Page 11 of The Heir's Fortune
She stopped, turning to him with her arms crossed over her chest. “I do not believe that you are in any position to tell me what to do.”
“In this, I am.”
“You are responsible for a lot of people, Gideon, but not for me.”
“You are under my roof.”
Her nostrils flared, but she said nothing. Instead, she turned around and strode away. It seemed he had finally said something that convinced her to leave him alone.
Except that Gideon had a feeling that wouldn’t be the last of this conversation. Not at all.
CHAPTER 4
Madeline entered the dining room that night with purpose.
She hadn’t allowed Lord Ashford to see how cold she was after their dousing of rain, but she had sat in a hot bath until the water grew cold and her fingers became wrinkled.
Now, she had donned an extra shawl for the evening, although no one seemed to question it.
In addition to Cassandra, her husband, and Lord Ashford, the duke and duchess attended dinner that evening, which Madeline welcomed.
They were a kind couple, one that truly loved one another. Their presence at dinner meant that the duke was having one of his better nights, although Madeline knew that he could still have moments of confusion.
“Good evening,” Madeline said, taking a seat at the table with a flourish, smoothing out the satin of her navy skirts. She still preferred to wear dark clothing, opposing the style of the day, uncaring if she stood out from the other ladies.
“Good evening,” they all said as one of Castleton’s two footmen filled their glasses. Madeline steeled herself for the dinner to come. Castleton’s cook left much to be desired.Madeline had no idea why they kept her on staff. They might not have a considerable amount of extra money, but surely they had enough to eat properly.
She supposed the loyalty went both ways.
“Turtle soup,” a footman announced, and Madeline cringed, knowing from experience that the soup was certainly not turtle nor well made.
“Does anyone have any plans for tomorrow?” Madeline asked, looking around the table, trying not to catch Cassandra’s eye, for their conspiracy might be too obvious. She had been sure to share with Cassandra her brother’s ideas on who should be out looking for the treasure and Cassandra had the same opinion as Madeline about it.
“I think it’s time that we begin our search,” Gideon said, and Madeline had to hide her smile. He was falling right into her trap.
“Search for what?” his father asked.
“For the treasure, Father,” Gideon said. He had told his father about this treasure hunt from the start, not hiding anything from him as Madeline knew he had asked his father for help with clues when necessary. Sometimes the duke had past experiences that had provided direction.
“Ah, yes,” he said, although his eyes were far away.
“I am looking forward to it,” Cassandra said with a bright smile. “We should start by using the necklace piece to determine where we are to go and then set out on our path.”
Gideon cleared his throat. “First, I do not believe it is so simple. As you can imagine, I have spent a great amount of time looking at the map, and from what I can ascertain, it is not a straightforward path. I do not believe we can actually determine where we are to go until we are outside using the compass itself.”
“Very good. We have a plan, then.”
“We,” Gideon held up a finger and waved it from him to Lord Covington and back again, “have a plan. Devon and I will go just the two of us. Perhaps we will ask a footman to join us in case we encounter any physical challenges.”
Cassandra’s mouth dropped open in shock. Considering that she had surmised his answer prior to this, Madeline was impressed with her acting.
This conversation was a reminder of not only how different Cassandra was from her brother but also why Madeline had been so unsuccessful in her campaign to find a husband. Her father had provided her more freedom than most and she would prefer not to have to succumb to the wishes of a man who might not be so lenient. Most of them were like Gideon with the expectation that the women in their lives would follow their wishes unquestioned.
“We have been with you from the start of this, Gideon,” Cassandra said before she took a sip of her tea. “We will be there to see it through.”
“You were with us before we knew that this hunt came with danger,” he said, but then stopped when both of his parents looked up with concern.
“What sort of danger?” his mother asked, placing down her fork.
