When the door shut behind them, Violet snatched the paper out of her hand. “Goldsmiths? You want to buy some jewelry?”
“No. Mr. Abrahamson has my money.”
“I knew that name was familiar.” Lily stroked her cat. “He’s the man Father sent a letter to when I needed my inheritance.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Violet focused on Rose. “Why do you want money?”
“It’s my money. Does it matter?”
Violet and Lily shared a look but dropped the subject until a while later, when Rose came out of the goldsmith’s shop with a bag so heavy she could barely support its weight. She climbed back into the carriage and dropped it to the floorboards with a thud, dropping herself onto the bench seat with a “Whew.”
“How much money is that?” Lily asked.
Rose ignored the question, instead looking to the footman. “Windsor,” she ordered.
“Windsor?” Violet’s jaw dropped open. “You told Mum we would stay at the town house tonight. I heard you with my own ears.”
“Well, I wasn’t about to tell her we’re spending the night at Kit’s house.” She hadn’t planned to from the outset, but when the combination of Rowan’s deception and collecting her sisters resulted in a late start that would make an overnight stay necessary, it had occurred to her that she could spend another night at Kit’s house and enjoy more of his kisses.
An unexpected bonus, and one to which she was very much looking forward.
“Windsor,” she repeated, settling back as the footman closed the door. It would be a lengthy ride, but toward Trentingham, after all, so her sisters had no real reason to protest. They’d arrive at their respective homes earlier tomorrow than if they’d stayed the night in London.
Lily toed the heavy bag with one red-heeled shoe. “How much money?”
There was no point in lying. “A thousand pounds. Do you know, I had no idea how heavy—”
“A thousand pounds?” Violet’s eyes widened behind her spectacles. “Faith. Whatever will you do with all that money?”
“I’m giving it to Ellen. Kit’s sister.”
“What?” both her sisters burst out. The cat jumped from Lily’s lap and cowered under a bench seat.
“I’d planned to give Ellen all ten thousand, but the goldsmith convinced me it would be too much to carry.” Rose rolled her shoulders, still feeling the strain. “So I’m giving her just the thousand with a note from Mr. Abrahamson promising the rest is forthcoming.”
Violet slumped against the coach wall. “You’re giving Ellen Martyn ten thousand pounds.”
“Ellen Whittingham. And I’m telling her it’s from Kit. At least I hope she’ll believe it’s from Kit. He had promised her eleven—”
“Are you out of your mind?” Lily interrupted.
“Yes,” Violet snapped at the same time Rose said, “No.”
“It’s Kit and Ellen who’ve lost their minds,” she continued and proceeded to tell her sisters the long, sad story. “She didn’t even want Kit to know about the babe,” she concluded. “I told Kit her pregnancy may be affecting her brain, but—”
Violet shook her head. “I never felt better than when I was carrying my children.”
“Not everyone is so lucky,” Lily put in. “Rand’s foster sister Margery is with child, and lately she’s been at sixes and sevens. Practically forgets her own name, the poor thing.”
“Have you considered,” Violet said to Rose, “that Ellen might simply be a spoiled brat?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. But she has her reasons for feeling the way she does. Reasons I sympathize with.”
Violet took off her spectacles and polished them on her skirts. “And you believe Kit is totally blameless in this?”
“Of course he isn’t. In his own way he’s as stubborn as his sister. But I cannot blame him for the way he feels, either. Nor can I stand to see him so unhappy. It’s like a dark cloud hanging over my wedding. The only way to solve this is to give Ellen my inheritance and make her think the money came from Kit. Then she’ll talk to him and everyone will be happy.”
Lily scooped up the cat again. “But you’ll have given up your inheritance!”
“Don’t be a goose. Kit will replace it. If Ellen would only speak to him again, he’d be happy enough to hand over her dowry.”
“Has he said so?”
“Not in so many words. But I know him,” she added, lifting her chin.
“You’re certain you know him?” The cat let out a pathetic meow as Lily clutched it tighter. “You haven’t lived with him for even a single day. Goodness, I’ve been married to Rand for nearly two months now, and he surprises me all the time.”
Violet slid her spectacles back on. “I’ve been living with Ford for four years, and sometimes I still wonder—”
“I know Kit,” Rose repeated, “and there’s no chance he meant to keep that money from his sister forever. It doesn’t signify whether the ten thousand pounds was mine or his to begin with. It will be ours soon enough either way.”
“It signifies,” Lily argued. “Unlike a dowry that becomes your husband’s upon marriage, according to Grandpapa’s will that money is yours to control. Not many women have the advantage of their own funds. By handing it over to Ellen, you’re giving that up. You and Kit may have the same amount of money combined, but none of it will be under your control.”
“I don’t care. This is more important to me.” Rose forced herself to calm. Her sisters were only trying to help, no matter that they were wrong this time. “Kit and Ellen aren’t speaking, and both of them are miserable. And they’re the only family either of them has…can you imagine one of us missing the other’s wedding?”
Her sisters seemed to consider that a moment, then Violet tried another tack. “Have you told Mum and Father what you’re doing?”
Rose remained quiet.
“Of course she hasn’t,” Lily said. “They would never in a million years agree.”
“I’ve no need of their permission. I’m nineteen. The money is legally mine.”
“But you knew you would have had an argument, didn’t you?”
