Page 81 of Suddenly a (The St. Clairs 5)

“Look around,” Morrison said, anger edging his voice. “I should have inherited more than a measly title. Instead, I got a ramshackle house that needs repairs too numerous to count and no tenants to generate any kind of income.”

“And no money to be had,” the viscountess added. “What I had before our marriage has been drained.” She glared at Mia as if Morrison’s gambling debts were her fault. “We cannot complete the work here. We cannot pay our servants.Youare going to get us out of this mess.”

“How?” Mia asked.

“By selling your bloody devices!” her cousin shouted.

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. It can take years to perfect one. Even then, it must be something viable that someone wants and is willing to pay for it. I’ve been working for years and have only had limited success.”

“What about your steam engine?” Morrison demanded.

“What about it? The St. Clair family purchased it. It is now being produced in their factory. It could be a long time before I ever create something as useful.”

His eyes narrowed. “St. Clair said you were brilliant. That your machines would make you wealthy in your own right.”

Fear gnawed at her belly.

“Do you have money of your own, Mia?” he asked. “Money that St. Clair let you have?”

She gambled and said, “I don’t really know about that. I’ve never had a head for business. Doesn’t the law say what I bring into the marriage belongs to my husband?”

He and his wife exchanged a glance.

“Did you sign any papers?” Lady Morrison prompted.

“I did. I’m not sure what they were,” she fudged. “My husband just told me they were necessary for the marriage. I did as I was told.”

“We need to see a copy of those papers,” hissed the viscountess. “He might have been a fool and made allowances for her to keep what she earned from this steam engine.”

“Is that the case, Mia?” her cousin prodded.

“I don’t know,” she protested, hoping to buy some time. “I didn’t bother to read anything. I trusted Hudson when he said to sign them.”

“She’s just like her father,” Morrison scoffed. “Full of book smarts but little common sense.”

“We need to see these papers,” his wife insisted. “She could be sitting on a fortune. It could be ours.” She looked to Mia. “We don’t have time for you to invent something and sell it. We need help now.”

“Then you shouldn’t have wed a man addicted to the throw of the dice,” Mia said. “You had money before your marriage. You never should have taken him as a husband.”

Morrison struck her. Mia fell to the ground. He kicked her in the ribs and she yelped.

“We’ll need to take her back to London tomorrow,” the viscountess proclaimed. “She’ll have to show us these papers.” Then her voice trailed off. A brilliant smile crossed her face.

“You have an idea, my dear?”

Lady Morrison nodded. “St. Clair has no title. No children.” Her smile grew. “If he dies, everything would go to his widow. Why should we skulk about and look for papers, taking what the little bitch has now—when we can claim Hudson St. Clair’s entire fortune?”

He shouted for joy and flung his arms about his wife. “You are magnificent, Hortense. A mind as sharp as any man’s. Once St. Clair is done and gone, my dear cousin can have her own accident. As her nearest relative, it will all be legally mine.”

With the gun no longer aimed at her heart, Mia sprang to her feet and took off running.

A gunshot pierced the silence and she cringed, ducking, but it didn’t seem to have been fired in her direction. She continued racing through the house, her mind a blank as panic swallowed her. She ran the length of the house and out the kitchen door. The driver and footman emerged from the stables at that time.

Mia clutched her hiked skirts and raced across the yard, knowing she ran for her life. Another shot rang out and she winced but never broke stride. If she could reach the woods, she would be safe. She knew them better than anyone, having spent her entire childhood playing in them. Horatio never had gone outside on his rare visits. The other two men were unfamiliar with them, as well.

Being caught meant Hudson’s life was in danger. She had to escape and reach him. She had to warn him.

With a final burst of speed, urged on by the love she had for her husband, Mia reached the forest.

And disappeared from view.

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