His Wife, The Spy: Regency Historical Romance (Enterprising Women Book 4) by Peri Maxwell
Author:Peri Maxwell [Maxwell, Peri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2024-07-19T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Thirteen
His wife was at his desk reading his ledgers while his butler looked over her shoulder. The chair loomed behind her like a throne, and she had an ink smudge across the bridge of her nose.
Her day dress was stitched with daisies, and the green ribbon beneath her breasts matched the flowersâ stems. It was a lovely distraction from the task at hand.
âYou need a new man of business.â
Of all the things she could have said, he hadnât expected that. âWhat?â
âYour man of business is skimming from the budget before he delivers the funds to your staff.â
Jasper strode behind the desk to stand over her shoulder, opposite Stapleton. This couldnât be possible. Gerald Jones had been the familyâs man of business for years. He was older than King Arthur. âShow me.â
As Annabel and Stapleton laid out their discoveries, Jasper drew up a chair and pushed his hand through his hair. âHow long?â
âIâve only reached the point when you inherited,â Annabel said.
Manners dictated that Jasper tell her about the ink on her nose, but he liked it there. Just as he liked imagining the scent of her perfume soaking into the fabric of his chair. âDid you find anything else?â
Kit would have his head if he didnât ask that question. Though he wasnât certain why Kit thought heâd be daft enough to keep a running tally of the money theyâd spent in Cardiff mixed in with the household accounts.
Annabel smiled up at the butler. âThank you, Stapleton. His lordship will let you know how to move forward.â
Once they were alone, she faced Jasper, elbows on the chair and fingers steepled in front of her. âI havenât noticed anything here, butâ¦â Her cheeks colored as she chewed on her bottom lip. âWhile we were in Ramsbury, I accidentally saw one of your grandfatherâs old ledgers.â
After scaling twice his height to haul it from the topmost shelf.
The color in her cheeks deepened. âForgive me, Jasper, but your grandfather didnât invest a great deal in the tenantsâ holdings or in improvements.â
Irritation burbled under his skin. He hadnât always agreed with his grandfather, but the old man had managed his estates well. âHe believed tenants took more pride in their homes if they worked for things rather than being given them.â
âThat works well for children, but your tenants arenât children. They are trying to manage their farms and raise their families. If Mr. Jones was skimming from your grandfather, they were doing it on a pittance while still trying to pay rent.â
âWe should audit those accounts as well.â Jasper raked his hand back through his hair and winced at the bruises he had anticipated. âAnd Iâll terminate Jonesâs firm right away.â
If Jones couldnât be trusted, and Kit wasnât here, there were damned few choices for a replacement. Parliament, Society, and spying left him precious little time to find one, and next to no time to do it himself.
He stared at his wife. Ink on her nose, practically buried in bookkeeping and figures, sheâd never looked more at home.
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