The Fortune Hunter

by Jo Ann Ferguson

  Cole looked past his guests to smile at Nerissa. “My friends, come and meet my sister. Nerissa, this is Sir Jerrold Cathcart.”

  The tall man turned, his eyes widening along with his smile. He grabbed her hand and bowed over it. “This is indeed a pleasure, Miss Dufresne. A great, great pleasure.”

  “Thank you,” she said, overmastered by the flood of emotion in his incredibly deep voice. “I am as pleased to meet you and …”

  Nerissa’s voice faded as she looked past the baronet to his companion. Hearing words, as if from the opposite side of a field, she stared at a face she had hoped never to see again.

  “No need for an introduction, my dear Cole. Your stepsister and I have already met.” Elinor Howe offered her a cool smile as she slipped her arm through Cole’s. “How do you do, Nerissa?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Feeling all at sea, Nerissa did not move. The echo of her words to Frye taunted her. She had not wanted to hear Elinor Howe’s name. Now the blonde had somehow inveigled her way into Cole’s life. In desperation, she looked to her brother. His smile, however, was fading as he aimed a glower at her like she had seldom seen on his plump face. Knowing he could not understand her reluctance to greet Mrs. Howe, he must be ready to fly off the hooks at her.

  Nerissa dampened her lips. “Mrs. Howe, welcome back to Bath.”

  “My dear,” the older woman said, “you must call me ‘Elinor’. After all, we shall be getting to know each other very well.”

  Ignoring Elinor’s triumphant smile, Nerissa turned to the baronet. “I hope your trip to Bath was without incident, Sir Jerrold.”

  Cathcart caught her hand again and bent over it as he raised it to his lips. With a boyish grin, he said, “I would say any discomfort was worth the delight of finding such a paragon at the end of our journey. Pilcher, you have been wise to hide your sister. You must bring her with us to Town when we return. I know dear Elinor would enjoy firing her off, and mayhap I could convince my sister to get you an invitation to Almack’s, Miss Dufresne. Then you could have your pick of the young bucks who will be clamoring to leg-shackle themselves to the sister of England’s most wealthy canal builder.” He dug his elbow into Cole’s side. “Maybe get yourself a duke or a marquess for a brother-in-law, eh? One of them would not be averse to marrying a commoner when she stands to have as much money as all of us soon shall have.”

  “I think that is a fabulous inspiration,” purred Elinor. “I would be happy to find Nerissa the perfect husband.”

  “Miss Dufresne, may I interrupt for a moment?”

  At Frye’s cool question, Nerissa wanted to fling her arms around her abigail and thank her for rescuing her from this impossible situation. Struggling to keep her own voice serene, Nerissa asked, “What is it, Frye?”

  “A small matter. It should not take long, but it needs your attention.”

  “Run along,” said Cole with a magnanimous wave of his hand. “While you tend to arrangements for a fine meal for us this evening, we shall drink a toast to the future of this venture.”

  Nerissa clenched her hands at Cole’s cavalier behavior. She was not accustomed to being ordered about in her own home, but, as she saw Elinor’s broadening smile of satisfaction, she wondered how many other things were about to change for the worse.

  “Alas, what shall we do?”

  “Cease the moaning, Frye,” Nerissa said as she went to her desk in her sitting room. “Give me a chance to think.”

  “That is the same woman who came to live with Lord Windham, isn’t it?”

  “Forget Elinor!”

  “But it is the same woman, isn’t it?”

  Nerissa turned on her chair to see tears rolling along the grooves in Frye’s wide face. Leaping to her feet, she ran to her abigail. She urged the older woman to sit on a chair and brought her a glass of Madeira. Frye’s hands shook so fiercely that Nerissa feared she would spill the wine all over herself.

  “Dear Frye, I do not understand yet all that is going on, but I hope Hamilton will.”

  “Not him!” Frye grasped Nerissa’s hand. “Do not make matters more critical by involving him. He is sure to side with that dasher downstairs.”

  Nerissa knelt by Frye’s chair. “Hamilton may have some idea of how Elinor Howe came to be in Cole’s company. I must protect my brother from her greed.”

  “Greed? What could she want of Mr. Pilcher? He does not have two farthings to rub together. If you had not been so generous with the few pennies your sainted mother left you, he would have starved in the streets long ago.”

  “I must find out why she is so interested in Cole, and, for that, I need Hamilton’s help.”

  “’Tis a bad idea.”

  “It is the only one I have.”

  Frye opened her mouth to retort, then nodded with reluctance. Taking a deep drink of the sweet wine, she put the glass on a table and rose. “And I shall endeavor to learn what tales Hadfield has brought back from London with him. Mayhap in the midst of his bangers, there will be a kernel of truth.”

  Nerissa returned to her writing desk. Taking out a sheet of paper and ink, she did not hesitate as she wrote a request for Hamilton to call as soon as he could. She reread the note. Desperation rang through every word, although she had explained nothing. She rang for a maid and asked her to have the letter delivered posthaste to Lord Windham at Queen Square.

  When the door closed again, Nerissa dropped into her chair and stared out the window at the square below. It looked dismal beneath the lowering sky, and she felt the same.

  At a knock, she called, “Come in, Frye.”

  “It is not Frye,” returned a melodic voice.

  Nerissa leapt to her feet as Elinor entered. She stared at Elinor’s lovely dress. Its pale pinks and golds shimmered as if the gown was alive, even as it accented her perfect figure. With her hair brushed high on her head and a glass of wine in her hand, she looked as if she had been transported from the midst of an assembly.

  Elinor closed the door behind her and motioned for Nerissa to sit again. “I believe you and I have a crow to pluck between us.”

  Nerissa had no choice but to be gracious when the blonde was her brother’s guest. “I doubt if there is any way we can alter the situation, but I will be honest enough to say that I would have preferred to see Old Nick himself as lief you in my house.”

  “Cole’s house.”

  She flinched at Elinor’s terse answer. That was a truth Nerissa did not want to own to when her whole world was topsy-turvy. She had no home beyond this dependency on Cole, who apparently had been changed more than she had guessed by his short sojourn in London.

  “My dear,” Elinor continued as she lowered herself gracefully to the settee, “you are but a child in so many ways. How many beaux did you have calling on you before Hamilton arrived in your life?”

  She flushed, but did not lower her eyes. “I think that is no bread and butter of yours.”

  “But it is.” She smiled as she took a sip. Looking over the goblet, she said, “You are Cole’s sister, so it behooves me to know everything about you.”

  “I wish to know no more about you than I have already heard.”

  “Shall I tell you what I know already about you?”

  Nerissa shook her head and rose. “I have no wish to hear my name disparaged.”

  “But there is nothing disparaging about it.” She stood and wandered about the room, looking at the portraits on the wall and each piece of furniture as if she was judging its worth. “My dear, you have been nothing less than a saint. Cole tells me that, while your mother was ill for several years, you never strayed from her side.”

  “It was my wish to remain there and ease her last days instead of engaging in frivolous flirtations.”

  “Please understand that nothing I say is meant to take a stone from your mother’s cairn. You were right to be such a loving daughter.” She gave a genteel shiver. “I understand the limitations posed upon one by an ailing connection. I spent m
any months sitting by the bed of my dying husband. Then he hopped off, and I was a young widow with a fortune to spend and with no one to share it. I know you consider me no better than an easy virtue—for I would guess that your ears have been filled with many intriguing rumors about me—but, to own the truth, I had only one paramour before Hamilton.”

  “And how many while he believed you cared for him alone?”

  Elinor smiled as she paused by the window. Running her hand along the table, she looked out onto the street. “You are as conventional as dear Hamilton and, I suspect, as eager to be rid of the confines of those conventions.”

  Nerissa walked toward the door to put as much space as possible between them. “I have no interest in the prurient facets of your past. As long as you are my brother’s guest, I shall treat you with courtesy, but ask no more of me.”

  “I do not intend to leave until we smooth this between us.” Sitting on the window bench, she clasped her long fingers in her lap and regarded Nerissa evenly. “I am not evil personified.”

  “You hurt Hamilton.”

  “What a brave maiden you are to jump to the defense of your dashing knight!” Her lips curled in a smile. “Or do I mistakenly call you a maiden?”

  Nerissa tried to keep her face from betraying her as she said, “Your demure hits will not endear you to Cole. He prefers a quiet house.”

  “My dear, you need not entertain me with out and outers. I know Hamilton well.” She rose, holding her hands behind her back, as her smile grew more predatory. “I know him very well, so I can guess exactly what he has asked of you and exactly what you have given him. He is a devilishly charming man.” Crossing the room, she cupped Nerissa’s chin in her hand. “Fear not, my dear. The tales of your indiscretions shall not precede you to London. I have promised Cole to help you make an excellent marriage, and I find it very wise always to do what I promise Cole I will.”

  Nerissa turned away, unable to endure the jubilation in Elinor’s eyes. “You are no better than a demi mondaine.”

  Elinor did not take offense, but simply continued to smile. “A woman on her own has scant place in this world. I have no interest to spend the rest of my years declining into the shadows as a dowager at Almack’s. Better I should attach myself to a man who shares my ambitions.”

  “If you mean Cole, I warn you that I shall do what I can to convince him that it would be a mistake to tangle his life more with yours.”

  “I am afraid there is nothing you can do to halt me. I do not waste my time doing battle over things I think I cannot win, but I have won your brother’s heart.”

  “You have bought it, you mean.”

  Her musical laugh could not hide her satisfaction. “One can buy only what is available for a price, my dear Nerissa. He has his price, as I suspect you do. What would you be willing to pay to win Hamilton’s heart? Would you sacrifice your reputation? Have you already?” With another laugh, she opened the door. “Think on it, my dear, and you shall see that you are not so dissimilar to me.”

  “You are wrong. We are very unlike.”

  “Mayhap, but rumor can suggest differently, if it becomes known that you have replaced me in Hamilton’s bed.” Her nonchalant pose vanished as she smiled icily. “Try to stop me from my plans with your brother, and you shall learn how quickly you can lose everything.”

  Elinor walked out and closed the door, leaving Nerissa to stare after her in horror.

  Pacing in front of the window of her sitting room, Nerissa stared out at the street, where rain was falling to puddle in every depression in the road. It had been more than a day since she had sent the message to Hamilton, but he had not come to Laura Place to discover why she had sent him the urgent note.

  A twinge raced through her each time she recalled how he had told her he had changed. Although she had dared to hope that meant he had come to trust her, an irritating whisper in the back of her mind suggested that his change of heart had come from his longing to end everything between them. She recalled every rumor she had heard of his disinterest in any lasting relationship.

  “Nerissa?”

  She turned to see Cole behind her. Lost in her gloomy thoughts, she had not heard him approach. “Oh, Cole! I am so glad you are alone. I want to talk to you.”

  “Any conversation must wait.” He clutched her arm and tugged toward the door. “Crimmins is waiting in the parlor to speak with us.”

  “Mr. Crimmins? Here again?”

  He smiled as if he was humoring a silly child. “Nerissa, put aside your parochial thoughts. Crimmins, like anyone else who has looked down his nose at me, is learning to listen when I demand his attention.”

  “Why are you letting Elinor put such thoughts into your head? Until the canal proves to be a success—”

  His laugh halted her, but scorn filled his voice. “I ask you this final time not to besmirch Elinor’s name. She is a rare treasure, and I will not listen to your jealousy. Come along, Nerissa. Crimmins is anxious to get the matter of Hill’s End’s sale completed.”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “This is my house. Everything that happens under this roof is of my concern. You would be wise to learn that.”

  Nerissa bit back her reply as he steered her out of the room and down the stairs. Seeing Hadfield’s broad smile on his narrow face, she kept her head high. She would provide the butler with no more pleasure at her own expense.

  Pulling her arm out of Cole’s grip, she held out her hand to the solicitor, who leapt to his feet as they entered. “Good afternoon, Mr. Crimmins.”

  “A very good afternoon,” he agreed. He waited for her to sit, then pulled out a sheaf of papers from beneath his coat. Setting them next to a bottle of ink on a low table beside her, he said, “Please sign here, Miss Dufresne.”

  Nerissa gasped when she saw the fine flourishes of Mr. Crimmins’s secretary’s writing. She recognized the first few words on the top of the first page. This was the contract to initiate the sale of Hill’s End that he had sent for her perusal. She had not been able to bring herself to read it before Cole’s arrival, and, since his homecoming, she had not given it a thought.

  She looked from the solicitor to Cole. Both men were smiling as broadly as Hadfield had. “How did this get returned to your office? I left it …” Her lips grew taut as she recalled how Elinor had investigated everything in the room yesterday. The blonde must have pilfered the papers and taken them to Cole. That explained how her brother knew of the upcoming sale, but she did not understand why Elinor would do such a thing.

  “Please sign, Miss Dufresne,” Mr. Crimmins repeated.

  “I would like an opportunity to study it more fully.”

  Mr. Crimmins said, with a touch of exasperation, “The buyer is very anxious to have the deal completed. If you tarry, you may lose this chance to rid yourself of that estate. Aren’t you tired of being out at the elbows?”

  “I prefer to read it.”

  Cole snapped, “Do sign it, Nerissa, and be done with this whimpering. After all, it is nothing more than the procedures to release the money the buyer has already put in escrow for the binder.”

  “Who is the buyer?” she asked.

  Mr. Crimmins looked down his long nose at her. “Even if I was privy to that information, I would be restricted from telling you. Are you going to sign it, Miss Dufresne, so we may get on to the rest of our business?”

  “Rest of our business?” The twinge of disquiet inside her burst into a cramp of fear.

  “The matters of the future of this household.”

  Nerissa lowered her gaze to the papers in front of her. Mr. Crimmins needed to say no more. Although Cole had been able to find a well-fixed backer for his canal, that did not change their situation on Laura Place. She tried to swallow the lump of congealed tears in her throat as she signed the bottom of the last page, knowing they must avoid bankruptcy.

  The solicitor grabbed the pages before the ink had a chance to dry. Folding them, he put them
under his coat as he sat on the settee. The gleam in his eyes warned her that he was already considering how he would spend his share of this transaction.

  When Cole took a chair across from him, Mr. Crimmins held out a sheet of paper. “As you requested, your inheritance has been deposited in an account in your name in the Bank of England.”

  “Inheritance?” Nerissa gasped. “I thought your father died penniless.”

  Cole took the sheet and smiled as he perused it. He slipped it beneath his waistcoat. “You are wrong. He left me a jointure of thirty thousand pounds.”

  “Thirty thousand pounds?” she repeated in disbelief. It must be a coincidence that Albert Pilcher had bequeathed his son the exact amount stolen from Hamilton’s father. She wanted to believe that, but she could not. Albert Pilcher had cheated her mother out of every penny with his beguiling ways. She suspected the late Lord Windham had been his victim as well.

  “You always misjudged my father, Nerissa. Like me, he was a man of many talents.”

  “Thievery and lies!”

  He rose and said coldly, “That is enough, Nerissa.” Without giving her an opportunity to answer, he went on, “And thank you, Crimmins, for your assistance in this matter. I collect you will have the rest of the paperwork for the sale of Hill’s End completed with all due speed. We wish to stay no longer in Bath than is necessary.”

  “Then you will, I gather, be selling this house, too?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “No!” Nerissa turned to her brother. “Cole, you cannot put this house on the block. With Hill’s End sold, we would have no place else to go.”

  “We shall be able to live anywhere we wish once my canal is completed.” He patted his waistcoat. “Now that is assured. Thank you, Crimmins.”