Chapters (53)
- Cover
- About Alison Stuart
- Also by Alison Stuart
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- 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
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Preview of The Goldminer's Sister
Caleb shook his head. ‘It’s a copy made by a friend, someone who cares about you. Barnwell has the original.’
‘What friend? How did you come by it?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘And this friend couldn’t come to me directly?’
‘No. Please read it, Adelaide.’
Adelaide smoothed the creases of the copy of the letter, aware of the man standing by the door watching her, waiting for her reaction. Whatever Caleb Hunt knew, or thought he knew, it didn’t matter. This was not about that long-ago love, or her father’s estate. It was about Danny.
For a long moment, the childish letters danced before her eyes and she had to read it through several times before the letters resolved into words and the meaning of the words became clear.
If the terms of her father’s will were as described, Danny would have the life to which he was entitled. Her father had left them both more than well provided for, but in his vindictive way, he was reaching beyond the grave to taunt her. Here is your inheritance, he was saying, but it will never quite be yours. You will be beholden for the rest of your life to the trustee—the man you marry.
Richard Barnwell.
The realisation hit her with the force of a blow and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sob that rose in her throat. If Richard held the original letter, Richard knew the terms of the will. And yet Richard had implied that her father had made no provision at all for her. He had lied.
More than lied. By marrying her he would take control of her father’s estate as sole trustee of both Danny’s and her inheritance. All his professions of love and wanting the best for her and her son were predicated on the knowledge that he would become a wealthy man on her money.
She took a shuddering breath and turned to face Caleb. ‘I owe you an explanation,’ she said.
The colour drained from his face and he shook his head. ‘I’m sorry to have brought this to you, but I thought you had a right to know. Beyond that, you don’t owe me anything.’
She bit her lip. ‘I do, Caleb. For the sake of our friendship, and what might have been between us. There is something you need to understand. Richard Barnwell is … is … He’s … Danny’s father.’ A tear ran down her face. She dashed it away like an annoying fly.
Caleb caught her by the arm. ‘Your husband?’
‘No!’ She started to tremble as the weight of half a lifetime of deception bore down on her. ‘That’s it, Caleb.’ She tugged at her black skirts. ‘All this is a lie. I was never married. It was so long ago … I was so young, so naive.’