Page 82 of Fair Weather Enemies
Aunt Hester stepped to Jane’s side, her jaw set in grim determination. “Explain, Simon, before I box your ears.”
He dipped his head apologetically. “Your niece has nothing left to invest, dear Hester, for Adam has already spent the money.”
Jane’s jaw fell slack with incredulity. “Spent it? All of it?”
“Not all.”
“How much then?”
“Forty-eight hundred pounds precisely.”
Her breath caught at the mention of the specific sum. “On what, sir?”
“He settled your debt, Miss Hancock, with two hundred and forty pounds to spare. As a result, the mill remains yours, and you are no longer bound to debtor’s prison. Instead, you are free of debtandfree to go.”
She nearly collapsed under the weight of his revelation. Free of debt? Free of prison because of Adam? Given every opportunity to do otherwise, he had sacrificed his legacy to prevent her from spending a single day in confinement. He had relinquished two hundred years of Ashford blood, sweat, and toil to give her a new beginning. Anguish for his loss built within her and pounded the shore of her resolve like a rogue wave.
“Where is he, Mr. Barlow? Where is Adam?”
“Gone. Gone to his estate in Oxfordshire with Mr. Chance to gather what belongings he might claim. Gone to bid his ancestral home farewell.”
She began backing toward the door, drawn by a deep desire to share Adam’s pain. “I must go to him. I must go to him now.”
Barlow merely smiled. “I was hoping you might say that. My coach is on the street and at your service.” He offered his arm to Aunt Hester. “Shall we, my dear?”
“Yes, my brave knight.”
He blushed unabashedly. “One more item of business, Hester.”
He reached into his pocket, retrieved a letter, and tossed it on Rutley’s desk. The man eyed it suspiciously. “What is this, Barlow?”
“A resignation of my services. I can no longer serve you in good conscience. Find another solicitor to perform your dirty deeds, Rutley.”
With that, he swept Hester to the door. Driven by a desperate need to find Adam, Jane flew outside, leaving Mr. Rutley behind for good.
Chapter Thirty-One
No matter how many times Adam encountered crops rotting in a field, the unique scent surprised him anew. It spoke in no uncertain terms of damp, decay, and death. Most folks wrinkled their noses at the odor and hastily vacated the area. Not Adam. As a child of the land, he saw beyond the present. The rotting plants would decompose over the winter, melting into the soil under winter rain, snow, and mud. When spring came, those same dead crops would give of themselves to bring forth new ones. Having witnessed this phenomenon many times, he had developed a great appreciation for bleak endings. Dark finales often paved the road to bright beginnings. As he wandered his fields for the final time, he prayed that this particular ending might hold true to form.
“She’s a fine plot of ground, sir.”
Thomas’s melancholy assessment snapped him from his reverie. “I agree, Thomas. This plot of earth has served my family well for two centuries. I regret only that I am the one to lose it.”
“Seems to me,” said Thomas, “that you are not to blame. Your quarreling ancestors dug the pit. No quantity of good intentions could lift you out of the hole.”
“Perhaps you are right. However, I cannot shake my deep concern over what comes next.”
Thomas cocked his head. “Of finding a new source of income?”
“No.” He shook his head firmly. “Not that. Of what will happen with Jane. What will she do now that she is free? Will she still have a man who is a former enemy and bereft of financial means?”
“Do you regret trading a certain marriage and your land for the unknown, then?”
Adam paused. Did he? He recalled the moment the mad plan had come to him while he perused his great-grandfather’s contract with Thomas’s father. In a flash of insight, he’d known how to break free of Rutley’s clutches, escape the crush of mediocre misery, and open the door to Jane’s affections. He’d known immediately, though, that the plan would cost him everything he had been taught to cherish. Did he, in fact, now regret his actions over the past week? A smile crept across his face, terribly out of place, considering the somber nature of the moment.
“No. I regret my decision not at all. Even if Jane turns me away, I will have achieved the most noble action a man can take. I will have freed myself from a mundane life to reach instead for the spectacular. If my reach falls short, I can live with the knowledge that my courage and character did not.”
Thomas smiled and shook a finger softly while nodding his head. “Then you must have faith, sir. From what little I have learned of your Miss Hancock, her courage and character match yours.”
