Chapters (71)
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Part Two
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part Three
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Part Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Part Five
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
- About the Author
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Robert half smiled when he said, “As a lady’s maid.”
Moira laughed. “A parlormaid at first, and then I was promoted. She’s a nice woman and has treated me with kindness. That’s the story, more or less.” Moira sat back in the chair, waiting for his response.
After a moment, Robert broke the silence. “I expect you have other things to tell me, but let’s leave that for later.”
He glanced at the letter in his hand, and recognized the handwriting of his cousin Lady Henrietta Fitzgerald Chandler. Turning the letter over, he saw the family crest above the red beeswax seal. He managed to remove the seal, and opened the letter.
My dearest Robert,
By the time you are reading this, I will be dead. I have a malign growth and the doctors have lost all hope of curing me. I accept my fate.
Many years ago, you promised me and my dearest Johnny that you would take care of our child, Moira. She is grown-up now, but, nonetheless, I ask you to keep an eye on her and help her if needs be.
Moira has an inheritance. This is my jewelry collection. I am afraid it has been a little depleted over the years. I have had to sell pieces to pay for our living needs. But it is still very valuable.
The jewels are in a safety-deposit box in the Montague Brothers Private Bank in Piccadilly. Those who have designated access to the box are myself, Moira Aherne and you, listed as Lord Robert Lassiter, Earl of Harding. The small key enclosed in the pages of this letter will open the box.
I gave Moira the spare key for safety’s sake. You must accompany Moira to the bank to access the box and sign, along with her, for the contents you both remove in order to sell or auction them.
The Managing Director of the bank is Mr. Ethan Montague. He is an old friend and knows all of the circumstances of the situation. He will assist you both in whatever you need. He is pleasant to deal with.
I repeat what I’ve just said; the jewelry collection is valuable, if a trifle depleted. Mostly it is composed of diamond pieces, and every piece was given to me by Moira’s father, the Lord John Clairemont, who eventually became the Duke of Lowencester, after the death of his elder brother, who was childless. As you know, Johnny died accidentally in an uprising in India some years ago, when he was there on family business.
The jewels were always intended for Moira. It was the only way Johnny could provide for her future security, because of the circumstances of his private life and his family.