her a whole wardrobe for easing his worry about Minerva.
* * *
“I have been thinking,” she said, to divert them both.
“That is often dangerous.”
“My thoughts were about this legacy, and the others.”
That captured his attention.
“If he knew me in such a slight way, perhaps that was how he knew the other two women whom you now must find. Perhaps like me they are not even aware that he previously touched on their lives.”
“Our minds are much alike when conducting inquiries. I trod my path and you walk yours, but we tend to arrive at the same destination. If we are right, they will be harder to find.”
“One of his habits brought him into contact with me. Perhaps that same one, or a different one, made him aware of them.”
“I have been pondering what I know of him, and what his habits were, to find new directions to investigate.”
“Are you going to tell me those habits?”
“No.”
“I may be able to help, walking my way.”
“Soon you are going to be a wealthy heiress. You will no longer need to conduct inquiries, Minerva.”
Not conduct inquiries? She wasn’t sure she wanted to stop. She enjoyed it.
“What do you plan to do with it?” he asked.
“Some I’ll put aside to help the new enterprise. Then, I will buy new wardrobes for all of us. Jeremy should have private chambers, such as you have.” She warmed to the topic. “A carriage, perhaps. A modest one. I might also have inquiries conducted in America, to see if I can find my cousins. It would be nice to know what became of them and my uncle. Mostly I would like to find a way to help women who need to find sanctuary from their situations, who need a place of safety.”
“If there is no charity doing that, you can start one. Do not deny yourself the wardrobe and carriage, though. Indulging yourself a bit will only use a tiny amount of what you will receive, and you should celebrate your good fortune.” He opened the carriage door. “We are here.”
She looked at the door of the Bank of England. Minerva Hepplewhite would withdraw fifty pounds today, from the account that held the income from her trust.
Wealth waited. A new life would start.
He cocked his head, his hand still holding hers, waiting for her to step down. She wished