“Forgive me if I sound ungrateful, but can you elaborate on how this would help me?” asked Cedric.

“I own the land, and you would own the right to work and control it,” explained Warren. “And you keep whatever gold you can mine out of it—after paying me an owner’s commission, of course.” He beamed. “If you get lucky, you could strike it big right away and solve all your financial problems!”

“But most people don’t strike it big right away,” pointed out Jasper. “Otherwise, Hadisen and the other gold colonies would be filled with mansions instead of shantytowns. Your offer is very kind, but Adelaide’s fee must be paid in less than two months in order for her to meet the terms of her contract. There are no guarantees of that.”

“I’ll guarantee the fee,” said Warren. “Should he not mine enough within the time frame, I’ll cover the fee to meet her contract, and his debt will switch over to me.”

Warren’s face was open and guileless, but I felt a chill run down my back. I didn’t like the idea of Cedric being indebted to someone, especially this someone. And I certainly didn’t trust Warren’s being so generous about all of this. His mother, as it turned out, didn’t like it either.

“Warren,” she scolded. “This is preposterous! You have no business giving him a claim title. You don’t owe him anything. We were supposed to come here to express our outrage and hire an attorney to file a formal grievance! Helping him further this illicit relationship was never part of our discussion this morning.”

Warren turned to her, exasperated. “What good would any of that do, Mother? Soothe your hurt feelings? Or do you expect me to bully them into letting me marry a woman whose heart belongs to another?”

“Well, not anymore! Not now that she’s used goods.”

I shot to my feet, angered at being referred to as “goods” again—and in a much less flattering way. “I beg your pardon, Mistress Doyle, but there’s nothing ‘used’ here. I’m still a virgin and will stay that way until my wedding night. It’s true this situation has gone in a direction none of us expected, but my morals have remained the same.”

Viola crossed her arms. “I don’t like it, Warren. I don’t like it at all.”

“And I don’t like it that I have gold just lying around in Hadisen! Squatters have already started moving in. I want honest, hardworking men I can trust on those claims—law-abiding men who follow the rules. Would I have liked to marry Adelaide?” His eyes held me for a fraction of a second as I sat back down beside Cedric. “Yes. But as I said, I could hardly marry her knowing she loves someone else. And so, instead of a wife, I have a potential settler. Mister Thorn here is exactly the kind of person I’d like to help build Hadisen into greatness—assuming he wants to stay. Once your debt is paid, you’d be under no obligation, Mister Thorn. But our colony is going to need people like you—like both of you—to become a civilized place.”

Considering Warren’s attitude toward the Alanzans, I found it unlikely Hadisen was the kind of place we’d want to stay. Not that it mattered. There was no way we could accept this offer.

“I accept,” said Cedric. “I’ll work your claim as part of a larger arrangement to pay Adelaide’s fee.”

I forcibly clamped my mouth shut so my jaw wouldn’t drop. In the given circumstances, I had no intention of showing anything but perfect unity between Cedric and me. Once we were alone, I planned on telling him exactly how terrible this plan was. Jasper expressed my thoughts for me.

“Are you out of your mind? What do you know about mining?”

“No more than most of the adventurers who set off for the claims. I’m sure I can learn,” said Cedric.

Warren nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll get you started. Panning is the most basic type of gold extraction, and you can move on to other techniques from there.”

“There’s one condition,” added Cedric. He took my hand again. “Adelaide comes too.”

“First,” snarled Viola, “you’re in no position to set conditions. Second, you don’t get to marry her before the financial details are fulfilled. Unless you plan on some sort of sinful arrangement.”

Cedric shook his head. “Of course not. But considering all the rumors and slander that will spread around Cape Triumph, I think it’d best for her to be removed from that—somewhere far away.”

Our eyes met briefly, and in that way we had, I understood his true motivations. Taking me from Cape Triumph would offer an added level of protection, should Viola decide to take any sort of revenge and reveal my identity. It would be a lot easier to elude bounty hunters in the wilderness than the city.

“I’ll help him mine it,” I said. “I’ve read about the panning process—it’s something I could do.”

“Living on the claim with him would only stir up more rumors, regardless of your virtuous principles,” Warren told me. “But there are a number of families traveling with children, and I’m sure many would appreciate a governess with your education. We might be able to set up a boarding arrangement—though there might be some household labor involved. And the conditions would be rough.”

“I’m sure household labor wouldn’t be a problem, considering her humble background,” quipped Viola.

“I’m not afraid of hard work,” I said resolutely.

Jasper looked me over. “You’re as naïve as my son. However hard you think you worked as a lady’s maid, it is nothing compared to what you’ll face on the frontier.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Warren clasped his hands together, face alight. “Well, then it’s settled. We leave in a week, and I’ll make the appropriate arrangements.”

Despite my declaration, I was still uneasy about all of this. It wasn’t exactly too good to be true—but nearly. I needed to talk to Cedric more extensively, assuming we were ever allowed to be alone again. Jasper seemed to be undecided on this deal. He didn’t really believe we could handle frontier life. I also suspected he didn’t want us to have a happy ending after the trouble we’d caused him. On the other hand, painting this in a seemingly honorable way—one sanctioned by a man of Warren’s repute, who’d been courting me—might save face and ensure no future business fallout.

“Thank you,” I said to Warren. “This is all very considerate of you.”

A wistful look crossed his face. “It’s my pleasure to—”

The door burst open, and amazingly enough, it was Mira who entered. Jasper glared. “I told you lot not to—”

“They’re here! They’re here! I don’t understand it, but they’re here.” Mira was breathless, her eyes wide.

“Who?” asked Jasper. I think he expected a flock of angry suitors.

“The other girls! The other ship.” Mira turned to me. “Adelaide! Tamsin’s alive!”

Chapter 20

I rushed out with the others, all of us nearly tripping over one another as we tried to get through the doorway at the same time. In the foyer, we found chaos. A group of at least twenty people mingled in the room, and our girls were running down the stairs into the throng, adding to the disarray. The noise of a dozen conversations filled the air and mostly came through as an indecipherable buzz. I stared around for a moment, unable to make sense of it all, and then I spotted it across the room: a head of bright, golden-red hair.