She thought of her mother, who had once lived in this house too. Even though Astrid had never had the chance to know her mother, she had always felt connected to her through their shared home.
Her mother had decorated this place, Astrid knew. She had chosen the furnishings. She had hung the curtains herself. There was a burn on the wood floor in the kitchen that Tobias told her had been caused when Astrid’s mother had spilled boiling water.
Everything here was a connection to a past Astrid would never know, to a mother who would never embrace her and tell her she was proud.
They couldn’t allow Lord Farnsworth to take that away. Especially when her father hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Father,” she said. “What are we going to do?”
“If we could get the money together somehow, we could pay him off,” Tobias said. His voice was thoughtful, but Astrid heard the undercurrent of anxiety below the careful consideration. He was worried.
It was her job to ease his worry. That was what a dutiful daughter ought to do. “I can sell my jewelry,” she suggested. The jewels she had were inherited from her mother, and Astrid was loath to part with them, but keeping the house was more important.
Her father nodded slowly. “That’s a possibility,” he said. “Though, of course, I would prefer it if you didn’t have to. Perhaps we could get a good price for Bartholomew.”
Their horse. “You need him,” Astrid pointed out. “How will you get to work without Bartholomew?”
She did not add that it would break her heart to sell the horse, that she loved him as a member of the family. Now was not the time to be sentimental. She knew better. They had to be practical. It was the only way out of this mess.
“Besides,” she added instead, “I don’t think we’d get very much money for old Bart, do you? He’s not exactly a prize stallion.” It hurt her to speak ill of her beloved horse, but if it kept him from being sold…
Her father sighed. “Perhaps you’re right,” he said. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be enough money to sway Lord Farnsworth, in any case.”
“How much will he want?” Astrid asked.
Her father named a sum. Astrid felt lightheaded. It was more money than she’d ever seen in one place in her life. She doubted her father had such a quantity, even with his various assets taken into consideration. They could sell everything they had and still not raise the funds.
Her father must have understood the look on her face. “I believe he’ll accept it in installments,” he said. “I just need to get enough together to make a payment, for now. To show good faith.”
“I’ll sell the jewelry, then,” Astrid said faintly. She would have sold everything she owned to get her father out of this mess. The trouble was that she hardly owned anything at all. Her mother’s jewelry was the only thing of value she possessed.
“Don’t do that just yet,” her father said.
“It’s no trouble,” Astrid said. “Truly. I can take it to market. I’m sure I’ll find a buyer there.” Her heart beat a little faster at the prospect of going to market. She had only been a few times in her life, and always with her father for company. To make the journey on her own would be exciting.
But Tobias was shaking his head. “You aren’t going to market,” he said firmly. “If the jewelry is to be sold, I will do the selling.”
Frustration boiled her blood. “I can manage perfectly well, Father.”
“I’m sure you can,” he said with a smile. “But the market is a dangerous place for a young girl. You can understand that, surely.”
“I’m not really a young girl,” she pointed out. “I’m a young woman.”
“The market is dangerous for them too.”
Astrid sighed. He’s never going to let me out of the house, she thought. It felt strange that she could still be bothered by that old complaint when something so much worse, so much more dramatic, had arisen to worry her, and yet she was bothered. She wanted to keep her mother’s house, yes, and she wanted her father out of trouble. But she also craved freedom and adventure.
Perhaps I will go to the market, she thought rebelliously. After all, Father leaves home for several hours every day to conduct business. Maybe tomorrow while he’s away, I’ll sneak out and sell the jewelry. He won’t like it, but I’ll be back before he ever knows what I’ve done.
But she wouldn’t do it. She knew she wouldn’t. Her father had enough to be worrying about right now without having to contend with an errant daughter sneaking out of the house.
He needs to know he can trust me. He needs me to be the one thing in his life he doesn’t have to worry about.
She could be that. She could do that for him. That would be far more valuable than any money she might get for her jewelry.
“Don’t worry, Father,” she said. “I won’t go to the market. I’ll give you my jewelry, and you can decide whether or not to try to sell it.”
“It still won’t fetch the price we need,” her father said.
“It will help, at least,” Astrid persisted.
Tobias allowed a smile to creep across his face. “Your mother would be very proud if she could see you today, Astrid,” he said. “She would be pleased to know what a comfort you’ve grown to be.”
That was what was most important to Astrid—the knowledge that she was a comfort to her father. She hated that he was going through what he was, but she would do whatever was necessary to make things easier for him.
“Everything will be all right,” she assured him. “Whatever the Baron does to us, whatever we have to give up, we’ll be all right. We’ll have each other, and that’s what really matters.”
“That’s very wise,” her father said.
“It doesn’t matter if we have to sell the house,” she said, even though it did. She couldn’t quite keep her voice from breaking as she said it. “It doesn’t matter where we live. We can find another place, someplace not quite as nice.”
But Tobias shook his head. “It won’t come to that,” he said, and there was a fierceness in his voice that Astrid had never seen before. “This was your mother’s house, Astrid. Whatever else happens, I won’t let us be forced out of it. I promise you that. No matter what I have to do, I will keep our home.”
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Also by Hanna Hamilton
Thank you for reading The Stolen Diadem of a Castaway Lady!
I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, may I ask you to please write a review HERE? It would mean the world to me. Reviews are very important and allow me to keep writing the books that you love to read!
Some other best sellers of mine:
Inconveniently Married to the Earl
The Lady in the Emerald Mask
Letters from a Missing Lady
Disrespectfully Yours, My Marquess
The Risky Wager of a Masked Lady
The Beauty and the Earl
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Thank you for allowing me to keep doing what I love!
Hanna Hamilton
About the Author
Hanna Hamilton has been fascinated with the regency era ever since she was a young teen, first discovering historical romance novels by famous authors such as Jane Austen and Lisa Kleypas. She believes that love was just so much more magical back then, more like a fairy tale. She always daydreamed about finding love herself that way, but since that is impossible in the twenty first century, she decided to write about it instead!
Born in Texas, Hanna Hamilton obtained a degree in Creative Writing, and had worked as a literature teacher before becoming a novelist. When she isn’t writing, Hanna likes to explore the countryside with her husband and two children, gaining inspiration from the natural world around her.
So, come on a journey into love, confusion, and redemption all wi
thin the regency era. Hanna hopes that you will enjoy immersing yourself into her novels, and that you too will find a love for old fashioned romance, just as she has.
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The Stolen Diadem of a Castaway Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 29
