He stared for a long time. Then he reached for his coat, and went out.
CHAPTER 28
“These are the revised account structures,” William said the next day, setting the pages in front of Mr. Aldiss, his solicitor, who had arrived at eight that morning. “The third clause is to be rewritten. The discretionary language needs to go. Every disbursement requires documented authorization, every authorization requires a corresponding receipt, and every receipt is to be filed with the quarterly accounts in this office as well as the household records.”
Aldiss looked at the page, peering over his glasses. “That is a significant departure from the existing structure.”
“The existing structure was built to be convenient for the person administering it.” William moved to the next page. “I am not interested in convenience anymore. The orphanage fund becomes a formal charitable trust, independent of the estate accounts, with three trustees—myself, the Duchess of Wrexford, and Mrs. Peel as the institution’s representative. Nothing moves without all three signatures.”
Aldiss looked at the pages. “That is also a significant structural change.”
“It is the correct structure. It should have existed from the beginning. The tenant accounts are to be audited back three years, minimum. Every entry I signed without reading is to be verified against the original contracts and receipted invoices. Whatever discrepancies are found are to be documented and brought to me directly.” William looked at him. “Not summarized, butdirectly.”
“That will take some time.”
“Then it will take some time.” William leaned forward. “My sisters’ dowry accounts are to be legally secured and ring-fenced separately from the estate operations, administered by the trust rather than my steward. I want that done before the end of the month.”
Aldiss made a note. “And the full accounting on Harwood?”
“The full accounting goes to you. Everything documented in the original pages.” He did not sayCecily’s pages.He did not say her name. “Everything I found in the subsequent audit. Pursue it through every available channel.” He looked at Aldiss. “He used money meant for children with nothing. I want that understood in whatever proceedings follow.”
Aldiss nodded. He looked at the pages, then at William, “I would say, Your Grace, that you have been very thoroughly deceived.”
“I was careless,” William corrected. “There is a difference. Deception requires a deceiver, but carelessness is mine.” He looked at the desk. “I signed what was placed in front of me because I trusted the system and did not look at it. That is not something I’m going to attribute to anybody. I will not make that mistake again.”
“That seems–”
“Final,” William said. “Yes.”
* * *
The week moved with purposeful energy.
William had decided that forward motion was the only available remedy for the thing he was not allowing himself to think about.
He was at his desk by seven each morning. He read everything. He signed nothing he had not understood line by line. He sent for new account books, established new filing systems, wrote personally to each of the three largest tenant farmers to schedule reviews of their improvement contracts, letters he drafted himself, not dictated to Prentiss, because dictating felt too much like the old way of doing things, and he was done with the old way of doing things.
He did not think about the kiss he shared with Cecily.
He did not think about it at breakfast, where the table had resumed its previous silence.
He did not think about it in the evenings, when the study was his alone, the fire burned low, and the house settled into its nighttime quiet.
He did not think about it when he walked past the library, the door was open, and the chair by the window was empty. Or when he would wake up from a dream of her.
On Tuesday, Isadora appeared in the study doorway at half past ten.
“You’ve reorganized the correspondence files in the library,” she noted.
“Yes.”
“They’re in date order now rather than subject order.”
“It was more logical.”
She came in and sat in the chair across from the desk—the chair Cecily would often sit in while she waited for him to finish writing.
“Mrs. Peel came this morning.” She smoothed her skirt. “She wanted to thank you for the trust arrangements. She said–” Apause. “She said she had submitted twelve requests in the last three years that were never addressed. She said she had stopped expecting them to be.”
