Elizabeth did know that. Many of the old New York families had seen their early fortunes dwindle with the generations. Gideon’s family was one of them, but she certainly hadn’t married him for his money. “Is it causing you a hardship?”

“More than a hardship. Father left us some money that provides a modest income, but we relied on David’s salary, too. With David gone . . .” Anna’s voice caught, and she needed a moment to compose herself. His loss was still fresh enough to cause tears.

“You don’t have to explain,” Elizabeth assured her as Anna dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief.

“But I do. I had to let some of the servants go, but if we’re careful, we should be fine. Or at least we would have been, but now . . .”

“Have you explained this to your mother? I’m sure if she understood—”

“Of course, I explained it to her, but she refuses to understand. Father and David always took care of everything. She has no idea how much things cost or how much our income is. She thinks Father left us wealthy and the money will never run out and I’m just being mean because I don’t believe in Madame Ophelia’s powers. On top of that, this Madame Ophelia has bewitched her. Mother becomes furious if I even suggest she stop attending these séances, and this morning she told me she’s going to start seeing the woman every day. We can’t afford that! I won’t even be able to go back to college in the fall.” Her tears were falling freely now, but at least Elizabeth could offer a bit of comfort.

“You don’t have to worry about college, my darling girl. Your fees will be paid no matter what.”

But this news was far from comforting, if Anna’s scowl was any indication. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. The fees will be paid.”

Anna’s scowl deepened. “I can’t take charity from you, Elizabeth.”

Oh dear, now she’d hurt Anna’s pride. “It’s not charity and it’s not from me.”

“Who is it from, then? I won’t take anything from Gideon, either.”

Elizabeth sighed in defeat. “Not Gideon. Jake.”

“Jake? Your brother, Jake?”

“The very same.”

Anna’s shock was almost comic, but Elizabeth knew better than to laugh. “Why would Jake pay my college fees?”

“Because you helped him with a con. Do you have any idea how much he made on that?”

Anna stiffened her spine. “No, I don’t.”

“Well, it was a lot, and he hardly had any expenses. By rights, you should have had a share, but we didn’t think you would take it, so Jake set up to pay your school fees instead, and there will be a nice little sum to get you started when you graduate.”