Free Anna Jacobs by An Independent Woman Page A

there by one o’clock.”
    They walked out, Justin picking up Serena’s basket, which she would have forgotten in her agitation.
    “We’ll go to my office, I think, Miss Fleming. You can wait there.”
    “I still need to find somewhere to sleep tonight.”
    He grinned. “My cousin Evadne won’t be able to resist offering you shelter when I explain what’s happened. Your father isn’t liked by many people and has been particularly rude to her and her friends more than once.”
    “He has?”
    “Oh, yes.”
    “I can’t imagine him being rude to a stranger. He’s normally so quietly spoken. Why was he like that with her?”
    “It seems he disapproves very strongly of women voting. He not only threw things at Evadne when she was marching along the street to gain attention for the cause, but he encouraged others to do the same.”
    “Oh.”
    “My cousin considered her suffering worthwhile in the struggle for women to obtain the vote, but he made it more a vendetta, even had them thrown out of their former premises and tried to fine them for damage to the property. Fortunately, the men who moved their possessions were able to testify that all had been in order when they vacated the premises. He was clumsy with that, which surprised me, let his anger rule his common sense, I suppose. Ah, here we are.”
    Justin opened the door to his rooms and led her inside. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sit in the middle room, because I have another client coming to see me soon, but I’ll make sure my clerk provides you with refreshments and a copy of the Tinsley Telegraph to read. Oh, and the usual conveniences are out at the back.”
    “Thank you. You’re very kind.”
    But she couldn’t settle and time seemed to pass very slowly when she checked it on the little gold fob watch pinned to her lapel.
    It wasn’t until two o’clock in the afternoon that they heard from Mr Pearson, by which time Serena had decided to take a room in a hotel for the night, not wanting to inconvenience Miss Blair.
    Justin suddenly appeared in the doorway, waving a piece of paper. “This has come from Pearson. It doesn’t contain nearly as much information as I’d expected, but it appears your father sold six of the cottages some time ago and invested the money for you. There is only one left, the one in which the maid lived until her recent death. Apparently your father is negotiating to sell it at the moment and recommends that we let the sale go through. He says he hasn’t got the key, has given it to the person who’s buying it, but he’ll get one to us within a day or two if we need it.”
    “How can he have sold the houses without consulting me?”
    “You must have signed something.”
    “Indeed I didn’t! Believe me, I’d have remembered.”
    Justin frowned at her, then pulled out his notebook and scribbled a reminder. “I’ll look into that as well, then. What about this final cottage?”
    “I don’t want to sell it. If it’s at all suitable, I could go and live there until this is sorted out, couldn’t I?”
    He raised one eyebrow. “It’s only a cottage.”
    “And I’m only one person. How many rooms do I need?” She smiled. “I think I’d like to live on my own for a while, very quietly, with nothing but my own needs to think about—just a daily maid to help out, perhaps.”
    “Very well, then.” Justin gave her one of his mischievous looks, “Let’s go and have a look at it now. If the door is locked, there’s bound to be a key on the lintel or under the door mat. There always is.”
    Excitement began to curl through her. “I’d love to do that!”
    They went out and took a horse cab, whose driver agreed to stay with them for the rest of the afternoon. 
    “It’s situated in the village of Horton, just outside town,” Justin said. “Number Seven, Lodge Lane. I’ve passed that row of cottages several times, but can’t remember one being bigger than the others.”
    Number Seven was at the end of the