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
‘Adelaide, a man has his pride and just because it is my extraordinary good fortune that you have consented to be my wife, I need to make one thing plain between us. I don’t want to be a kept man. I’ve always made my own way in this world without being beholden to anyone.’
Adelaide’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, Caleb, I hadn’t thought you would see it like that.’
‘To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it before, but my pa believed husband and wife were equal partners in a marriage.’
The waiter approached and set down the soup plates with a gesture of disdain that caused the consommé in Caleb’s dish to slop. He bit his tongue to stop the rebuke that rose in his chest. He didn’t need to lash out at the waiter when his own demons were to blame for his annoyance.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ Adelaide said as she picked up her soup spoon. ‘I thought it would be wonderful to have you to myself in a lovely hotel, away from Maiden’s Creek, and to have the money to buy new clothes.’ She laughed but with a tinge of sadness. ‘I had a fanciful notion of strolling the block with you beside me.’
‘And I’m spoiling it?’ Caleb said. He caught her hand. ‘I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m real uncomfortable with this new role I find myself in. If what that lawyer said in his letter is right, it’s your money, your inheritance, but I’m to be the one to control it? I truly hate that, Adelaide. I don’t want to be your trustee. I want to be your equal partner.’
‘Unfortunately, despite what he might have said, my father is dictating from the grave how things will be, Caleb, but even if you are the one with the ultimate decision-making power, maybe we can make the decisions together. For example, I’ve been thinking about the Shenandoah,’ Adelaide said. ‘You do realise we now have the capital to invest in it?’
Caleb stared at her. The thought hadn’t occurred to him. ‘Penrose says it’s got good prospects,’ he said slowly, ‘but high returns means high risk, Adelaide.’
‘But if Penrose is willing to invest in it, he must have faith that it will do well. How much do you need to raise to get it going?’
‘Penrose says we’ll need three thousand pounds.’
Adelaide gasped. ‘That’s a large amount.’
‘It’s an expensive proposition. We are proposing we float a company with sixty shares at fifty pounds each.’