An Earl of her Own (Saints and Sinners 3)

She smiled in relief. “A letter of mine?”

He lifted his hand. “In any other circumstance, I would apologize for my mistake of opening a letter addressed to you, but I cannot today. Why didn’t you come to me?”

“About what?”

Father handed her the letter. “The letter is from your solicitor. How long has this been going on?”

Rebecca scanned the letter quickly. It was her expected quarterly statement. An accounting of available funds from her jointure and also of investment income received too. But there was a note mentioning an expense she’d questioned last quarter, which is what concerned her father. Mr. Barclay reported the problem solved. “There is nothing going on.”

“The people who manage your money should not make any mistakes.”

Rebecca folded the letter, noting the paper carried the scent of Barclay’s horrid snuff. Father was wealthy enough to hire a dozen men to keep accurate records. Rebecca’s funds did not stretch that far. “It was just a simple mistake. I wrote to him immediately and as you just read, he has made the correction.”

“Damn sloppy,” Father complained and then his eyes narrowed on her. “What else haven’t you told me?”

Rebecca sighed. There were many reasons she hadn’t confided in her parent—his unexpected marriage, her sister’s first season, the distance that had always existed between them. She lifted her chin. “Nothing, I swear.”

“I’ll write to my secretary in London and have him locate you a competent employee to keep your accounts in order.”

“I prefer to deal with my solicitor myself.”

“Damn it, girl, you could be facing financial ruin if this continues.”

Rebecca looked Father in the eye. He was behaving exactly the way he always did. Exaggerating a problem to disaster proportions when it was anything but. “It is an uncomfortable situation when a mistake is made, but I have no fear for my funds.”

Arguing with Father rarely solved anything to Rebecca’s satisfaction. Perhaps she should return to London briefly soon and consult with Barclay before Father took it upon himself to interfere in her life.

Father had folded his arms across his chest. Not a good sign. “Since you are so concerned, I will return to London after Jessica’s wedding and arrange a meeting with Mr. Barclay.”

Father held out a silencing hand. “I’ll come with you.”

Rebecca shook her head firmly. “You are needed here. For your wife’s sake, I will not accept your company. You shouldn’t leave the woman you claim to love when she is carrying your child. You cannot abandon Gillian.”

Her father frowned then, and she saw she had at last found a logical way to curb his meddling. He claimed to love the duchess and hesitation proved it was true. She waited for his reluctant nod and hid her smile when he gave it.

“That is settled then,” she said briskly, intending to withdraw.

“If only Warner were alive, he would handle this matter for you,” Father called out. “You were much too young to be widowed.”

Young perhaps, but she was no longer mourning. She could not mourn someone who had never really loved her. She turned back. “If Warner was still alive…” she mused, and then shook her head. “He would have assumed the debt was mine and that I was lying about it.”

Father appeared shocked by that. “Surely not if he had the facts.”

Rebecca shook her head. “My marriage wasn’t that way. I always had to account for every penny spent and bargain for everything I needed.”

Father took a step forward. “You never said you were unhappy.”

“I wasn’t. Not in the early days of the marriage. But Warner betrayed me, and then he was gone. I am independent for the first time in my life, but it has taken a long time for me to feel comfortable again. Even now, spending money is hard for me. Because of him, I’ve kept every bill, recorded the location of every purchase I’ve ever made since becoming a widow.”

Father drew close. “You should have told me.”

She smiled for his sake. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Child, I have worried about you since the day you were born,” he promised, unexpectedly drawing her into his arms and embracing her. “It is foolish of you to think I could stop now.”

Rebecca hugged him back and her eyes filled with tears as he kissed the top of her head. Father was not as affectionate with her as he was with her s

isters, but she always believed she had his love. When released, Rebecca stepped away from him quickly. “I can take care of myself now.”