“Oh, well, that’s good.”
Garrett chuckled. “Tell me about Moorshavan—did you find out any more about him?”
“I found out it’s as if the man never existed. I checked the legal records and the house is registered to Mr. Moorshavan but he must have hightailed it back to Boston—where he said he was from, because no one in London has seen or heard from him since someone from the Lord Mayor’s office paid him a visit. I’m still waiting to hear from some of the men I talked to but I don’t know of any way to find Mr. Moorshavan other than hire someone to sail to Boston and look for him there.”
And that’s exactly what Garrett would do if it turned out the duke didn’t own the property. He intended to buy that house and tear it down because of what it represented to him—a life of never owning anything, never working for what you wanted, and always being beholden to family for every penny of your existence. He was going to build his new house there where he would live as a gentleman and a tradesman.
Garrett took a sip from the wine the attendant put in front of him. “Tell me about Miss Osborne. Has she arrived?”
Wiley looked down at his glass for a moment. “Not yet, but I’m hopeful it will be soon.” He huffed. “Imagine me waiting around for a lady to arrive and hoping the days will pass quickly until she does. Did you ever think you’d see the day?”
“I can’t say I did.” But Garrett knew exactly how his friend felt. He was anxious to see Julia. “Do you have a shilling in your pocket?”
Wiley shrugged. “A few.”
“I only want one.”
Wiley dug into his coat pocket for the coin and laid it on the table in front of Garrett.
Garrett placed a small box on the table and slid it toward Wiley. “It’s for you to give to your bride. It came from Africa. It’s made from ebony, their finest wood, and inlaid with gold and ivory. You told me if you ever married I’d have to pick out a gift for you from another country to give to your bride.”
“I remember but I didn’t expect you to.” Wiley picked up the box and examined it. “This is extraordinary workmanship and there’s no small amount of gold on this. It’s worth more than a shilling.”
“Its only worth will be in how much Miss Osborne treasures it.”
“Mr. Stockton,” an attendant said. “I have a note for you that’s just arrived.”
Garrett thanked the man, took the note and opened it. Julia wanted to see him. He looked around to the clock that stood in a corner. He had just enough time to go by and see Mr. Urswick before meeting Julia.
“Wiley, I’m going to have to cut short our meeting.”
“More problems with your ship?”
“No,” he said rising. “I need to call on Lady Kitson.”
“So you’ve gotten to know her,” Wiley said with a quirk of a smile.
“Quite well and I’m hoping to get to know her even better.”
After a frustrating visit with Mr. Urswick, Garrett found himself in the drawing room at the duke’s house. His manager had been diligent in going over the lettering and numbering in the book, and while Urswick was a genius when it came to adding long columns of numbers in his head, he wasn’t good at figuring out coded writing. He’d told the man to go home and rest. They would start fresh in the morning.
Garrett needed to do that, too. He’d spent the better part of three days in the saddle, but he had to see Julia.
He heard a door open and shut. His gaze zeroed in on the doorway to the drawing room as he heard light footsteps hurrying down the corridor. When she entered, Garrett took a step forward, but then stopped. She was flushed and out of breath. Her long-sleeved, cheerless widow’s garb was gone. She wore a dress of crisp, light blue muslin embellished with narrow bands of white satin ribbon at the waistline and hem. The low, rounded neckline showed the pillow-soft rise of her breasts. Capped sleeves showed her beautifully trim arms. Her shiny chestnut-colored hair was pulled up at the sides and hung down the back of her shoulders.
She’d never looked more beautiful. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her for as long as he wanted. If she’d been any other widow he could have. Just his being there for the second time could put her at risk—would put her at risk. That’s why Urswick had to find a way to make sense of the ledger.
“Lady Kitson,” he said with a nod of his head.
“Mr. Stockton.” She walked farther into the room and stopped on the far side of the fireplace. “I was outside with Chatwyn. I take it you received my note.”
Garrett grimaced. “Yes. I came straight here from my office.” He walked over to stand closer to her. “Did you have information for me?”
She glanced at the doorway and then returned softly, “Yes. The duke is better. I fear he’ll be up to traveling by the end of the week.”
“Time is short.”
“Yes.”
Garrett sensed movement in the corridor and it wasn’t York. It had to be the housekeeper. “I’m sorry to report that your butterfly net hasn’t been repaired yet. The man I left it with didn’t realize it was the duke’s, and he hasn’t put any time into it.”
He motioned toward the doorway with his head. Julia acknowledged him with a deep breath.
“It’s kind of you to stop by and let me know about it. Just today I heard the duke should be traveling to London soon.” She spoke calmly and moved away from him and more toward the farthest side of the room. “I’m sorry to hear it’s not ready. However, there’s another reason I’m glad you stopped by.”
He followed her, but didn’t take his eyes off the doorway. “What’s that?”
“Someone made a gift of fabrics and sewing supplies to the girls’ school. I was wondering if that might have been you?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I hope it was all right.”
“It was an enormously extravagant donation for the school, Mr. Stockton.”
“You have a sewing school. It was cloth and thread. How can that be extravagant?”
“It was more than that, really,” she said, a little tersely. “I can’t imagine what you were thinking.”
He lowered his gaze to her lips and thought how much he wanted to kiss them. It didn’t bother him at all that she was a little miffed at him for his gift. It made her all the more delightful. “My pardon for doing something charitable for a charitable school.”
She stared at him sternly, and whispered, “It’s not the gift, but did you pay for it or did you find it adrift at sea?”
Garrett had to admit that the question surprised him. “You think I stole the things I gave to the girls?”
“I don’t know,” she stated, clearly unsure of her condemning question. “However, I must admit it crossed my mind that you might have. You can’t make the school a party to your ill-gotten gains.”
Garrett and his men had risked their lives to take the grain off a foundering ship. They could have gone to the bottom of the ocean with it or caught the fever that had killed all who were onboard. And they didn’t take a penny for their efforts but gave it all away.
“The answer is no.” Garrett slowly scoffed out a laugh as he looked around the room, finding it hard to believe the woman he desired like no other thought he was a real pirate. Taking from the wealthy to give to the unfortunate. York woofed and Garrett looked back to the doorway. He sensed that whoever was there had walked away.