The Wicked Beginning by Lauren Smith

Author:Lauren Smith [Smith, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-952063-37-4
Publisher: Lauren Smith

3

London- September 1820

Godric stared in numb disbelief at his bank records, then at the reports he’d just received from his hired man in Cornwall. His man had told him about all of the problems with the mine Parr supposedly had helped him to invest in and how Parr had never even sent a crew there to start mining. He also disclosed that it seemed as though the vein of silver had been dry a long time. The man had cautioned Godric to be wary of potential embezzlement by Parr, and his bank had just confirmed it. Parr had used the funds he’d been given to pay off other debts to other men, and none had gone toward the mining project. Parr had known all along that the mine was dry.

“You look unusually murderous. Something wrong?” Ashton Lennox asked.

Godric glanced up from the untidy stack of papers strewn across his desk in his office and glared at the blond-haired baron who lounged in the seat across from him. Ashton had the Morning Post open and was perusing the business section.

Godric grimaced. “I’d rather not tell you.” Ashton would be kind and try to withhold judgment about his foolishness, but Godric would still see the disappointment in his eyes for not having gone to him first.

Ashton lowered his paper and raised a brow at him.

“Oh, bloody hell, Ash. I made a bad investment, all right?”

His friend folded his paper and set it aside. “You have my attention.”

Ash was only older than him by a year, yet sometimes he felt like a schoolboy in his presence.

“I heard about a man named Parr, and I thought I would try my hand at investing.” He raised a hand to silence Ashton. “And no, I didn’t come to you, and yes, clearly that was a mistake.” Despite his embarrassment, it was easy to speak to Ashton—and the rest of the League. They were bound like brothers, bound by death, by blood, by life. A bond that went deeper than any might imagine.

“What did you invest in?” Ashton inquired.

“A silver mine.”

Ashton ran his fingers over his lips, his gaze distant. “Ah. Yes, silver mines can be a tricky business. High returns if successful, but impossible to know how large a deposit might be. You never truly know what will happen. It’s much safer to invest in the consols. . . unless you wanted to take a risk?”

“Not at ten thousand pounds I didn’t,” Godric muttered. He’d considered the consols briefly, but they were government backed consolidated annuities that were difficult to cash in. Reliable for investment, but with very little fiscal rewards.

“Right, well, what are you planning to do about it?”

“I’m not sure,” Godric said. “Could you lend me a few of your clever spies?” Godric was only half teasing. Ashton’s network of informants weren’t actually spies, but the distinction was at times a fine one. Ashton used them to stay abreast of things in London, and through them he maintained an edge in business that few could rival.

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