Page 55 of Romancing the Heiress
Leah opened the door and stepped into the sitting room. Mrs. Selkirk was there, seated in one of the chairs, but Genevieve and Mrs. Dunhill were not present.
“There you are at last,” Mrs. Selkirk said. “I’ve decided you will not be gallivanting about on your own anymore. Genevieve was in need of you—” Her mouth snapped shut as Phin entered behind Leah, followed by Sadie and Law.
Mrs. Selkirk stood and curtseyed. “Your Graces.”
“We are not here to pay a social call, Mrs. Selkirk,” Law said, his deep voice sounding intimidating, or at least Leah thought it might. He didn’t intimidate her in the slightest.
“Then why have you all come?” Mrs. Selkirk asked, seeming bemused.
Clasping her hands together, Leah summoned every bit of courage she possessed. “I’ve come to ask you about a letter I received today from a Mr. Knott. He’s a solicitor in London.” At the mention of the man’s name, Mrs. Selkirk’s face lost nearly all its color. “I see he is familiar to you.”
“Yes.” Mrs. Selkirk sounded uncertain.
Leah had rehearsed what to say in her mind on the drive from Fieldstone. Even so, she shook with both emotion and anxiety. “In this letter, he says I am the beneficiary of a great deal of property from Lady Norcott, as well as the sum of five thousand pounds. This can’t be a surprise to you. Why was I not made aware of this?”
“Five thousand pounds?” Genevieve walked into the sitting room from her bedchamber, her face splotchy as if she’d been crying, a handkerchief in her grip. “That’s more than my dowry. How could Great-Aunt Marianne give her more than she gave me?”
“I’ve no idea,” Mrs. Selkirk said.
Leah wasn’t certain whose question the woman was answering. “Is that in response to me? You don’t know why I was not made aware of my inheritance despite a solicitor sending a letter to where I lived seven years ago instead of where I am currently residing?”
A faint sheen of moisture dappled the woman’s forehead. “That’s correct.”
“And here I thought you’d perhaps withheld the communication from me, just as you didn’t give me my father’s letters. I’ll assume you hid those too, just in case he mentioned something about hearing of an inheritance.” When Phin had said diabolical, he’d been right.
Now, Mrs. Selkirk looked decidedly uncomfortable.
“I think Mrs. Selkirk is aware of all the letters you should have received and that she’s purposely kept them from you,” Law said. He turned his focus to Mrs. Selkirk, increasing her distress, if the further reddening of her face was any indication. “Why have you only mentioned Miss Selkirk’s dowry since arriving in Marrywell?” He was repeating what Leah had shared with them—she’d told them everything she knew and suspected. “Could it be that you weren’t able to mention it in London for fear it might get back to Mr. Knott? Then he might wonder where Miss Selkirk’s sudden dowry had come from, particularly when he was unable to find the beneficiary of the bulk of Lady Norcott’s property, and, in her absence, you would be the one to receive it instead? Why else would you leave your daughter’s companion at home so often and limit her excursions if not to keep her hidden as much as possible? What I can’t understand is why you bothered to keep Miss Webster in your employ.”
“To ensure she was close and unaware of her inheritance,” Phin said. “That’s the only thing that makes any sense. As soon as the year was up, I feel confident Leah’s employment would have been terminated, whether Miss Selkirk was wed or not.”
Genevieve came farther into the sitting room, frowning. “In fact, just this morning, Mama said that she was unhappy with Leah’s performance and was eager for me to be wed. But then only one of the gentlemen called on me this morning, and it was the hideously old Mr. Fearnehough.” Her lip quivered, and now Leah knew why she’d been crying. “Mama said that even if I didn’t wed, she would dismiss Leah.”
“Only because she’s useless,” Mrs. Selkirk said defiantly. “She’s always disappearing. Last night, she was gone forquitesome time.”
“Yes, well, she was with me,” Phin said with an uncontainable grin. “I was proposing marriage to her. Happily, she said yes.”
Genevieve’s jaw dropped as her gaze locked on both of them. “You’regetting married?”
“We are,” Leah said softly as Phin took her hand.
“This is…surprising.” Genevieve blew out a breath. “I must congratulate you both, it seems. At least someone is marrying whom they want.” She sent a mutinous glare toward her mother.
Leah was sorry for Genevieve’s lot—sorrier than ever given what she suspected about Mrs. Selkirk. “Were you not aware that your mother was trying to keep me from claiming my true inheritance from Lady Norcott?”
“I thought you already got it.” Genevieve wrung the handkerchief in her hands. “You were just reading one of the books she gave you.”
“I have a letter from a solicitor saying it was much more, and if I don’t claim it before the first anniversary of Lady Norcott’s death, your mother will get it.”
Genevieve’s eyes rounded, and she stared at her mother. “Is this true?”
Phin answered, “I heard what Mrs. Selkirk said to Mrs. Dunhill the other night about being close to receiving money. It’s absolutely true.”
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Mrs. Selkirk. She clenched her jaw and stiffened her spine.
Law stepped forward. “Mrs. Selkirk, would you care to confess your involvement, or will we need to speak with Mr. Knott?”
Mrs. Selkirk gasped. “If she’s an heiress as you say, she should just take the money and go.”
