Page 16 of Miss Morton and the Missing Heir (A Miss Morton Mystery #4)

“Sanctimonious buffoon comes to mind,” Mrs. Frogerton mused. “I must say that Mr. Scutton has failed to endear himself to me in any way.”

“Did you get any sense about what they were arguing about?” Caroline couldn’t resist asking.

Fortunately, Mrs. Frogerton was more than willing to indulge Caroline’s curiosity.

“Mr. Scutton seemed inclined to believe his mother had known about Mary’s flirtation with ‘heretical beliefs’ and wanted to know why she hadn’t mentioned it to him.

Mrs . Scutton was far more interested in discussing her son’s indecent haste in burying his only sister. ”

“I wonder who will win the argument?” Caroline asked.

“Mrs. Scutton.”

“Even in her current state?”

“Yes, because I might not like Mr. Scutton, but he does treat his mother with respect.” The door opened, and the butler appeared with the tea. Mrs. Frogerton put the dog on the floor and thanked Jenkins as he set down the tray.

The butler turned to Caroline. “Mr. Lewis has called and wondered if he might come up and speak to you for a moment.”

“ My Mr. Lewis?” Mrs. Frogerton asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Your man of business.” The butler bowed.

“Then please show him up and fetch some more cups.” Mrs. Frogerton sent the butler on his way and glanced over at Caroline. “I wonder what he wants to speak to you about?”

“I have no idea,” Caroline said. “I can only hope it isn’t bad news.”

“You are such a pessimist, my dear.”

“I wonder why?” Caroline rose to her feet as Mr. Lewis came into the drawing room. “Good afternoon, sir.”

He strode over to shake her hand and then turned to Mrs. Frogerton. He was a small, dapper man with a pleasant expression and a spring in his step. “Thank you for receiving me. I was on my way to my office and thought I’d see if you were entertaining guests.”

“You’re hardly a guest,” Mrs. Frogerton said as she gestured for him to sit down. “Would you care for some tea?”

“That would be most welcome. It is surprisingly warm out there today.”

“Well, if you will insist on walking everywhere, sir …”

“I enjoy a good walk, ma’am.” Mr. Lewis patted his stomach. “I sit at a desk for most of the day, which is not good for my health.”

Mrs. Frogerton didn’t look convinced. Persuading her to take a short walk in the park with the dogs was as much as Caroline could manage.

Caroline poured tea for him and Mrs. Frogerton, and then for herself when the extra cups arrived.

She listened quietly while Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Frogerton exchanged pleasantries and updated each other on family news. She had no particular desire to hear what he wished to talk to her about. In her experience, legal matters rarely worked in her favor.

Eventually, Mr. Lewis returned his attention to her, and she mustered a smile and gave him her full attention.

“Lady Caroline, I have some news to share with you about the African mines.”

Mrs. Frogerton set down her cup. “I just realized I am being rather rude in assuming that either of you require my presence while you discuss this private matter.”

“I am more than happy to proceed with you here, ma’am,” Caroline said quickly. “I value your counsel.”

“That is very wise of you, my lady,” Mr. Lewis said. “Mrs. Frogerton is one of my most astute clients.”

“Then I will stay.” Mrs. Frogerton beamed at both of them. “But I will resist the urge to comment unless specifically asked for an opinion.”

Mr. Lewis turned back to Caroline. “I’ve recently been in correspondence with the DeBloom family lawyers. As you are no doubt aware, since the demise of her mother and the incarceration of her brother, Miss DeBloom is the only member of the family who still owns shares in the company.”

“Did Mr. DeBloom relinquish his shares to his sister?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, but he had little choice in the matter. After his prosecution for fraud, he was deemed no longer fit to run a business, and barred for the remainder of his life from doing so.”

“And quite rightly so,” Mrs. Frogerton murmured.

“Miss DeBloom has no interest in running the mines, and her lawyers have been looking around for a potential buyer. I can’t say I approve of such tactics when you and your sister Susan are the majority shareholders, but that is what they’ve been doing.”

As he appeared to be waiting for her to say something, Caroline nodded for him to go on.

“They wrote to me to say they’d been approached by a potential buyer and that Miss DeBloom was more than willing to accept their offer.”

“If she sells her shares, what happens to ours?” Caroline asked.

Mr. Lewis smiled. “Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? I’m happy to tell you that the new mining company wants to discuss buying you out, too.”

“Well, I cannot claim to be attached to these mythical mines, so I would be willing to consider their offer,” Caroline said. “I assume the DeBloom lawyers can vouch for the credibility of this new company?”

“Yes, they’ve been extremely diligent in their investigations and have passed everything over to me,” Mr. Lewis said. “If you like, I’ll send over what I received so that you can look through it.”

“Please send it over,” Mrs. Frogerton said. “I’d be more than happy to go through it with you, Caroline.”

“I’d appreciate that, although I’m not quite sure what the fuss is about,” Caroline said. “The likelihood of that land being profitable is very small.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my lady.

As the sole landowner and part business owner, the offer you receive from the mining company should be significantly higher than the one Miss DeBloom is ready to accept,” Mr. Lewis continued.

“I will make sure to consult with every expert I can find to ensure that the financial compensation they offer you reflects the potential value of the land.”

“Thank you.” Caroline smiled at Mr. Lewis. “I know that you will do your best for me.”

“Of course.” He finished his tea and turned to Mrs. Frogerton. “I won’t keep you any longer, ma’am.”

“It’s been a pleasure.” Mrs. Frogerton nodded as Mr. Lewis rose to his feet. “Caroline deserves some good fortune in her life.”

Mr. Lewis winked at Caroline. “Then I’ll do my best to provide it for her.”

After he left, Mrs. Frogerton turned to Caroline. “Well, lass, this is exciting, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Caroline set Mr. Lewis’s empty cup on the tray. “I’ve learned not to get too stirred up about such matters, ma’am. They tend to lead to disappointment.”

Mr. Scutton came into the drawing room and paused. “I do apologize. Am I interrupting?”

“No, please come and sit down and take some tea with us,” Mrs. Frogerton said. “We just had a visit from my Mr. Lewis who manages my business affairs. He also manages Caroline’s affairs, and we were merely discussing possibilities.”

“I wasn’t aware that you had affairs that were separate to the Morton estate.” Mr. Scutton looked inquiringly at Caroline.

“Your family solicitors allowed the earl to break every legal rule to take money that didn’t belong to him, leaving Caroline and Susan without funds or doweries,” Mrs. Frogerton spoke before Caroline could think what to say.

“Caro line had a perfect right to move her personal affairs to someone who wouldn’t be so easily duped. ”

“I had a small bequest from my Aunt Eleanor,” Caroline said. “Mr. Lewis deals with that and some of my father’s other investments.”

“Your father?” Mr. Scutton paused. “Surely such matters are part of the Morton estate?”

“Not these particular things, sir. They are not covered by the entail.” Caroline silently scolded herself for even mentioning the matter.

“Are you quite sure? Perhaps I should speak to this Mr. Lewis and ask him to apprise Mr. Potkins as to the state of your affairs.”

“When you become the earl, you are more than welcome to speak to Mr. Lewis,” Caroline said. “There is nothing worth discussing at this point.”

“Then one might wonder why Mr. Lewis came to call today and why he wished to speak to you.” Mr. Scutton sipped his tea.

“He was passing and came in mainly to see me,” Mrs. Frogerton said. “My son has been helping him invest Caroline’s inheritance, and he wanted us to know how successful that strategy has been.”

“Perhaps you might ask your son to help with the Morton estate, ma’am,” Mr. Scutton said rather sarcastically. “From what I can see, there will need to be harsh economies if the earldom is to survive and become profitable.”

“I’ll mention it to Samuel next time I write, Mr. Scutton, but he is a very busy man,” Mrs. Frogerton refused to be ruffled by his tone. “He certainly inherited my head for figures.”

“I’ll bear that in mind, ma’am.” Mr. Scutton cleared his throat. “Has there been any news about the Brigham brothers from the police?”

Caroline was slightly surprised at his abrupt change of subject, but she was more than willing to go along with it.

“We’ve heard nothing from Inspector Ross today.”

“Typical,” Mr. Scutton tutted.

“I’m sure the police are doing their best,” Mrs. Frogerton chimed in. “I have complete faith in Inspector Ross.”

“With all due respect, ma’am, that’s because you like him. You have no knowledge of his ability to catch criminals.”

Mrs. Frogerton chuckled. “Oh, you’d be mistaken about that. I’ve been on the wrong side of Inspector Ross on more than one occasion, especially when he arrested Dr. Harris on suspicion of murder.”

“I can quite believe Dr. Harris would arouse suspicion in anyone,” Mr. Scutton murmured as he stood up. “There is something distinctly disreputable about the man and his appearance.”

“He’s an excellent doctor,” Caroline said.

Mr. Scutton looked down at her. “You have a soft heart, Lady Caroline, and, I fear, a tendency to be taken in by those who might not have your best interests at heart.”

“I beg to differ, Mr. Scutton,” Mrs. Frogerton said. “Caroline is no fool. Now, does your mother intend to come down to dinner tonight?”

“I doubt it, ma’am. I fear our disagreement exhausted her, and she has retired to bed.” He bowed and looked at Caroline. “Thank you for dealing with Mary’s possessions, my lady.”

He left the room and shut the door behind him.

Mrs. Frogerton turned to Caroline, her expression full of dismay. “I do beg your pardon. I should never have mentioned that Mr. Lewis called to see you.”

“It is of no matter, ma’am,” Caroline said. “In fact, it might be worth asking Mr. Lewis if the assets I currently hold are mine and not part of the earldom.”

“From what I understand, if the matter isn’t mentioned in the entail, then it belongs to the person who was bequeathed it in the will. But I agree that Mr. Lewis would be the best person to confirm that opinion.”

“I’ll send him a note,” Caroline said. “The last thing I want is to be embroiled in any further legal trouble with the Morton estate.”