“Yes, although the old rip would be hanged before he admitted it. Damn, how I wish I could go home for Christmas—after we go to the bank tomorrow morning!”
“We?”
“Of course. That hundred pounds is yours, my friend, with interest if not a reward for helping me find the check.” He put his arm around Adam’s shoulder as they waited for a hackney cab, and laughed out loud. “By Jupiter, did I not say you brought me luck?”
7
They went to Lieutenant Cresswell’s father’s bank first, then Adam went on to his own financial institution.
“What, back again, are you?” Mr. Beasdale scowled across his paper-covered desk, his face growing red at Adam’s effrontery. “You are deuced persistent, I’ll say that for you. My niece thinks I ought to grant you that extension, since you have convinced her what a hardworking chap you are. In a matter of minutes. Bah! That is why females do not have authority over their own assets. They would give the whole away to the first silver-tongued devil they meet.”
Adam knew he was anything but a smooth talker, but he was not here to defend his character—or offend his angel’s uncle. “No, sir,” he said. “I am here to tell you that I no longer need to delay my payment. I wish to pay part of it in advance, in fact, while I am still in London.”
Mr. Beasdale eyed him from under bushy eyebrows, knowing full well Adam had nothing of value left to sell to make the sum mentioned. “What, have you taken to capturing wanted criminals for the reward money? Or have you become a highwayman yourself? No, I suppose that like others of your sort you quickly turned to the baize table and hit a streak of luck.”
“I was lucky, yes, lucky in my friends. Lieutenant Cresswell repaid a loan I made to him some years ago.”
“I know of that young wastrel. Anyone who would lend good money to such a here-and-thereian is a bigger fool than Cresswell himself. He would only lose it betting on a curricle race or the color of the next horse to pass by.”
“He used my mother’s bequest to me to purchase his colors,” Adam answered in a quiet tone that refuted contradiction, “to go fight the French. I was happy to lend him the blunt, and he has proved to be an exemplary officer, earning mention in the dispatches. He was wounded in the service of his country. Just recently he came into funds to pay me back.”
“So you say. His father is no squeeze crab, from all I hear. Why did he not pay the lad’s way?”
“Because he thought as you did, that Johnny was a reckless daredevil, taking any challenge or chance.”
“So you helped young Cresswell thwart his father’s authority? If you think that recommends you to me, you are mistaken.”
“I helped my friend follow his dreams. Sometimes a parent does not truly know what is best for a child, and sometimes a father has to let his grown son make his own mistakes, to become his own man. Nestlings will grow up and fly away, despite all the love of a mother or father . . . or uncle.”
“Harumph,” was Beasdale’s only reply to the not-so-subtle gibe. “I suppose the only way he could pay you back was with gambling winnings.”
“No, he had the money from his father, who must have reconsidered. And before you blacken poor Lieutenant Cresswell’s name further, he carefully invested most of the money in the Funds, after giving me my share.”
“Well, perhaps he does have a modicum of sense after all,” Beasdale conceded. “I am sure his father will be relieved that his heir is not a total want-wit.” He straightened a stack of papers on his desk as if to conclude the meeting.
“There is one other thing, sir: Miss Relaford’s invitation to the party for Lord and Lady Iverson.”
“Yes? What about it?”
“I wish to accept, with your permission.”
“You are asking me?”
Adam brushed at the sleeve of his—of Johnny Cresswell’s—coat. “The invitation came from Miss Relaford but the gathering is being held in your home. I would not want to offend you if my presence is unwelcome.”
He was not asking about any silly party, and they both knew it. He was asking permission to address the banker’s niece. A lesser man, a conniving fortune hunter, for instance, would have accepted the invitation without a scruple for Beasdale’s wishes, using the occasion to further his own cause. Beasdale had to respect Sir Adam for the courtesy.
“Harumph. I suppose you’d better come along to tea this afternoon, then, to tell Jenna herself that you are going to be accepting. I am liable to forget.” Right after he forgot the combination on the bank’s vault.