The Fortune Hunter (37 page)

Just this morning, he had received a letter from Lord Windham's solicitor informing him that there would be legal steps taken to recover money from Mr. Albert Pilcher's estate because of fraud perpetrated against the present viscount's father. Now this note!

Tapping his fingers on the page, he ignored the opening paragraph which had pleased him, for Lord Windham was withdrawing his claim against the Pilcher estate and Cole Pilcher. The rest outraged him. Even without looking at the page, he could recall the words:

As Miss Dufresne shall become my wife before the month is out, I am returning the paperwork for the completion of the sale of Hill's End to you unsigned. There is little need for me to purchase what shall be mine when we are wed. I trust you shall return your share of the proceeds of the initial payment to my solicitor immediately.

Dashed woman!

Then he smiled as he reached for the folder with the Pilcher name on it. There was always a way of getting his money back. Opening it, he began to peruse the columns of numbers. Then he called his secretary. He wasn't after a fortune, after all. And just yesterday, he had heard that after getting a hefty amount of money from an investor for his canal project, Cole Pilcher was planning to buckle himself to Elinor Howe and go off to a fine life in London. Before he left, Pilcher could afford to give some blunt to his solicitor … just to even things a bit.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1993 by Jo Ann Ferguson

Cover design by Neil Alexander Heacox

ISBN: 978-1-5040-0907-2

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