The Hidden Legacy Read online

  The Hidden Legacy

  Julie Roberts

  A painting, a thief, a debt repaid

  A female artist in a man's world, Meredith Sanders is making her own way in life. But when she receives a legacy from her deceased guardian, she finds herself drawn into his criminal past and into danger.

  At first, businessman Adam Fox suspects Meredith of involvement in an art fraud relating to a missing Turner painting. Despite her fear of betrayal, she sees he is the only man she can turn to and trust. Together they try to find the painting and return it to the Royal Academy before the opening of the Summer Exhibition, leading Meredith into even deeper trouble

  And whatever her feelings for Adam, Meredith cannot reveal the secrets of her own humble past…

  For readers of Nicola Cornick, and Stephanie Laurens, an exciting new voice in Regency romance

  Contents

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to thank my editor, Jay Dixon, for her kindness and generous help in preparing my novel for publication.

  My thanks also, to everyone who helped with my research. Especially:

  Adam Waterton, Librarian, Royal Academy of Arts, regarding the Summer Exhibition 1815.

  The staff of The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, for historic architectural advice.

  And the staff of the Hoop and Grapes in Aldgate for their historical legend of a secret tunnel.

  To my husband, Tony, who has been my most devoted supporter, from the first word to the last.

  CHAPTER ONE

  April 1815

  This moment was the beginning of her new life.

  Meredith stood in front of a building in Ludgate Hill. She owned every brick and room squeezed between a silversmith and a tailor’s premises. From today it was her home, her art studio, and gallery. She wanted to dance and clap her hands, though such girlish behaviour would not be appropriate. But it was still a wonder that her beloved guardian, Frederick, had bequeathed it to her.

  She stepped close to the bow window, which reflected her green eyes bright with happiness. A light breeze lifted a strand of dark hair as she rubbed her finger over a dust spot. The new easels had emptied her purse, but they had been worth every penny as they displayed her two favourite paintings, a river scene and a portrait of a boy.

  The sound of bolts being drawn in the adjoining shops made her heart beat faster. Could she succeed in the art world? Would artists allow an un-sponsored, unprotected woman into their realm of canvas and oils? Enter studios where models were draped in only swathes of scarlet silk?

  Going inside, she left the front door open. It presented a more welcoming entrance than a client having to knock. The dusty and dingy room of two weeks ago was now covered with unbleached linen panels. It had transformed the space into a light and airy gallery. In pride of place on the long wall was her painting of Frederick.

  She picked up The Times and read the advertisement she had placed. It looked small and insignificant amongst so many others.

  Artist of experience seeks pupils to tutor in the graces of drawing and painting.

  Mondays and Wednesdays – 9am until noon.

  Charge 5s.0d per morning.

  Sanders Studio, Ludgate Hill.

  Should she be sitting when a client arrived? She swept her skirt across a wooden chair and seated herself behind a spindly-legged desk that she had bargained fiercely for with a mean-faced trader at a flea market – but she loved the elegant tone it gave the gallery.

  Fifteen minutes passed. She couldn’t sit a moment longer and paced the length of the room, counting each step … Thirty minutes! What would she do if no one came? Frederick had, in his will, provided her with an allowance which ought to cover her own expenses. But there was also Mrs Clements to provide for. It had only been proper to invite her to leave Harlington and come to London as her companion and housekeeper. Her tuition money would be essential to pay Mrs Clements’ wages. And what about buying her art materials? If she sold a painting she would need to create another to replace it. Her plan to put aside a little money each quarter for emergencies was looking more than fanciful. Clearly being independent meant shouldering a lot of personal and household responsibilities.

  Clattering horses’ hooves sounded outside the window and Meredith hurried to see what was happening. A well-attired gentleman was lifting a little girl from a coach. A moment later he opened the inner gallery door and together they stepped inside.

  Now that she could see him better, he was a very handsome gentleman. His dark hair touched the collar of his jacket and his eyes were the darkest of brown. He removed his hat, favoured a slight bow, and said, ‘Good morning. My niece and I have come in answer to an advertisement regarding tuition. Would you please announce to the artist that Mr Fox and Miss Weston are here?’

  This was not a good start. He thought she was an assistant? Her hands started to tremble and she clasped them tightly and prayed the dark dress she wore gave her a professional appearance.

  She curtsied. ‘You address the artist, sir.’

  He stepped back, ‘You! But you’re a …’ he faltered, ‘a lady, a very young lady!’

  If this was the reaction she was going to get whenever a prospective client walked through the door, interviews would be extremely tedious. But she would not be intimidated by his words; she raised her head an inch and replied, ‘I am Miss Meredith Sanders, at your service, sir. I can assure you I am fully qualified to tutor.’

  Mr Fox gestured to the window. ‘Come closer that I might see better a lady who recommends herself so highly.’

  Meredith bit her tongue. How many times had she been warned that her frank speaking would be her downfall? Was she now going to lose this client she so desperately needed?

  ‘I beg your pardon sir, I meant no offence.’

  Amusement tinged his voice as he repeated, ‘I asked you to come nearer the light.’

  The last thing she wanted to do was provoke a disagreement, so she stepped forward and said, ‘This is a bright room, sir. However, I am happy to oblige you.’

  His gaze started at her feet and moved upwards to her eyes, his expression revealing nothing of his thoughts. ‘Tell me, how many of these paintings can I attribute to you?’

  ‘All of them, sir.’ Meredith kept her tone civil and swept her arm in a circle towards both long walls. ‘I paint watercolour and oil, portrait and landscape.’

  ‘Um,’ was his only comment. ‘Do you have a stool for my niece to sit on?’

  Meredith indicated a wooden chair in the corner and the child sat down. Miss Weston’s behaviour was demure, but there was an expectation in her, an excitement as she leant forward and watched her uncle’s every move.

  Mr Fox toured the room that was now her gallery, stopping to study first a landscape, then a charcoal sketch and finally the portrait of Frederick.

  ‘Who is this?’

  ‘My …’ she hesitated, then the untruth left her lips, ‘my
late father, who was also my dearest friend.’

  ‘Would you say this is a good likeness?’

  Her grief, never far from the surface, returned. ‘Oh, yes.’ Her voice warmed, as it always did when she spoke of Frederick. ‘He had the dearest of natures. Those lines beside his eyes were caused by laughter and his lips tilted up at the corner when he smiled. And he always wore the most brilliant of colours.’ She was drawn into the painting, remembering the long summer days in his studio, how he had taught her to mix the oil paints, sketch an outline.

  ‘I am much taken with your talent, Miss Sanders.’

  She forced her memories aside, relieved to hear Mr Fox now viewed her with a more appreciative manner. Now that her initial fear had calmed, she could see his face was not so stern, his voice a more gentle tone. And his fine woollen green jacket fitted his broad shoulders to perfection. She let her gaze drift lower to the pale breeches and highly polished boots. Such an outfit could only come from the highest quality shops. A flutter of excitement ran down to her toes.

  ‘Thank you, sir. Your compliment is a great encouragement.’

  ‘How many pupils do you have? I would like Miss Weston to receive your full attention if she were to study here.’

  ‘I have none at the moment, sir. You are my first client.’

  Her palms were wet and her pulse raced. She didn’t want to babble, but what else could she say to entice him to let his niece attend? ‘I would not charge any more for private lessons, should Miss Weston be the only pupil.’

  Mr Fox raised his brows. ‘Ah. You are out to bargain with me?’

  ‘Bargain with you, sir? I only meant …’ Her cheeks burned. Did he think she was trying to increase her fee? Certainly she was in need of the tuition money, but she was not a scheming fraudster. No indeed!

  ‘Sir, may I point out that I am not –’

  He interrupted, a frown creasing his forehead. ‘Where do you come from? Your accent is unfamiliar.’

  Why did he want to know that? Did it matter? She had advertised offering art tuition, not applied to be a governess. But a sharp reply could go against her. Civility was surely the best action. ‘I’m from Harlington, sir.’

  ‘You’re a country girl, of course. Where do you conduct your lessons?’

  A spark of hope rose up. ‘I have a studio at the back of this gallery.’

  ‘I would like to see your references, before we proceed any further.’

  ‘I can give you my personal references. My professional accomplishments are what you see on the walls.’

  Meredith took three letters from her desk drawer, one from the Reverend Lyle, a second from Squire Norris, and the last from the Honourable Mrs Kilburn. She handed them to him.

  ‘Each of these persons I have known for the past ten years.’

  Mr Fox sat on her visitor’s chair and opened the first letter.

  What if she were unacceptable? Living under Frederick’s protection she had never had the need to be interviewed, never to pay her own way. Her heart beat fast, as her dream of running this establishment, painting and selling her work, lay in what people like Mr Fox decided. To hide her nervousness she sat behind her desk and waited.

  Minutes passed as he read, giving no indication by either manner or voice of how he was assessing her. He placed the letters on the desk.

  ‘You have excellent references, Miss Sanders. Yet I have no friends or acquaintances that I could approach to vouch for you. By your own admission, you have come from Harlington, an area I know nothing of.’

  This was another dilemma that had not occurred to her, that parents would be unwilling to leave their child in the care of a stranger.

  He tapped his fingers on the desk. ‘Do you have a companion living with you?’

  ‘Yes, Mrs Clements is both my companion and housekeeper, sir. We have rooms above on two floors.’

  ‘How long have you had her in your employ?’

  ‘Mrs Clements came with me from Harlington. She was my father’s housekeeper for twenty years.’

  ‘May I ask you to draw a small sketch of my niece, to give me some assurance of your skill?’

  Meredith drew in a breath and held it. He wanted her to draw with him watching? She released her breath, but her throat tightened and her hands suddenly had pins and needles. ‘If that is your wish, sir, I will collect my sketch book and charcoal.’

  He nodded. ‘Do you want my niece to stay where she is?’

  ‘Yes. Is a head and shoulders sufficient?

  ‘That would be quite sufficient, Miss Sanders.’ His voice held no malice, no triumph, only the respectful request of a client.

  Meredith’s legs were trembling and her heartbeat was so loud in her ears she was sure Mr Fox could hear it as she walked into the studio. She closed the door and leant against it. His request was unexpected and frightening, but this was her chance to prove she was an artist, not just a lady who paints. She picked up her sketch book and charcoal, and mustered her inner bravado.

  Mr Fox had moved her visitor’s chair in front of his niece, sitting by the window.

  ‘Thank you, Mr Fox. Now, Miss Weston, just look at one of the paintings on the wall behind me – excellent. This will take a few minutes, so please, keep very still.’

  Meredith waited, her charcoal poised over the paper. Behind her she could feel Mr Fox’s presence, caught the faint scent on his skin. Yet he was not threatening, instead there was a comfort in him being there. Her fingers relaxed and she studied the child. With quick strokes she drew the contours of her face, her lips, her nose, but it was her eyes sparkling with excitement that brought the sketch alive. Meredith finished the portrait with the tight fair curls peeking from under her cap and her shoulders covered with a lace collar.

  Meredith turned and handed him her sketch book. Everything she hoped for now lay in Mr Fox’s hand.

  He stood silent. Then a smile parted his lips. It changed his countenance instantly. He glanced towards his niece and she started to rise, but he held up his hand. ‘Sit a moment longer, Sarah. Patience is a lesson a young lady must acquire.’ His tone was light but firm and the child sighed.

  ‘I know, Uncle Adam.’

  This was a different man to the one who had spoken so brusquely when he arrived. Was this a sign he was accepting her? The clock ticked away the minutes matching the thumping of her heartbeat as he studied the charcoal portrait.

  ‘Miss Sanders, I am not a stickler for the high protocol of the gentry, but my niece is under my protection and I must be quite sure that she is brought up to a standard my brother-in-law would expect. Miss Weston is only eight years old, but I think she requires a younger person to be with for part of her education. Her day governess is a mature matron and very strict, a requirement my aunt insists on.’

  What did this mean? Could she take this comment as an advantage? Waiting for his answer was a torture. She crossed her fingers, praying he would say yes. He went over to Frederick’s portrait and studied it for several moments.

  ‘May I offer a trial period of one month? If all progresses satisfactorily, then I see no reason why you should not continue Miss Weston’s art tuition. I would insist, of course, on leaving a maid as her chaperone. Is this acceptable to you?’

  Her breath left her in a rush. ‘Thank you, Mr Fox. One month’s trial and a chaperone are quite in order. Would you like to see the studio, sir?’

  ‘I would indeed.’ He turned his attention back to his niece. ‘Come, Sarah, let us go and see Miss Sanders’ studio.’

  The child who had waited with such patience now jumped up and down, her fair curls bobbing under her white cap. ‘Oh, yes please, Uncle Adam.’

  Meredith opened the door and stepped aside, allowing them to enter.

  ‘Oh, this is so very nice. And there is paper and charcoal ready for me.’ Miss Weston touched one of the four tables and sat down. ‘Will I really be the only one?’

  ‘At the moment, ye
s, but I hope to have other students very soon.’

  Meredith’s moment of optimism vanished as the child’s forehead creased in a frown and Mr Fox started to tour the room much as he had her gallery. The bareness of the room suddenly struck Meredith as a barrier; had he expected a more palatial room for his niece to study in?

  Miss Weston’s frown cleared and her face brightened as she asked, ‘If I’m the only one, could you come to Tallow House? Then I can draw the garden.’

  Mr Fox stopped pacing. ‘Would you consider coming to Great Ormond Street, Miss Sanders?’

  Go to his home! She didn’t know anything about him. What if his motives were not honourable? ‘I don’t know how far …’ Her stomach was full of butterflies. She needed time to think, but this was not the time to go weak. ‘I’m afraid not, sir. The cost of travelling and the time involved would not make it a viable business proposition for me.’

  ‘Ah. So it is money that drives you, Miss Sanders. That I understand. May I make a proposal for your personal tuition of my niece? I will send my coach for you twice a week and provide all the materials you need and a room for a studio. Would double your fee cover the additional travelling time? If you wish to take on a little extra work, I will not object.’

  He would not object! This was her business. She might be a woman in a man’s world, but how dare he give out orders as though she were a servant? The superior manner of the man was … She opened her mouth to say, ‘No. Thank you,’ but didn’t. Twenty shillings a week, guaranteed, would give her a small income and pay Mrs Clements’ wages. It left plenty of time to secure other clients and sell her paintings. And his disinterested approach didn’t give the impression of any untoward intentions.

  Squaring her shoulders to her full five feet six inches she looked into his dark eyes. ‘I think I can agree to that, sir. When would you like Miss Weston to start?’

  ‘Your advertisement read Monday and Wednesday. These are convenient days for me. I will send my coach at eight-thirty so you may start at nine o’clock. You will require paint and brushes and other supplies. My footman will call to collect a list this afternoon.’