you. Cling to your guard. “Is what true?”
“You have daughters. Three bloody daughters!”
Jack sighed and slid a glance to his assistant. “Give us a moment.”
Ash watched him with narrowed eyes as the secretary left the room. Jack leaned back in his leather chair as the door clicked shut. “One of the maids, I presume? Every female on my staff falls into titters at the sight of you. Is there no woman you can’t seduce?”
Ash snorted. Jack knew all about bedding women. His illegitimate offspring attested to that.
“Why are you here, Ash?” he demanded in a hard voice that told Ash he already knew.
“I want to hear the truth from you.”
Jack studied him a long moment before speaking. “I’m a father. Is it so surprising that I should want to see my daughters? I’m not a young man anymore.”
“I know you’ve gathered them all here to auction them off to some damned bluebloods.” He felt his top lip curl back from his teeth in a sneer.
“Is it so wrong to want to see my girls well arranged—”
Ash broke out in laughter. He couldn’t help himself. He knew Jack Hadley too well to believe he was a well-meaning father concerned with the welfare of his daughters.
“Come, Jack. Do you even know their names? This is about you. About getting yourself a duke for a son-in-law.”
The older man’s ruddy face burned vividly. “Of course, I know their names. I took pains to locate them, haven’t I? They’re all here …” A scowl swept his face. “Well, I believe so. The final one was to arrive today. She’s been a bit elusive. Damned inconvenient. I have a big evening planned and I need her here.”
The final one. She didn’t even merit a name. She was without an identity. And yet Jack would hand over to her, to each of them, what Ash worked so hard to build. It was intolerable.
“So you don’t deny you’ve claimed them as your heirs? That you intend to marry them off and give away all that I’ve labored to—”
“It’s not all yours though, is it?” Jack cut in.
Ash ignored the question, pressing on. “The gaming hells were scarcely hanging on when you made me partner. The mine, the factory … I had to convince you to even agree to invest—”
“But I did agree,” Jack inserted. “You couldn’t have bought the mine or factory without me. And you’ve made me a very wealthy man. So wealthy I can buy myself any son-in-law I want.”
Ash inhaled sharply. “What of me? Am I not to be considered a candidate?” The wild idea seized him, and he could not shake it loose. If marrying one of Jack’s daughters helped him secure even a slight hold on the empire he’d built, then so be it. True, he’d still have two other daughters and their dandy husbands to contend with, but he’d cope—and all the better if he was married to a direct heir. One third of Jack’s share would be his. Combined with the share he already possessed, he’d hold the greatest majority.
Jack arched a bushy brow. “You want to wed one of my daughters? You?”
The flesh near his eye ticked beneath Jack’s appraisal. Of course he didn’t want to marry one of the chits. He didn’t want to marry anyone—much less some female he’d never clapped eyes on before. But in that moment he did want to know that this man who had saved him from starvation and abuse—this man who was the closest thing he would ever have to a father— thought he was good enough.
“Perhaps,” he answered and held his breath as Jack regarded him with steady, unflinching eyes.
“Sorry, Ash. You know you’re like a son to me, but I have big plans for these girls and you don’t quite fit into them.” His expression must have cracked, because Jack added, “I can’t have you for a son-in-law. You’re no different from me—another rat from the stews.”
The words gouged him. “I see.”
Nodding, he turned and strode from the room, each bite of his boots on the carpet driving the insult of Jack’s words deeper home.
He
“You have daughters. Three bloody daughters!”
Jack sighed and slid a glance to his assistant. “Give us a moment.”
Ash watched him with narrowed eyes as the secretary left the room. Jack leaned back in his leather chair as the door clicked shut. “One of the maids, I presume? Every female on my staff falls into titters at the sight of you. Is there no woman you can’t seduce?”
Ash snorted. Jack knew all about bedding women. His illegitimate offspring attested to that.
“Why are you here, Ash?” he demanded in a hard voice that told Ash he already knew.
“I want to hear the truth from you.”
Jack studied him a long moment before speaking. “I’m a father. Is it so surprising that I should want to see my daughters? I’m not a young man anymore.”
“I know you’ve gathered them all here to auction them off to some damned bluebloods.” He felt his top lip curl back from his teeth in a sneer.
“Is it so wrong to want to see my girls well arranged—”
Ash broke out in laughter. He couldn’t help himself. He knew Jack Hadley too well to believe he was a well-meaning father concerned with the welfare of his daughters.
“Come, Jack. Do you even know their names? This is about you. About getting yourself a duke for a son-in-law.”
The older man’s ruddy face burned vividly. “Of course, I know their names. I took pains to locate them, haven’t I? They’re all here …” A scowl swept his face. “Well, I believe so. The final one was to arrive today. She’s been a bit elusive. Damned inconvenient. I have a big evening planned and I need her here.”
The final one. She didn’t even merit a name. She was without an identity. And yet Jack would hand over to her, to each of them, what Ash worked so hard to build. It was intolerable.
“So you don’t deny you’ve claimed them as your heirs? That you intend to marry them off and give away all that I’ve labored to—”
“It’s not all yours though, is it?” Jack cut in.
Ash ignored the question, pressing on. “The gaming hells were scarcely hanging on when you made me partner. The mine, the factory … I had to convince you to even agree to invest—”
“But I did agree,” Jack inserted. “You couldn’t have bought the mine or factory without me. And you’ve made me a very wealthy man. So wealthy I can buy myself any son-in-law I want.”
Ash inhaled sharply. “What of me? Am I not to be considered a candidate?” The wild idea seized him, and he could not shake it loose. If marrying one of Jack’s daughters helped him secure even a slight hold on the empire he’d built, then so be it. True, he’d still have two other daughters and their dandy husbands to contend with, but he’d cope—and all the better if he was married to a direct heir. One third of Jack’s share would be his. Combined with the share he already possessed, he’d hold the greatest majority.
Jack arched a bushy brow. “You want to wed one of my daughters? You?”
The flesh near his eye ticked beneath Jack’s appraisal. Of course he didn’t want to marry one of the chits. He didn’t want to marry anyone—much less some female he’d never clapped eyes on before. But in that moment he did want to know that this man who had saved him from starvation and abuse—this man who was the closest thing he would ever have to a father— thought he was good enough.
“Perhaps,” he answered and held his breath as Jack regarded him with steady, unflinching eyes.
“Sorry, Ash. You know you’re like a son to me, but I have big plans for these girls and you don’t quite fit into them.” His expression must have cracked, because Jack added, “I can’t have you for a son-in-law. You’re no different from me—another rat from the stews.”
The words gouged him. “I see.”
Nodding, he turned and strode from the room, each bite of his boots on the carpet driving the insult of Jack’s words deeper home.
He
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