“I will have my associates help me look into it. The two we found by happenstance are in Manchester and Lancaster. We can try to locate something near the southern coast.” Mr. Chadburn retrieved another document from his portfolio and slid it across the desk. “I did as you requested, Mr. Endicott, and transferred the funds you intended for Miss Hamlin’s dowry into her account earlier today. We should have no difficulty finding a suitable property with this much of an initial investment available.”
Ashley reached for the document and scanned the numbers.
Stunned, she dropped the paper as though it had bitten her, her heart pounding. She knew how much Uncle Edward was gifting her. She also knew how much she had managed to save over the years, and the paltry amount of interest those funds had earned.
This figure was too high.Muchtoo high.
She quickly did the math in her head. The amount was … ten thousand pounds too high. Exactly. To the penny.
Uncle Edward picked up the statement. His eyes widened as he looked over the numbers and he let out a low whistle. “Madame Zavrina must have paid a much more generous salary than I thought possible.”
“Are you certain this is the correct amount?” Ashley swallowed hard. “Certain this is formyaccount?”
Mr. Chadburn consulted a small notebook he retrieved from his coat pocket and compared it to the bank statement. “Yes, I am certain this matches the account information you gave me. Is something wrong?”
Her mind raced. Where could the money have come from? A bank error?
A memory teased.
“Yesterday, in trying to rescue you, it seems I inadvertently abducted you.”
“What are you asking for ransom?”
She folded her arms and tapped one finger on her chin. “I think a peer of the realm should be worth at least ten thousand pounds, don’t you?” She grinned at her silliness.
Ransom.
Ashley stared out the window, trying to get her racing heart and erratic breathing under control.
Ravencroft had paid her a ransom.
Never mind how he’d found which bank she kept her account, or that the bank had allowed him or his representative to make a deposit into an account that wasn’t his.
Did he actually consider it ransom? Or had he made this deposit after she told him about opening a school? Did he wish to be an investor? If that were the case, why hadn’t he spoken with her first?
What conditions were tied to this money?
“My dear, is everything all right?” Uncle Edward reached across to pat her hand.
She shook herself. “Fine, uncle. I simply earned more interest income than I anticipated.”
“Ah, yes,” Mr. Chadburn said with a broad grin. “The power of compound interest!”
* * *
“She’s going to do what?” Liam set down his violin and bow while they were taking a break during rehearsal at Mansfield’s townhouse.
The Catch Club competition was tomorrow night. Lydia had stayed home today, Templeton said, because she didn’t trust herself not to interfere. Which gave David the perfect opportunity to have everyone try out the new song he had written, thanks to Ashley’s help in transcribing the melody he’d started while drunk.
“Open her own school. Got tired of receiving letters rejecting her application for employment.” David set down his bow and viola da gamba to pour a glass of honey and lemon tea. “Doesn’t want to rely on her cousin’s hospitality or go back to Jamaica with her aunt and uncle at the end of the month. No gentleman has come up to scratch whom she wants to marry, so she’s forging her own path.”
By now his solicitor should have deposited money in her account. It wasn’t ransom, though he’d chuckled at that memory. Nor was it payment. A gift, he considered it, to help her on her path to independence. A shawl or fan would have been a proper gift, whispered a little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Aunt Connie. But their relationship had been improper since their very first meeting, and what was the point of taking on the burden of a title and being wealthy if one couldn’t help a friend realize her dream?
“And you’ve accepted this? Where will the school be located?”
David shrugged. “I doubt even she knows yet.”
He tried to take a sip but Liam took his glass and set it down, rested his hands on David’s shoulders, and marched him backwards until his spine bumped up against the shelves.
