Page 9 of A Rogue to Forget

“It is only temporary that I will be gone. I am sure this matter will be cleared up shortly. I do not wish to remain away for more than a week or two.”

“So I should stay here?”

“I do not know. Would you prefer to go with me? It will be safer.”

“I can take care of my aunt,” Silas said. “She will be safe.”

Marta nodded. “Then I prefer to remain here.”

“Either Mister Murray or Campbell will be staying here to keep an eye out for anyone trying to come into the house. I feel better that you will not be alone, Marta.”

When hearing the men come back down the stairs, Hannah hurried out to meet them. Henry held a box. “Does this look familiar? Do you have a key?”

It was a rather large wooden cash box and it looked heavy.

After studying the box, she shook her head. “The one from the tea shop was returned to me; you saw it in father’s study. It only had a few pounds.”

“We will have to force it open,” Grant said. They went to the parlor where Henry placed it atop a table and then pulled a small dagger from his boot. He met her gaze for a long moment. “This may have the answers to what happened to your father.”

He waited until she nodded and then made quick work of unlocking the box. The top opened upwards and in the hollow space, bundles of large notes were neatly arranged. When Henry pulled the drawer open, there were more monetary notes.

Everyone was stunned silent.

“Why have we been living in misery for years when he had all this money?”

“Perhaps he was holding it for someone,” Grant mused. “Is there anything else in the box besides money?”

“No,” Evan said, studying the box. “The initials atop the box do strike me as odd.”

The initials “H.B.” had been inscribed in an elegant font.

“I do not understand. Why is this here?” Hannah asked, knowing no one in the room knew the reply.

“My parents knew yours for a long time,” Grant said. “We should ask them.”

Hannah’s head spun. With the amount hidden in her father’s desk and the amount in the cashbox, they could have been leading a much more comfortable life. Instead, between her mother’s small inheritance, and the meager profits from the tea shop, they’d barely been able to cover things like food, heating, and such.

Why had her parents hidden the money? Who did it belong to? And who was the man that appeared suddenly after his death?