Page 16 of When You Rescued Me

“Mr. Dennington. Miss Dennington.” Mr. Cantrell inclined his head.

“Good day, Cantrell,” Hannah’s father said. “You will forgive me for not standing to greet you. Thanks to a newly purchased sedan chair, I am finally able to spend a few hours each day out of my bedchamber, but I have yet to receive the doctor’s permission to put weight on my leg.”

“Of course.” Mr. Cantrell watched Hannah take her seat with a slight frown. “I beg your pardon, Miss Dennington, but I had hoped to speak with your father regarding a rather delicate matter of business.”

Hannah smiled politely. “And you wish to have me leave?”

He cleared his throat and glanced at her father before meeting her appraising look. “As the news I bear is somewhat troubling, that might be for the best.”

“Best for whom exactly?” she asked.

“Enough, Hannah.” There was a hint of admonition in her father’s tone, but thankfully, he said nothing more to her. Instead, he gave Mr. Cantrell his full attention. “You may speak freely, Cantrell. My daughter is fully conversant with every part of my business dealings. Since you were with her when she oversaw the unloading of the Arabella’s cargo, I assumed you understood that.”

Pressed up against his white wig, Mr. Cantrell’s earlobes reddened. “Of course, sir.”

“Very well. Please continue.”

The solicitor cleared his throat again. “I received a letter from Mr. Ellerby this morning.”

“The clerk at the Port of London wharf?” Hannah’s father asked.

“Yes, sir.” Mr. Cantrell opened the letter. “He wrote to inform me that there has been some mischief afoot at your warehouse.”

“Mischief?” Hannah’s father leaned forward, his expression tense. “What kind of mischief?”

“Apparently, some vagabonds broke in during the night and helped themselves to three hogsheads of rum.”

“The devil they did!” her father exclaimed. “What has been done about it?”

“According to this letter, repairs have already been made to the damaged door, and a new lock has been installed. Mr. Ellerby has also filed a report at Bow Street, and Fielding has promised to send someone to investigate.”

“I should say so! What about guards? Surely Ellerby understands that in a situation such as this, hundreds of pounds worth of commodities cannot be left unattended.”

“He mentioned nothing about guards,” Mr. Cantrell said.

Hannah stared at him, her fingers clenched. He mentioned nothing about guards. Was that the best response the gentleman could muster after delivering such dreadful news?

“May I ask why Mr. Ellerby wrote to you rather than to my father directly?” she asked.

“I cannot say,” Mr. Cantrell replied. “When I spoke with him at the wharf last week, I mentioned that Mr. Dennington was unable to be there due to an injury. He may have assumed that I am taking care of your father’s business matters at present.”

Even though she had been the one inventorying the cargo in plain sight of Mr. Ellerby and every other dockworker and sailor in the vicinity.

“I see,” she said, the words sounding brittle to her own ears.

“Well, I do not!” Her father was struggling to keep his anger in check. “Where was the night watchman in all this? I should have been speaking with Ellerby myself within an hour of his discovery of the break-in.”

“I shall write back immediately to tell Ellerby that all future correspondences should be sent to you,” Mr. Cantrell said.

Hannah took one look at her father’s face and rose to her feet before he could fully vent his frustrations on the emotionally detached solicitor or, worse, throw all the doctor’s admonitions to the wind and begin pacing on his injured leg.

“Thank you, Mr. Cantrell,” she said. “We appreciate your bringing this issue to our attention.”

Confusion shone in his eyes, but the solicitor issued a stiff bow. “If there is anything more I can do to be of assistance, do not hesitate to send for me.”

“Thank you.”

He turned and exited the room without so much as a hint of warmth in his manner. Hannah closed the door behind him. Sophia, with her ridiculous matchmaking notions, would be sorely disappointed by their latest interaction. Hannah, however, felt immense relief.