The Heiress Hunt (The Fifth Avenue Rebels #1) - Joanna Shupe Page 0,1

What of my wife and family?” Married eight years ago, he now had three children. “We will lose the house, the company, the cottage in Newport. The racehorses, the yacht—everything we own will disappear, Harrison. We’ll be out on the street.”

“I fail to see how that is my problem.” He checked his pocket watch for the time, feigning boredom to annoy both of them. “Considering my access to those luxuries was cut off years ago.”

“Well, now.” Thomas had the grace to appear sheepish. “I am certain, after you marry, we can come to some sort of an agreement, after the family debts are settled.”

“I can change my will,” their mother added, “to give you half of my stock upon my death.”

Harrison nearly laughed. He would acquire everything they owned in less than a month. “What you are proposing is ludicrous. Even if I had an heiress in mind, it would take time to court her and plan the wedding.” He started to get up. “We’re done here—”

“You could compromise her,” his mother said.

Harrison’s stomach churned with disgust at those words, a horrific reminder of what he’d witnessed his father doing three years ago. He’d tried to stop Winthrop’s abuse of the housemaid, but in the end it hadn’t mattered. The police had been paid off and Harrison disinherited.

Now his mother had the nerve to suggest he compromise a woman.

Christ, he could not wait to destroy these people.

Thomas slid a piece of paper forward on the desk, obviously misinterpreting Harrison’s silence for acquiescence. “Here are the names of every heiress of marriageable age who is not yet promised.”

“Including that girl,” his mother said. “The mannish one you followed around as a boy.”

Harrison reacted instantly. Violently. The muscles in his body clenched and his lungs constricted as his system locked in disbelief. Even the dust motes seemed to pause in midair.

Was it true?

She hadn’t married?

Maddie Webster had been his closest childhood friend and the girl he’d planned to wed. Until she broke his heart. He had tried to forget her in Paris, not even inquiring after her with their mutual friends. He assumed she’d married some boring swell and settled into an East Side town house by now.

So what happened?

Not a lack of suitors, surely. Maddie’s smile could transform a room, drawing in everyone just to bask in her joy. All of New York adored her, the golden girl of high society with more friends than Harrison could count. She’d been his opposite in nearly every way, yet the two of them had been inseparable as children. Thick as Five Points thieves—until the day he’d left for Paris.

“Though there are rumors,” Thomas said absently, tapping his pen on the desk. “They say the Duke of Lockwood is soon to propose. Perhaps I should cross Miss Webster off—”

“Leave her.” The words were out of Harrison’s mouth before he could stop them, the order cracking throughout the cavernous space.

That got everyone’s attention. His mother’s expression turned calculating. “Does this mean you’ll do it?”

His mind spun with possibility and he resisted the old urge to fidget. Before he left, Maddie had thought of him as a brother . . . but three years was a long time. They were adults now. He was no longer the supposed lazy and privileged second son, but a wealthy, hardworking businessman with property and interests all over Europe. He’d proven himself. She would notice the difference, wouldn’t she?

Perhaps she’d see him as a man now.

How could she not? After all, no one knew him better—and he would ensure the word brotherly never entered her mind during their interactions.

Moreover, soon-to-be-engaged was not engaged. There was still time. Just barely, it seemed, but he and Maddie had a special bond, one even a duke could never rival.

Reaching out, he snatched up his brother’s list. Over the next few weeks, he could devote all his attention to winning Maddie while the plans for Archer Industries fell into place. By summer’s end he could have everything he’d ever wanted.

Every. Single. Thing.

His heart thumped with a familiar rush of determination. He’d accomplished the impossible in Paris, building a fortune from almost nothing. He could triumph once again with Maddie.

He stood and buttoned his coat. “I’ll find an heiress and marry her.”

“Thank goodness,” his mother declared. “Finally you’re of use to this family.”

“Which one?” Thomas pointed to the list.

As if Harrison would tell them. “I haven’t decided yet,” he lied, and started for the door. “But I know just the person to help me figure