Debutante with a Dangerous Past by Samantha Hastings

Author:Samantha Hastings
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-05-25T13:14:13+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

A servant told Nancy that her grandfather wished to speak to her in the library. She went there immediately. She had not seen her grandfather during the day since Aunt Marianne had come to live with them. Her aunt told her that he spent most of his days at Horse Guards or Parliament, and his nights at his gentlemen’s clubs. And she had not been invited into his presence since the day he introduced her to Aunt Marianne a month ago.

Why did he wish to see her now?

Goose bumps formed on her arms as she opened the door. Her grandfather sat behind his desk reading some papers. He looked older and more tired than he had when he’d introduced her to Aunt Marianne.

‘Hello, Grandfather.’

He glanced up at her, then back down to the paper in front of him. ‘Please sit down, Nancy.’

She gave him a forced smile and took her seat. For her to marry a gentleman, society had to believe that they were reconciled.

‘I have just endured a conversation with your aunt,’ he said heavily. ‘I am still recovering from the unpleasantness.’

‘May I ask what it was about?’

‘You,’ her grandfather admitted. ‘She wanted to know what your dowry will be, to enable her to present your prospects properly. It appears that an eligible young man has already taken an interest in you.’

Nancy was less interested in the suitor and more in the money. This could mean her financial freedom. ‘The agreement between us was for twenty thousand pounds.’

He held up the paper he’d been reading. ‘Your aunt wanted twice as much as that. She gave me the government documents you had in your possession. I shall see that they are returned discreetly. We have yet to discover who in the department leaked the information. Also, I have agreed to speak to my lawyers. Your portion upon marriage or your twenty-fifth birthday, will be forty thousand pounds. Your mother’s dowry.’

Nancy gasped. In two years, she would be a wealthy and independent woman. Something that she’d never dreamed possible before. Even if she didn’t marry, she would be safe. She would never know hunger or homelessness again. Never be forced with the choice of selling her body for sustenance. Nor dependent on such a fickle thing as love or her feelings for Matthew.

Her aunt had done this for her. No doubt that money would have gone to Aunt Marianne’s own sons. Twenty thousand pounds was not an amount to sneeze at. If she ever doubted that her aunt cared for her before, she knew now that she did. Matthew had been right. Aunt Marianne was worthy of her trust and her confidences. She had helped clear up things with Alastair and ensured Nancy’s future no matter what the outcome of her ton season.

Her grandfather stood and pulled out a stack of books on the shelf behind him revealing a safe. He opened it with a key from his desk—very easy for her to obtain—and brought out a jewellery box. Lifting the lid of the box, he handed Nancy a multistrand string of pearls.

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