if hes wicked by Hannah Howell Read Free Book Online

wife?”
    “Who better indeed? These papers show that they also seek to put me in debtor’s prison.”
    “Which neatly answers the question of why , does it not?” Leo said as he stood up and stretched before idly pacing the length of the room.
    “I suspect it does.”
    “From what I have seen and learned through careful investigation and observation, most of your lands and investments are intact and are careful y
    tended. It appears the pair does realize that they need to do at least that much to keep their purses ful of your money. Other lands you own are not faring quite so wel .” Leo shrugged. “They have no interest in them and so they bleed them dry and invest nothing in them. Since the rumor that you are dead is
    spreading fast and wide now, there have already been whispers seeping about saying that certain unentailed properties wil soon enter the market.”
    Leo waited patiently as Julian indulged in a hearty, creative bout of cursing, then said, “There is no proof that you are dead, Julian, so it wil be very
    difficult to dispense with your property too quickly.”
    “And Nigel is my heir, not my uncle. I also changed my wil , leaving my wife a very smal annuity. I thought of leaving her nothing at al but decided
    that would raise too many questions, the answers to which would be embarrassing for my family.”
    “But before that, she had a healthy widow’s portion, I suspect.”
    “She did and it included some property, but that property could not be sold without the new earl’s ful approval.”
    “Who is in Canada. So, if your uncle could show that you gave him the right to act in your stead or made him the executor of your wil …”
    “I never did such a thing, never gave him any rights or power at al . Of course, that does not mean that he could not produce some claim that he
    had them.” Julian grimaced. “What would a little forgery matter to such a man?”
    “True. He could also dispute your wil as it was made in the heat of anger or any other excuse he can think of. So we must conjure up some way to
    put a spoke in his wheel.”
    “Such as what?” Julian was beginning to think that Leopold Wherlocke had a very devious mind.
    “Such as debts accrued during the year you were, wel , not quite yourself.”
    “You mean whilst I acted the drunken debauchee,” Julian drawled, stil feeling the pinch of shame and embarrassment over his behavior of the last
    year. “Unfortunately, I do not believe I have any outstanding debts, certainly not of the sort that could be used to grab fistfuls of any property I own.”
    Leo sat on the end of the bed and leaned against the thick bedpost. “Nay, you do not, but that does not mean we cannot produce a few. Do you
    think your uncle and your wife know of every little thing you have done over the past year?”
    Julian thought about that possibility for a few moments and then shook his head. “No, I think not. They have obviously kept a watch on what I was
    doing, and where, or hired someone else to do it so that they could plan their attempts to kil me, but I can think of several times when they would have had a good chance of succeeding yet nothing happened. And I did gamble and there were some losses, but nothing too severe.”
    “Then I believe it might be wise to conjure up a few sizeable debts, ones that could be produced quickly if the sale of certain properties looked
    imminent. Think of which properties you would truly regret losing and write a chit deeding it or its profits over to me or Edgar or both of us.”
    “You have an astonishingly devious mind,” Julian said, unable to hold the thought back any longer.
    “Thank you.”
    “I wil give some hard thought to which properties I truly do not wish to lose and then see to it that you and Edgar have the proper papers to hold up
    any attempt to sel them for a very long time.”
    “Let us pray that we wil not need a very long time to clean up this treacherous mess. Now, what about that wil