That pending meeting with Stratton kept looming large in her mind and heart. As long as she was here . . . “I have another question. Are you familiar with the property that was contested for years by my family and that of the Duke of Stratton?”
“My goodness, yes. The case is somewhat infamous, even if it began well before my time. It is the sort of story older lawyers tell younger ones over port.”
“Can you learn the details of how it was finally disposed? The when and how of it, I mean. I ask because I was told that my father may have taken advantage of the situation, and I would like to have proof that he did not.”
“So you can present that proof to the person who disparaged him?”
“Possibly.”
He jotted on a paper. “There are records, of course. Nothing that happens legally in the courts is a secret. Finding such records can be difficult, but it is what lawyers do. I will look into this at once so you can put the gossip in her place. Although the most recent disposition is of course known to you.”
“Are you saying it was sold?”
Mr. Smithers looked over, confused. “Goodness no. Having gone to such lengths and waited so long to secure it, selling it would be most odd.”
“Extremely odd. Then what did you mean by its recent disposition?”
“I see you do not know. My apologies, but I thought you did.” He leaned toward her and offered a reassuring smile. “Not to worry. It remains securely in the family, Lady Clara. You own it now. It is the property left to you by your father.”
* * *
Exercise, fresh air, and friendship turned Adam’s mood around. He still faced a hard choice, but his head had cleared. He decided he would wait a few days, then make a decision about that letter ready to go to Paris.
Later that afternoon, he set the letter and other documents related to it aside on the desk in his study and busied himself with estate affairs. In particular he continued an ongoing communication with the house steward at Drewsbarrow about reviving the house’s appearance. All those timbers and gold really had to go. The steward’s last letter had implied it might be money ill spent, since no one much used the house. Adam penned a letter making clear that was going to change.
An hour of writing letters left him thinking that it might be past time to employ a secretary. He was debating how to proceed with that when a commotion began in the house and grew in intensity.
Suddenly the door to his study crashed open. Clara stood there. Behind her shoulder the butler made expressions and gestures of apologies.
A better day became a wonderful one when Adam saw her. She had indeed come to him, finally, a whole day before she had promised to.
Unfortunately her expression indicated her unexpected arrival might not be good news. Her blue eyes glared like jewels that could cut iron. Her posture remained rod straight. Her black ensemble encouraged the impression of a force of destruction. She was about as angry as he had ever seen her.
He thought she looked glorious.
He got up and walked toward her, gesturing for the butler to go away. “What a wonderful surprise, Clara.” He reached toward her.
She strode past him, into the study. “Do. Not. Touch. Me.” From her tone, she might as well have addedYou. Miserable. Scoundrel.
“I see you are in a fine humor today.”
“I was. Until an hour ago.” She turned on him. “You can wait until tomorrow to tell me the rest, but today I demand you tell me this. Did you know that I had inherited that contested land? You know which land I mean. The land that started the years of unpleasantness between our families.”
Damnation. He had spent days marshaling explanations and promises about their fathers, their families, his duties, his love for her. He had not expected this to come up, least of all now.
She peered at him. “Do not try to lie. I know you now very well. I will be able to tell if you dissemble in the least.”
Hell. “Yes, I did become aware of that.”
“When?”
“I am not sure just when. Sometime—”
“When?”
Shit. “I realized it after we spoke that first day. I rode back to Drewsbarrow much the way you rode over during our time together there.”Our glorious, passionate, loving time together there.“I recognized a few landmarks, like the town and the mill. And I realized why your father and grandmother wanted me to marry Emilia, not you.”
She strode back and forth, angry and, he knew, hurt. “So you decided you would show them, didn’t you? You would make sure that old argument ended in your family’s favor. Marry me and that land would become yours.”
