Amanda Scott - [Dangerous 04] Read Free Page A

entirely.”
    “I greatly admired your grandfather,” Mr. Clifford said, “and I am grateful to know that I continue to enjoy the present marquess’s confidence. But that does not make it less amazing that your father apparently trusts me to look after you, as well as his business affairs. He would not be wise to trust most men so far, you know, and I do not know that he is wise to entrust even me with something so precious.”
    “Do you mean the house, sir?”
    “Certainly not. I mean his trusting me with your innocence, my lady. That is an astonishing burden for any father to put in the hands of his solicitor.”
    Letty’s lips twitched, but she had little trouble hiding her amusement. “You will learn as you get to know me better, sir, that my father is not shifting any burden to your shoulders. I am quite capable of managing my own affairs.”
    “I have no doubt that you think you are, my lady, but—”
    “I told him so, and I tell you so,” Letty said firmly. “He believed me, and you will come to believe me, too, I promise.”
    “I am quite sure that I shall,” Clifford said with a smile.
    “Excellent. What I need from you now is to know exactly how far my responsibility extends. I shall, as I said, want to visit Mrs. Linford and Miss Frome, and see my property. But Mr. Benthall’s will lacks detail, no doubt because he assumed that a landlord’s specific duties are clear in law and that my solicitor would just talk things over with his. But I want the plain facts, sir. What exactly am I responsible for, if you please?”
    “Why, nothing at all, my lady. I thought I had made that clear.”
    “You did no such thing. I must be responsible for something! One does not expect tenants to maintain the house they lease. Even I know that much.”
    “No, no, of course one does not, but it is your father, not you, who is responsible for such details. You are not—and here I hope I may take advantage of your permission to speak plainly …”
    “Yes, please do so.”
    “Under law, you simply are not a legal entity, my lady. The plain fact is that our English courts regard an unmarried lady exactly the same way they regard a child, as a dependent person. That has nothing to do with individual justices or magistrates, I hasten to point out—only with the law. Under that law, your father bears all responsibility for matters pertaining to any property legally in your name. Nor will you bear responsibility when you marry, as I expect you will do very soon. A married lady is regarded as being one entity with her husband, and that entity—”
    “— is the husband,” Letty said flatly. Taking the cup of tea that Miss Dibble offered her, she added, “I know all that, sir. English law is chock-full of such foolishness, and despite that, rather astonishingly, it generally does work. Nonetheless, I also know that such matters can be rearranged in a Chancery Court.”
    “Indeed, they can,” he agreed. “Still, I know of no case, even in Chancery, where a young woman has assumed full control of her property before the age of twenty-five.”
    “You say that you received a letter from my father, Mr. Clifford. Did he lead you to suppose that I should have to wait until I had attained such an age?”
    Clifford grimaced but met her look directly. “No, my lady, he did not.”
    “I thought not. Did he lead you to suppose that I might be a burden to you?”
    “No, he told me to advise you as I thought best, but I must remind you, my lady, that Mr. Benthall left you no money to go with the house.”
    “That, too, is true,” Letty said, setting down her teacup and reaching into the cunningly-contrived slot in her muff that made it unnecessary for her to carry a reticule. Withdrawing a letter, she arose and handed it to the solicitor. “I anticipated your reluctance, you see, so that letter remains unsealed for the present. As you will note, it is addressed to the director of Child’s Bank. Will you read it,