“Tell her, I say. I am finished with this affair.”
Jane’s intense stare shifted rapidly between the two men before settling on Mr. Barlow. “What news? What has happened?”
“Yes, Simon,” said Aunt Hester, “Tell us, if you please.”
He folded his arms and leaned against the wall with an uncharacteristically lazy grin. “It seems, Miss Hancock, that Mr. Ashford arrived earlier this morning and promptly breached the contract, rendering it null and void.”
She frowned deeply as her brow knotted. “Breached the contract? How?”
“It seems that Mr. Ashford brought most of the gold, but not the contracted amount.”
Her confusion deepened. What had he done? “But you were there with us at Coniston, sir. The box contained the fully contracted amount. For him to have lost or taken any would place him in great legal peril.”
“He neither lost nor took any of it.”
Jane released Aunt Hester’s arm and moved to stand a mere step from the solicitor. “Please, Mr. Barlow. I fail to understand. We signed a contract.”
He glanced at Rutley and chuckled. “Yes, you did sign a contract. However, there is one legal device that supersedes a contract.”
“What is that?” She held her breath as tendrils of hope seeped into her soul.
“A prior contract. When Mr. Ashford arrived in London, he moved to settle the contract between his great-grandfather and Mr. Chance’s father. As it turns out, the matter featured an astonishing oversight.”
“An oversight?”
“Yes, indeed. It seems that Mr. Chance’s father had never been discharged from service to the Ashford-Hancock partnership. Furthermore, he had passed that obligation to his son, Thomas. As such, Mr. Ashford realized that he owed Mr. Chance seventy years of backpay for faithfully executing his contracted obligation of protecting the gold. Therefore, at Adam’s vehement insistence, I filed a lawsuit one week ago against the Ashford family on behalf of Thomas Chance.”
Jane’s eyes grew wide. “You filed suit against Adam? At Adam’s urging?”
“Yes.” Barlow laughed. “The thought of it amuses me still. Never have I heard of a man begging to be sued. Anyway, by calling in favors from various members of the judicial establishment, I was able to move the case before the court at Old Bailey’s just yesterday.”
If such was possible, her eyes widened further. “You took Adam to court yesterday? On Thomas’s behalf?”
“I did indeed. Thanks to my highly effective oration and Mr. Ashford’s abject refusal to mount a defense, the judge found Adam in breach of the original contract and ordered him to repay Mr. Chance immediately. Furthermore, at my strenuous suggestion, the judge ordered that as appropriate punishment, the sum must be repaid from the very gold Mr. Chance had protected all those years. Adam agreed immediately, of course, effusively thankful for the judge’s wisdom and mercy. With Mr. Chance’s magnanimous consent, we settled on a sum consisting of one-quarter of the gold as repayment. Nearly seventeen-hundred pounds. As the remaining sum was not the contracted amount, you and Adam fell immediately into breach of contract with Mr. Rutley.”
Jane’s head spun chaotically. The contract was void? Adam was free of his commitment to Miss Rutley? She impulsively grasped Barlow’s hand.
“Why, sir? Why did Adam forfeit his land after winning the gold?”
His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Because, Miss Hancock, he apparently found something worth far more than land or gold.”
Heat climbed her neck. For her? He had surrendered all for her? Without anything reasonable to say in response, she voiced the first meaningless question that popped into her head.
“How did you two manage to navigate the labyrinth of British justice in less than a week?”
Barlow withdrew his hand from hers and straightened his cravat. “Did I not explain during our first meeting that I am the most effective solicitor in all of London?”
“You did, sir. That, you did.” Her growing smile faded, though, as further realization dawned. The contract was void, to be certain. However, Adam was without his land and income, and possessed no more than a few pounds to carry him forward. And she was still bound for debtor’s prison.
“Tell her the rest,” groused Rutley. “Tell her and be done with this.”
Barlow glared icily at Rutley until the man looked away. Then he smiled at Jane. “As the contract is void, Miss Hancock, the original conditions go into effect. Adam loses his land. You go to debtor’s prison. However, the remaining gold belongs to you and Adam to share. Five-thousand and forty pounds, to be precise.”
Her heart leaped. Five-thousand pounds! Adam’s half might provide him with a fresh start. Her half was not nearly enough to discharge her debt, but delivered a fighting chance. She would not starve after all. With prudent investment, perhaps she might gain her freedom within a decade or so. Might the mill be the vehicle of that investment? Perhaps. She peered at the solicitor.
“In your opinion, Mr. Barlow, is my half of the remaining gold sufficient to support me in debtor’s prison while also preserving the operation of my mill?”
“I’m afraid not. You’ve nothing left to invest.”
