Treacherous Temptations(44)

“Many people suffered great losses. Was your father amongst them?”

“One might say that. He took his own life after unsustainable losses.”

Mary touched his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I,” Hadley replied dryly. “But if that wasn’t already bad enough, he was posthumously tried for Felo de se and sentenced to impeachment.”

“I don’t understand what you are saying. The courts charged a dead man with a felony and took away his title?”

“Self-murder is considered a criminal offense by both God and the Crown.”

“But how could they do such a thing! Surely he was not in his right mind at the time.”

No, he was surely not, given the full circumstance. Hadley’s chest constricted at the remembrance of it all, but he forced a breath into his lungs. “No, of that I am certain, but his death came at a very convenient moment, at a time when a diversion was needed and by consequence my entire birthright was forfeited to the crown.” There now. Very close to the truth. That wasn’t so bad.

Mary looked aghast. “Are you saying that you were punished by the government and deprived of title and estates for the desperate act of a man in emotional distress?”

“That sums it up quite well. ‘Tis a simple matter of the father’s sins being vested upon the son. Out of the ministry’s sheer benevolence,” his voice dripped with sarcasm, “I was allotted a paltry annuity by way of recompense. Enough to subsist on, but by no means at the standard I was accustomed to. So I went abroad.” Another partial truth. It seemed to be getting easier, and oddly, his chest felt lighter.

“How unjust! ‘Tis no wonder you stayed abroad. But why would you choose to return now?”

“It is as I said before. The novelty of travel long wore out and I desired to come home. With a new king on the throne I had the grandiose idea of petitioning him for my birthright, but I now know how foolish I was to entertain the possibility.”

“Could Sir Richard speak on your behalf? I believe he is very influential with the First Lord of the Treasury.”

“Indeed he is!” Hadley gave a bitter bark of laughter. “But who do you suppose orchestrated the confiscation of my patrimony in the first place?”

She looked shocked. “Sir Richard was involved in that? How could he do such a thing? Why does he despise you so?”

“Because I know he was one of the primary perpetrators of the greatest fraud in our time, a crime so great that it bankrupted thousands, and yet the wily snake managed to screen himself and the others who equally profited…by pinning the crimes on my father.”

“But how can this be true?” she asked.

“The South Sea Company was originally patented as a means of consolidating public debt, but several of the directors conceived of a scheme to profit by artificially inflating the value of the company stock. It was bribery and fraud on a truly magnificent scale. As the Company Cashier, Sir Richard distributed stock to the most influential directors without asking any payment at all until such a time as they sold it back to the company. In return for the stock, these powerful and influential individuals put about extravagant rumors concerning the riches to be gained in the company’s proposed trade with the Americas.”

“It was quite a brilliant arrangement, really, for the company was able to thrive, at least for a time, under a false aura of legitimacy—all the while perpetrating the greatest of frauds on the public. The directors gained immense profits without the risk of actual investment and thus began a remarkable and manic speculating frenzy.”

“I know this,” Mary said. “It was how my father made his own fortune. He was a recording clerk for the company and bought many shares at the very beginning. He was also one of the lucky ones for he sold before they became worthless. He made a fortune before the bubble burst. But how can you know all this?” she asked.

“Because my father was one of those fortunate stock recipients, but then he became greedy. When the stock tripled, he wanted more than Sir Richard was willing to issue gratis. So he mortgaged his holdings to purchase ten thousand additional shares, at a greatly discounted price, of course, but then he failed to perceive the warning signs. Within months, the bubble burst and he was ruined. When the public cried out for blood, his death provided the perfect scapegoat. Sir Richard knows that I know this, and he both fears and despises me as a reminder of his sins.”

“Is there nothing you can do? Can you not appeal to the courts?”

“No. The courts are in the ministry’s pocket. And I lack the proof I need, for the stock ledgers disappeared the moment there was any talk of an investigation. No doubt, they are long destroyed. So there remains only two means by which I can regain my lands and title—either by obtaining the king’s pardon for my late father’s supposed crimes, which is a vain hope, or by purchase…at double the true value.”

“Purchase?”

“Yes. Sir Richard ever seeks to profit.”

“But how is it that Sir Richard has anything to do with any of this?”

“According to the records at the Chancery, he is the trustee over the estate of one Francis Edwardes, Esquire, of Welham Grove, Leicestershire.”

Mary regarded him blankly. “But that would be my father.”

He waited with a patient smile while she processed this information.