Page 20 of Fortune’s Final Folly

By the time Kate returned to his side, Joshua had decided on a course of action she’d be unable to refuse.

Chapter 7

Kate peered out the window of Joshua’s enclosed carriage at a building that made her Cheapside schoolroom appear barely inhabitable—and downright primitive. They’d journeyed from Cheapside to Bond Street and turned onto a well-maintained cobblestone road lined with shops and offices with broad windows, gas lampposts, and door latches of polished silver. She knew they were polished because she’d seen a man in uniform scrubbing at one until it shone. The roadways were not marred by filth or rubbish, and the lords and ladies who walked the street were dressed in gowns fancier than Kate could ever dream of possessing.

She imagined this was what the most proper and wealthy Englishmen and women donned for dazzling balls. But for promenading in the streets? It seemed overdone and senseless, not to mention wasteful and highly unconventional. The grime on the London breeze from the millions of chimneys in town was enough to tarnish any fine silk or satin. When she was younger, her mother had taken in laundry as a way to earn extra coin. Kate had spent many hours scrubbing dresses to remove the soot.

Besides, how did these ladies accomplish anything if they took hours to merely dress and style their hair for the day?

The Stuart driver, Mr. Chapman, climbed down from his perch and pulled open the carriage door with a grand flourish that nearly made Kate giggle.

Attached to the overhang outside the building directly in front of their carriage hung a plaque engraved with the same, Stuart and Lords, Solicitors. It was not like the simple shingle that swung on rusted hooks in front of Joshua’s Cheapside office.

No, this was the type of building Kate could picture a grand lord doing business in, far removed from the working class who populated her neighborhood.

Through the massive front windows that reached from nearly the ground to the first-floor roofline, Kate watched finely dressed men hurrying to and fro. A servant in a tailored uniform, different from the man polishing the latches, opened the front door, and a couple exited; the man’s uneven step supported by a cane with a large, shining emerald jewel mounted to the top. A woman young enough to be his daughter—if not granddaughter—grasped tightly to his arm. However, the way the man held her close to his side and whispered in her ear was not that of a fondness shared between father and daughter.

Joshua stepped from the carriage. The couple issued him a hearty greeting before they continued down the street to their waiting coach, and Joshua turned and held up his gloved hand for her to take.

Her fingers shook as she took in the proffered palm, knowing his hold would be tight and supportive in a way Kate needed in that moment. She could depend on Joshua, no matter what came their way. When she stared down into his eyes, she felt a connection that went beyond their friendship. It was something…more.

However, at no time in the last twenty-four hours had Kate felt more out of place than she did in that moment. Not even when she’d awoken in Joshua’s fine house, garbed in a nightgown that did not belong to her, and learned he was the son of a duke. Not when he’d offered his assistance to help her repair her home, or when he’d insisted she use his Cheapside office as a makeshift schoolroom until hers was ready. She hadn’t even felt peculiar when she learned Joshua had sent his driver and stable hand into her home to collect some of her personal possessions.

Only now, when presented with his outstretched hand as if she were a titled lady, did Kate realize how much Joshua’s world, his upbringing and his life, were removed from her own. The differences must be apparent to everyone but Joshua as he smiled up at her.

And Kate did not need to glance down at the sagging heel of her boot to understand the stark reality of their mismatched pairing.

Yet, she’d been unable to fully grasp the lifeline he offered after she’d seen Lily on her way home. Joshua had mused that if his uncle had set up the delivery of her money, it would stand to reason he’d have record of it at his Bond Street office. Which meant, somewhere on the other side of the towering glass façade, Kate could find answers she hadn’t realized she longed for.

It had never escaped Kate’s notice, or that of those who lived in Cheapside, that she did not resemble either of her parents. Neither the vicar nor his wife had possessed any memorable traits in their appearances. Both had grey hair, brown eyes, and fair, albeit weathered, skin. Neither had been overly tall or remarkably short. In fact, they’d blended in with everyone else in Cheapside. Unlike Kate with her creamy complexion akin to the brown sugar her mother had sprinkled sparingly on her porridge, her long, thick, curly ebony hair, and her almond-shaped eyes. Her father had affectionately dubbed them enchanting. When Kate had turned her pleading stare on him, he nearly always gave in to her wishes. Her mother had jokingly called her their little temptress, and though the moniker galled her father, she’d noticed that he smirked each time her mother used the affectionate name.

Apart from their unique appearances, one would have to be daft not to notice that her mother had been much too old to have given birth to Kate. Even as a child, she remembered her father’s frailty and her mother’s wrinkled, sagging skin.

Though it did nothing to deter Kate’s utter adoration of the pair.

She’d known from a young age that she was blessed far beyond most in London.

“Miss Kate?” Joshua wiggled his fingers. “Is something amiss?”

She wanted to ask if he had the time for her to recite her ever-growing list of things that were seriously amiss of late; including but not limited to her newfound awareness of him. She’d been in his home, his office, and had met those closest to him. He was no longer the kind solicitor who worked across the street. He was now the man who’d helped her in her darkest hour, saved her from perishing, and gave her hope that life would someday return to normal.

Yet, Kate was acutely aware that nothing would return to their previous normal. The old ways could not exist any longer—at least not for Kate.

She took Joshua’s proffered hand, ignoring the heat she felt through their gloves, and stepped from the carriage, satisfied she’d stilled the quiver in her fingers.

When Joshua tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and pulled her close—not as close or as intimately as the couple who’d greeted him a moment before—Kate was aware how ill-fitting and weathered her gown was with its threadbare elbows and stained, fraying hem. She was satisfied her sagging heel did not slap the ground loudly as she walked, utterly betraying her position on his arm.

To his credit, Joshua did not seem to notice her attire as he nodded to the livery servant as he opened the door, and they entered the building. It was as if they accompanied one another regularly and not only due to the damage of her home. It was a sensation Kate was oddly at ease with, despite her unease with her lackluster appearance. Joshua seemed to neither mind nor care—and she appreciated that fact. Their strides mirrored one another’s as he set the pace.

Inside, clerks and clients alike halted to greet Joshua and incline their heads to her when introduced—as a client of Stuart and Lords. Again, guilt swamped her at the thought of the expense of such an association with Joshua. The amount would be far more significant than she could ever hope to repay.

They made their way deeper into the building, and Kate leaned close to whisper, “Do all these gentlemen work for you?”

Joshua chuckled, the deep rumbling growing from his chest in the same way her father’s laughter had when she surprised him with one of her impetuous questions. She knew it came from his heart. “Some, yes. Others hold similar positions as solicitors, hence the name, Stuart and Lords.”

“Oh,” she mused, unable to think of a suitable reply that would not betray her bewilderment as they traversed the crowded office.

“After my uncle passed, I brought on many gentlemen similar to myself who studied law and desired the benefit of a steady income and fulfilling work. Now, there are eight solicitors, including myself, and we each own an equal share of Stuart and Lords.”