Adam nodded. "I pray my business is not suffering."
"Never that! It's the most successful bank in the kingdom. Something built on a great foundation will not crumble."
"We have actually been in Yorkshire this week to help my brother's electioneering."
"Yes, I read about Nicholas's candidacy. He will bring a great deal to Parliament."
"If he's elected," Adam said.
"The best man has to win, and this, most certainly, will be Nicholas."
"In our absence have you had any communication from Ashburnham about our challenge to Simon Hastings' will?"
Mr. Emmott shook his head. "But . . . I do have some hopefully welcome information to impart to you."
Adam's brows hiked. "About those handwriting samples?"
"Yes."
Emma sat up straighter, hardly able to contain her curiosity.
"All of your suspicions have been confirmed."
She and Adam exchanged happy glances.
"According to our expert, that address label does contain all the descenders that are found in the forged will. You will remember, they were incongruous with the rest of the handwriting in the will."
"And the letter purportedly from Faukes?" Adam asked.
"Forged. My expert confirmed your suspicions. Though it was a good forgery, again, the descenders were identical to those found in the address label. They did not match those that were verified to have been written by Mr. Faukes."
"Then all of this points to the fact that the will was forged by James Ashburnham," Adam said.
"Indeed it does."
"What's next?"
"Unless we can persuade him to drop his claim, I will try to bring him to trial."
Her eyes rounded. "Won't that take years?"
Emmott nodded. "Not only that, it will also eat up moneys the will would have provided."
"Nevertheless," Adam said, "I should like you to inform Ashburnham we have evidence against him and are prepared to litigate this matter."
Mr. Emmott nodded. "The letter will be drawn up and delivered to him today."
"I hate to bring this up," Adam said, "but we believe Mr. Ashburnham may have poisoned my wife's uncle. As much as I dislike the thought, perhaps we should have Hastings' body exhumed and tested."
"Proving her uncle was poisoned will not prove who administered the poison," Mr. Emmott said.
"That's true," Emma concurred. "I'm not sure we should go through with that at this time." She sighed. "I'm not sure I can bear it."
Adam took her hand and squeezed it.
* * *
Shortly after they arrived at the bank, where Adam introduced Emma to all his employees, Nick came. "I thought you'd be here," he said to Adam.
"And I knew you'd not be able to stay away from the Exchange. Is there anything you need to discuss with me?" Adam asked.
"No. I was early, so I thought I'd come and say hello." He eyed Emma. "If you need to catch up with your employees, I can stay a few minutes and chat with your charming wife."
Adam nodded. "Thanks. I do need to speak to Johnson." His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he walked away.
"Won't you sit by me on that sofa?" Nick asked.
Sometimes it seemed funny for her to hear Nick speak. Because he looked so much like Adam, she thought they would sound alike, but they didn't. Nick spoke much faster, and the tone of his voice was entirely different than her husband's.
"I was hoping to get you alone," he said.
Her brows lowered. "Is something wrong?"
He shrugged. "We are all, quite naturally, concerned about you and Adam. You can't possibly live a normal life as long as that threat lingers against you. I know Adam's nearly sick with worry."
"As much as I adore being with my husband every minute, I know the situation is unsustainable."
"William and I came up with what we thought was a solution, but Adam became enraged when we brought it up with him."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Because he said it would endanger you."
"Go on."
"We believe that you could be a lure for this Ashburnham."
"I believe I already am."
"But with Adam constantly at your side, it's not likely Ashburnham will ever make a move."
"He must be brought to justice. What do you and William propose?"
"Adam needs to let you appear to walk about London alone. You wouldn't really be alone. The Birminghams have a creditable army of highly skilled men who would watch you at all times. They can be disguised as anything from a chimney sweep to a hackney driver."