Page 35 of Daisy and the Duke
Tristan glanced at his friend, wondering what he was about. On their own, the questions were innocuous enough—every marriageable woman knew her worth down to the penny, for that was one of the most important aspects of a contract. But why did Jackson Kemble care?
“At the moment, I’m not thinking of the social scene, but of the actual scene.” Tristan looked up pointedly at the broken spire. “The church does not look its best at the moment. It does not inspire confidence. I’ll let you know if I can do anything to improve the situation.”
“Why, thank you, your grace!”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
With that, Tris and Jack returned home.
Jack, lying back in his seat in the carriage with a worrying pallor to his complexion, said, “The vicar seems to think you’ve got sacks of gold lying about the place.”
“I suppose I should be grateful that my financial situation is not obvious to everyone in the county. Speaking of gold, what was all that about Miss Bella’s dowry?”
“Ever since Miss Daisy told me of the events surrounding her father’s death and the subsequent news of the will, I’ve been curious,” Jack explained.
“Miss Wallis explained it to me as best she could,” Tristan said. “The barony of Rutherford was one of the few to specifically descend to the oldest child, whether male or female.”
“Yes, that’s what she told me too. It’s a barony by writ, so that’s possible, if not usual. And I asked Miss Bella what she knew about the changed will, but she has no knowledge of the matter at all. She takes her mother’s word for everything, and never questions it, or if she does, it’s buried quite deep. But what I find odd is that he turned his back on generations of tradition to gift the title to hissecondwife and her line? It would be one of the most unusual dispositions of title and property that I’ve ever heard of…and having spent years in Chancery, I’ve heard of many.”
“It’s bloody unfair to Daisy,” Tristan said. “Especially because she’s so devoted to the estate. Whenever I hear her talk about the fields, it’s like she’s talking about a friend. I think leaving this part of the country would kill her.”
“Well, the baroness certainly seems to want to keep her stepdaughter close, if only to handle the day-to-day workings of the place.” Jack sneered, disapproving of Lady Rutherford’s cost-saving measure of using Daisy as an unpaid estate manager. When Tristan had first told him about it, Jack had said averyrude word to describe the woman.
“You must be feeling better, to worry at the minutiae of a country estate. A few weeks ago, I couldn’t get you to care about what to eat for dinner.” On the other hand, Jack didn’t look much better, especially not at the moment.
“The air agrees with me,” Jack said, with a slight smile
“Even so, I’m afraid I shouldn’t have dragged you along to the church. You’re worn out.”
“Nonsense.”
Tris shook his head at his friend’s stubbornness, but then remembered something else. He pulled out a letter from his coat pocket. “Did I tell you that John wrote again? He sent along a whole packet of papers this time. He must have been waiting at the docks to get the message on a ship to England!”
“That means he needs money,” Jack replied, looking interested despite himself. “How much does he want?”
“Only ten thousand.”
“Only!”
“It seems reasonable considering the expenses in starting a new mining venture. And the terms are very favorable. Though there are three partners, I’d get forty percent of profits, in light of my initial contribution to the funding.”
“For the love of God, Tris. A diamond mine thousands of miles away, on another continent, overseen by people you can’t check on, not to mention the corruption that surrounds such ventures with precious stones? It has all the makings of a fiasco. I beg you to put this mad notion aside.”
Tristan paused, and his expression must have tipped Jack off to the truth.
“You already did it,” he accused Tris. “You invested ten thousand pounds without thinking twice.”
“I thought many times,” Tris protested. To be honest, he thought about offering Daisy a spectacular necklace or rings to dazzle her. “It’s a rare opportunity!”
“It’s a scam,” Jack said bluntly.
“That’s unworthy of you. John would never do such a thing.”
“I meant he’s thevictimof a scam.”
“It’s real,” Tris snapped back. He pulled a small object from his pocket. “Look.”
Jack took the pebble he was offered, surveying it with raised eyebrows. “A rock I could have picked up outside the church this morning.”
