Page 21 of Second Duke's the Charm
Tess leaned forward. “You can leave the matter entirely in our hands, ma’am. We will attend the ball, intercept the blackmailer, and have the letters returned to you forthwith.”
The queen smiled. “Excellent. Now, about payment. What is your usual fee for something like this?”
Ellie stepped forward. “Oh, we couldn’t possibly charge you, Your Majesty. It would be our honor to assist you.”
Behind her back, Daisy pinched her arm in protest and Tess bit back a smile. Daisy would havedoubledthe sum.
“Your dedication is admirable, Miss Law, but I insist on paying something. I will give you a hundred pounds. Moreover”—Queen Charlotte’s eyes settled on Tess—“I have an added incentive for you to succeed. It has come to my attention, Your Grace, that your marriage to the late duke was precipitated by your father’s lack of funds. I heard that your father lent money to the king, and it was never repaid.”
Tess’s brows rose in surprise. “Yes, ma’am. But my father couldn’t find the document needed to reclaim the loan. I searched high and low after he died, but had no luck.” Her face heated with an embarrassed flush. “I suspect he hid it somewhere ‘safe’ in a drunken moment and forgot where he put it. He might even have used it for kindling, for all I know. Or gambled it away.”
“Do you know the amount?”
“He always said it was for a thousand pounds, but I’m not sure that was true. Knowing my father, it could have been something he dreamed in a drunken delirium.”
The queen’s face softened and she sent Tess a look of understanding. “I, too, have experience of dealing with someone who is not always of sound mind. It can make life very difficult.”
She was talking of her husband, poor “Mad” King George, whose bouts of delirium had forced her son to take over as regent.
“I have a proposition for you,” the queen continued. “Ifsuch a loan were made, I assume there would be a copyin the king’s personal papers. If you succeed in this task, I shall ask one of my secretaries to look into it.”
Tess opened her mouth to thank her, but the queen held up a silencing hand. “I make you no promises, Lady Wansford. But I will do what I can.”
Tess leaned on the desk to support her suddenly weak knees. The queen had no idea of the significance of such an offer. To be financially independent of the duchy would open up the possibility of marrying again. For love.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I would be forever grateful if you would.”
The queen stood, clearly ready to leave, and Tess did the same as Ellie ushered her toward the door.
“I shall leave it in your capable hands, then, ladies.”
Tess could only nod as the queen pulled up the hood of her cloak and waited for Ellie to open the door for her. The unmarked carriage was still waiting outside. A footman wearing plain black livery let down the steps and held out his arm for the elderly monarch to ascend.
When the carriage finally rattled down the street, the three girls returned to the study.
“Somebody pinch me to make sure I’m not dreaming,” Tess said faintly. “That really wasthe queen, here?”
Daisy gave the end of her nose a playful tweak. “She was real, all right. Andwehave our next case.” The excitement in her voice was clear. “Do you think if we get those letters back, she’ll let us display the royal warrant?” She waved her hands in an arc in front of her, as if reading an invisible sign. “King & Co., by appointment to the Royal House of Hanover. No job too big. Discretion assured.”
Tess smiled. “Hardly. She wants to keep it a secret, not tell the world.”
“Shame,” Daisy pouted. “Because this is a high-pressure job. If we don’t get those letters back, it’ll be our necks on the chopping block. We’ll be locked up in the Tower and they’ll throw away the key.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Ellie chided.
Tess sank into her chair behind the desk. “Can you imagine if she manages to find proof of my father’s loan? If that debt’s repaid, I’ll have money of my own. I wouldn’t be reliant on anything to do with the duchy.”
“You mean if this new duke decides to make your life difficult, you’ll have something to fall back on?” Daisy said shrewdly.
“Precisely.”
“We’d better get on with it, then,” Ellie said. “I assume you received an invitation to Lady Iveson’s?”
Tess and Daisy both nodded.
“But which of us will be the contact?”
“You should do it, Tess,” Daisy said. “You can wear the red dress you wore to Careby’s.”