The Secret Heiress (20 page)

The housekeeper stopped gathering the tea items for a moment. “I selected the ingredients with them in mind.”

William stood up and opened the door to the house for his housekeeper who was carrying a tray loaded with dishes. “Thank you, Mrs. Blake.”

He needed to find a way to distract his sister. Leaning on the low stone wall surrounding the terrace, he asked “Have you spoken with Ms. North?”

“Not exactly but I think I can convince her.”

He would have to tell her no. “Olivia, I want to help but this entire idea seems to be coming out of left field. Before I decide to purchase a company, I review the financials, assets and current market trends.”

Olivia ran a hand over her slightly rounded belly. “I thought of purchasing it myself but with this new baby, I can’t possibly take more on.”

He looked away. She was a force of nature but she was right with a pregnancy and then an infant, the timing was wrong. “Maybe the hat company will limp along for another year and then you could think about it.”

“I scheduled a meeting for tomorrow. They are within days of closing the shop. This is the eleventh hour.”

“What is the name of this company?”

“The Breen Hat Company. Surely you have heard of them?”

He looked at his beautifully put together sister. “No. I can’t say that I have.”

“Just take a look at the company and see what can be done.”

He smiled at her. “I will. But you must be careful to not get your hopes up.”

She stood up and hugged him tightly. “I’ll go rest until dinner. Is it fine if I ask Bridget to take the train up? Can you collect her in the morning?”

The idea of spending time with Bridget frustrated him. “I can pick her up. But I can’t make any promises about Breen until I visit and go through their financials. And I’m not sold on Bridget North.”

Will headed for his office and instead of dealing with other pressing business issues, he delved into the information that was available on the family owned hat company.