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complete access to it, and I’ve no idea if or when I’ll get it back. And your godmother is inaccessible for a goodly while. But rest assured, I shall offer you my sage counsel, and I’m committed to staying until your dilemma is resolved.”
    There. He’d let her know in no uncertain terms that he could offer her no money.
    So why did he feel more vulnerable than he had when he’d offered his paramours expensive baubles?
    He had no idea.
    But he did.
    And he didn’t like it.

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    He braced himself for a dire response, but Miss Montgomery didn’t appear as if she’d faint. Or cry.
    She merely nodded. “Very well. We’ll begin with our various talents, the eleven pounds I’ve already saved, and luck. And then we’ll go from there. Surely we’ll be able to amass four hundred pounds putting our heads together.”
    “Four hundred pounds?”
    She might as well be asking for the moon!
    He stood. “I can’t stay long enough to help you amass such a sum. It could take years.”
    “I don’t have years.”
    “Exactly why do you need so much? Drapes, sideboards, and drawbridge repairs shouldn’t cost a tenth of that amount.”
    She sighed. “A very good question. The first one hundred pounds are needed immediately. They’ll go to paying the annual feu duty to the landlord at the Keep. Without it, we could be removed from the property—as soon as the first of July, mere weeks away. Another hundred will be put aside for next year’s feu duty. The rest will be invested in the estate, mainly in the sheep herd, to get us back on our feet so that we no longer have to suffer the indignity of borrowing from anyone.”
    “Pardon my mentioning this”—he looked round at the faded room—“but it’s evident the castle’s not in the best of condition. And the estate appears unwieldy for a young, untried lady to oversee. Surely it would be best if you moved elsewhere.”
    “No other place will do.” She raised her chin. “I have people to worry about. Hester and Joe, the servants. They’ve lived here since well before I was born. And this is my home. My home, sir. Not merely an abode.”
    Her eyes glistened with a hint of moisture, but she didn’t acknowledge the sheen of tears in the least.
    He understood that sense of pride and attachment. He’d acquired many properties on his family’s behalf, but not a one of them meant anything to him—other than his ancestral home in Devon.
    “But you do comprehend,” he said, “how much four hundred pounds is? It would take most citizens of Britain decades—many of them their whole lives, if ever—to earn such a sum.”
    “Oh, yes, I know. It’s a bundle.” She distractedly tapped a finger on her mouth while looking him over. “I’m perfectly willing to hope that even in your penurious—and I might add, downtrodden—state you’ll be useful in acquiring it, however. What can you do?”
    “Ride, fence, box, and … and sing. I’m very good at singing.” How pathetic that sounded.
    “I’m afraid riding, fencing, boxing, and singing won’t be much use.” She tilted her head. “Anything else you forgot to mention?”
    He hesitated. “I know how to make money. But I can’t do it from scratch. I need starter funds.”
    Miss Montgomery actually clapped her hands. “That’s perfect.” She grinned. “That’s exactly what I need, someone who knows how to make money.”
    Somehow she’d wound up a mere foot from him. She studied him closely, and as she did, he couldn’t help being fascinated by her blue eyes, the way they slanted up ever so slightly, as if she were a fairy.
    “Do you have money to invest?” he asked her.
    “No.” She wrapped her thin arms around her too-thin body. “And you’ve already said you don’t.”
    “No. Unfortunately.”
    Her expression drooped.
    There was a short, sad silence.
    “Now that you’ve been enlightened as to the stark particulars of our arrangement,” he said, “no doubt you’re sorry you