Heiress in Red Silk by Hunter, Madeline (read aloud books txt) 📕

Rosamund sat back down.

“Your marriage settlement—How did that address this enterprise of Kevin’s?” Walter asked.

“That is more private than I want to discuss.”

“Did you leave it that he is your heir?” Felicity asked. “I did tell you not to do that.”

“My dear, please don’t divert the conversation,” Walter said. “That is neither here nor there to our purposes.”

“Perhaps you will explain what is here or there,” Rosamund said.

Walter shifted how he sat. “Here is the thing. When almost a year had passed and you were not found, we assumed you would not be. That you were . . .”

“Dead?”

“Or had moved abroad. America,” Felicity added quickly.

“It was a fair conclusion,” Walter said. “I took it upon myself on behalf of the family to find out what that enterprise might be worth, should the legacy be divided up. I was surprised that while the details of Kevin’s invention are not known, there are those whose estimation of my cousin’s mind is quite high and who would purchase a share of something they knew nothing about, simply because it was his idea.”

Rosamund had been ready to usher them out, but now she was glad she hadn’t. What a stunning thing to hear. “This was a recent discovery, you said.”

“Recent enough.” Walter’s face tinged pink for an instant.

“Perhaps you looked into this earlier. When you thought Kevin might be arrested.”

Walter looked shocked, but not at her accusation. At her guessing what he had done.

“It was a reasonable thing to do,” Felicity said, with unctuous sweetness touched with enough beseeching plea to be irritating.

“Whenever it was done, I don’t see why you need to talk to me about it.”

They looked at each other, then at her, then at each other again. Felicity turned a big smile on Rosamund. “We want you to turn the company back to the estate. Not the money, just the company. Our share of that is far less than the money, but it is something.”

“It would benefit Kevin, because he really is not experienced in business and would be wise to have investors who are,” Walter added.

“I would think it would benefit your marriage too, to remove that partnership from it. It can’t be a good thing to have that between you.” Felicity’s expression turned sly. “And if that was why he married you, well, he is well caught now anyway.”

“Yet you just told me it has value, even without being fully realized yet.”

“Quite small compared to the rest you have,” Walter hastened to say. “It is like a puddle is to an ocean.”

Rosamund forced her mind to step away five paces, so she might see this peculiar visit for what it might really be about. Once she viewed it fully, the oddness started making sense.

“Tell me something. Upon learning about its value, and assuming I would not be found, did you trade on your expectations?”

“What do you mean?” Walter asked.

“Did you sell your share before you had it in hand? I can think of no other reason why twice now I have been encouraged by one or both of you to turn my halfback to the estate. As you say, its loss to the rest of you is like a puddle. Were you so confident it would be yours that you sold it in advance of receiving it?”

Walter’s expression revealed the truth. Felicity tried to mask her surprise with hauteur.

“How awkward for you,” Rosamund said. “I’m thinking that is illegal. You should probably give back the money.”

Like most men, Walter preferred anger to embarrassment. “I told you she would not listen to reason,” he snapped to his wife. He began to stand. “I’ll not be subjected to this by a common hat maker.”

“Wait!” Felicity cried, grabbing blindly for his arm. She turned wide, frightened eyes on Rosamund. “We can’t give it back. It is gone.”

Gone. Spent. Rosamund looked more closely at Felicity’s ensemble. New and fashionable. She wondered how much this woman spent in a year. Probably a lot. Walter’s fortune might be much like Kevin’s, but it could not support a woman who wanted to live like a duchess.

Walter stood. Red-faced, he walked to the door. “Good day to you.”

Rosamund waited for his boot steps to stop sounding on the stairs. Felicity dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

“How much?” Rosamund asked.

“Three thousand. A trust pays out in June, but the man who purchased this grows impatient. Even if we can convince him to wait, should we give him that, there will be nothing left for us.”

If it was a trust like Kevin’s, it paid out twice a year, so five or six thousand in all. That was a huge income.

She should not pity Felicity for her current situation. Yet she did. The idea of her husband possibly being arrested for fraudulent business dealings hopefully mattered more than the loss of a new wardrobe this autumn.

“I think I can find a way to help you,” she said. “First, however, I want to talk about something else.”

Having heard the hint of a reprieve, Felicity calmed. She nodded and waited.

“You told me you had seen Kevin in London in the days after the duke’s death. What days and where did you see him?”

Felicity thought before speaking. “It was the next day. He was riding his horse. He did not notice me. He had that expression he gets when he is not paying attention to anything but his own thoughts.”

“Do you know where he was going?”

Felicity shrugged. “It was not far from Grosvenor Square. I assumed he was going to visit Lady Greenough. She is a widow, and very wealthy. There were quiet rumors about the two of them that winter. That was only notable for it being Kevin. He was not known for such flirtations.”

Rosamund battled to keep her surprise from her expression. She hated that jealousy rose fast and hot into her heart.

“I will help you out of your situation,” she said after collecting herself. “I want something in return, however.”

“I will receive you, if