“Six thousand pounds.”
Bella’s eyes widened. “That would certainly make a difference.”
“Per annum,” Richard Hargate added.
Bella and Gwinnie stared up at him. “Per annum?” Bella repeated, shocked.
“Yes, Lady Blessingame. Per annum.”
“How?” Bella asked, looking between father and son.
“He developed the habit of saving and investing at a young age. He once told me one did not need to spend one hundred pounds to look as if one has spent that much. Then, during the Peninsular War, he not only gained his knighthood for his work, but was the recipient of prize money on numerous occasions. This was also invested.”
“He had a sense of money. When I teased him about it once, he dramatically said:I smell it.And of course, we both laughed, but if what you say is true, he may have actually smelled money!” Bella said. Then she laughed.
The others looked at her.
“Harry always told Lord Candelstone he did not come from money, so if he wanted us to move in the social circles he desired us to move in, he had to pay for the appearances. And he did! We never paid for the fancy houses, the servants, the clothes we wore, none of it.”
Richard Hargate nodded. “Our Harry lied. He came from money; however, he claimed none of it. He did gain money. Clever man.”
“But I don’t see how Uncle Candelstone did not know this,” Gwinnie said. “Especially with the prize money.”
“He probably just said he sent the money home without clarifying what ‘home’ meant.”
“That is precisely what he did, Lady Blessingame, and if someone came around and questioned us, that was to be our answer as well. Home for Sir Harry meant his accounts here in England. No one asked the right questions.”
“That is Harry,” Bella said. She sat straighter in her chair and looked at Mr. Hargate senior. “So, I have a house that needs painting and furnishing, and I have funds. Where do we go from here?”
“We hired Jasper Gladely to see to the renovations,” Mr. Hargate, the younger, said. “I would suggest you continue to work with him to complete your project. I have found him to be honest to a fault and talented with regards to homes. If you give me a day, I can arrange a meeting with him at the house in Richmond.”
“That’s the day of the ball,” observed Gwinnie.
“Yes, that won’t work,” Bella agreed. “Can you try for three days hence?”
“I will certainly ask him and I’m sure he will be amenable.”
“And how do I access my funds?”
“We have a letter for you to take to the bank. They will set you up appropriately,” said Mr. Hargate, Senior.
“Perfect,” she said, taking it from Mr. Hargate. “I thank you for your time.”
“There is one more thing,” the elder Hargate said. He got up and turned back to his lawyer hutch, and from the same cubbyhole he’d pulled out the will information, he pulled out another stack of papers tied in string. These he did not untie, but handed them to Bella across the desk.
“Sir Harry wanted you to have this correspondence. He told me it is what is in these letters that dictates the two-year waiting period before you receive all you deserve. He said they will anger and sadden you. And he hoped you could come to forgive him. He said,I have always had the best of intentions for Isabella and my family. It just won't look that way, after my death.Then he laughed, rather wryly, I thought.”
Bella studied the packet of letters she held in her hand. It looked like five or six in total. She started to pull the string binding them.
Richard Hargate stayed her hand. “I would recommend you wait to look at those until you are in a place of peace and calm, and alone. Harry had been in a strange humor when he passed those over. He said to me before he left,She will hate me,and there was a slight sheen in his eyes. Then the corner of his mouth kicked up in that way of his, and the moment of honesty was gone. Based on that brief moment, I make my recommendation.”
Bella looked down at the bundle she held, then nodded. “If these letters are as volatile as you fear, I should indeed need my space. Thank you. Gwinnie, shall we rescue your father’s coachman from boredom?”
Gwinnie laughed, “Watts won’t be bored. He makes friends wherever he goes. But we should be returning before Grandmother sets her favorite Bow Street Runner out to find us.”
Bella thanked the gentlemen again, then descended the stairs to fetch Rose from her knitting and send a clerk for their carriage.
* * *
