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“Should I have told you sooner?” Her voice came out in a rush. “I only remembered as I was leaving my home and I thought the jewelry might be some assurance of my future. Mister Barrow said I was destitute otherwise and I worried I might need them to support myself.”
“How much?” He touched the necklace, tracing the intricate setting that held the stone in place.
“How much what?”
“Are these worth? How much?” He asked, trying to keep his voice even. But the more he learned, the less everything made sense. Emily was an heiress. Surely Mr. Barrow, of all people, was aware of that. But that thought shined some sort of light on their current situation and why people were after them.
“I don’t know,” Emily said.
And nearly at the same moment, Clara added, “A very, very lot.”
“Clara,” he growled out, not wanting his aunt to interrupt. He should have known when she coughed, she wasn’t actually asleep.
And while he knew Clara loved him, he also knew his aunt wanted him to wed. Preferably an heiress who could then provide an heir.
But he wasn’t doing it that way. Even if he ever did marry, which he didn’t plan to do ever, he’d not allow someone else to dispel his problems. He was a man who could put real work and effort into solving them himself.
Didn’t that prove he was different from his mother and father?
Would that prove that he wasn’t as bad as he feared?
“Her secret is safe with me.” Clara waved her hand. “A debutante with money. It’s not exactly a headliner, anyhow.”
“An unprotected heiress would be of interest to some,” Jacob growled out. Inwardly, he began connecting some dots. If Barrow had known that Emily had money, would he have tried to scare Jacob away by telling the titled but indebted lord that Emily was poor? It made sense.
“A protected wife would be perfectly safe,” Clara purred as she stretched.
Emily shook her head. “I don’t—”
“Let’s get Emily to safety first. Then we can discuss the future.” He knew that Clara had agreed to help him because she hoped that he’d taken an interest in Emily for some very specific reasons. He hated to disappoint but…
“Is that before or after you kiss her again?” Clara asked, causing Emily to gasp.
“Go back to sleep, Clara.”
“I will when you do,” she returned, narrowing her gaze. “And Emily, darling, put those jewels back in your corset. No wonder Jacob’s mother was searching your things. One of those pieces would keep her in fashion for quite some time.”
Jacob sat back, surprise rocking through him. Did his mother know Emily was an heiress? That her mother had bequeathed her jewelry?
If Barrow knew and Barrow and his mother were in contact…
“Does she know about the letter?” Emily asked.
“Yes,” he answered, giving Clara a meaningful stare.
His aunt nodded in response. “Your mother and Barrow are definitely in league.”
He scrubbed his head. “But how? Why? My mother couldn’t have known that I’d be with Emily. Bring her to my mother’s house…” But his words died out. Of course his mother knew he was best friends with Ashton. And she’d clearly known about Emily’s parents.
“The attack.” Clara lifted her finger. “Close to her home.”
He shook his head. “That’s a big leap. She’d have to know we’d be going to Wingate’s.”
Clara shrugged. “What do you suggest then?”
He didn’t know. But they’d teased out Barrow’s motivations and his mother’s possible involvement. “I think it’s time I pay Barrow another visit.”
Clara nodded. “I agree.”
