Jack of Clubs Read Online Free Page A

something…” he muttered as he tossed papers aside. “Ah, here it is! Captain Hildebrand’s will. I urged him to make one out when he first took his commission. A soldier’s life being uncertain, you know.”
    Allie sat on the edge of her seat. “And he named a guardian for his daughter, in case his parents predeceased him?”
    â€œOh, Miss Harriet was not born yet. But he never made another will, to my knowledge.”
    Allie sat back, disappointed. What good were the late officer’s last wishes?
    Burquist had placed a pair of spectacles on his nose, though, and was trying to read a messy scrawl on a yellowed page. If Captain Hildebrand had penned those cat scratches, Allie could see whence Harriet inherited her scholarly aptitude, or lack thereof. She prayed the child had inherited something else.
    â€œHildebrand sent it from Portugal when he was a mere lieutenant, but the document was witnessed, so it should hold up in court.” Burquist adjusted his spectacles. “Yes! He leaves his horse and his sword and his worldly goods, et cetera, to his good friend, the Honorable Jonathan Endicott.”
    Allie was afraid to hope. “Do you think that Harriet counts as et cetera?”
    â€œDefinitely!” Burquist smiled. “If ever I saw an other, Miss Harriet is it.”
    â€œBut the will was written so long ago, Mr. Endicott might have died or moved. And he might not want Miss Hildebrand.”
    â€œNo one wants—That is, he has no choice. The best part is that he is right here, in town. Brother to the Earl of Carde, don’t you know. Young Endicott became a fellow officer of Captain Hildebrand’s and distinguished himself in the war. He was considered quite the hero, in fact. The newspapers were full of his name.”
    A brave hero, a loyal friend with noble and wealthy connections, just minutes away—What more could Allie wish for Harriet? Allie was so pleased, thinking that such a fine gentleman was bound to be an excellent guardian, and bound to repay her for expenses, that she missed Mr. Burquist’s last words.
    He was shaking his head as he mumbled, “The scandal sheets are still full of his name.”
    Allie was halfway out the door. “How nice.”
    So relieved was the solicitor to have a solution, and to have them gone, that he pretended not to notice the fleet of paper boats, erstwhile deeds and declamations, sailing across his reception room carpet. So guilt-stricken was he that he hailed a hackney carriage, gave the driver directions, and even paid the man himself.
    How nice.
    *
    â€œI won. I told you they did not want me.”
    â€œNonsense. Your grandmother is ill and the poor viscount died. I suppose you should be wearing black gloves, at the least. Your new guardian will have to see about that.”
    â€œMrs. Simple did not see the need.”
    â€œThat is Mrs. Semple, as you well know, not Simple.” And the woman had turned out to be as wily as any fox. “Perhaps if Captain Endicott has a wife she will know what is most proper for a very young lady in mourning.”
    And perhaps this paragon, wed to a noble officer, would keep Allie on as Harriet’s governess, at least until Allie could find a more satisfactory position. Minding red-rumped monkeys might be more satisfactory, but Allie could not be fussy, not with her savings dwindling so fast. As they left the narrow roads of the more commercial districts and headed toward Mayfair and wider avenues, with small parks dotted here and there, Allie tried not to think of what she would do if Mrs. Endicott already had a governess. She busied herself with looking out at the passing scenery instead of inward, at her doubts and fears.
    Tomorrow would come soon enough, willy nilly. Today she could appreciate that the air was clearer in this neighborhood too, less thick and sooty. She still found London’s atmosphere difficult to breathe, or else she truly