Peter Wilks' funeral was going to be the next afternoon.
In the meantime, his coffin was in the parlor of his house.
I watched with disgust while the king prayed and cried beside the coffin.
Meanwhile, the duke, who was pretending to be William, just stood quietly and looked sad.
Mary Jane gave the king the letter that Peter Wilks had left.
He read it aloud. It said that Peter gave his own house and three thousand dollars to his three nieces.
He gave his tannery business, some other houses and land, and three thousand dollars to his brothers Harvey and William.
The letter also said where the money—six thousand dollars in gold coins—was hidden in the cellar.
Right away, the king and the duke said they would get the money.
They took me with them to the dark cellar and asked me to hold a candle.
They quickly found the bag of money, and their eyes shone with greed.
The two men counted the coins carefully to make sure it was all there.
Then we went upstairs, and they counted it again in front of everyone.
"My friends," said the king. "My poor brother has been very generous.
He left as much as he could to these poor lambs"—he meant the three girls—"but he wanted to leave something for us, his brothers.
However, I feel they need it more. Here, Mary Jane, Susan, and Joanna—take it all." The king handed the bag to Mary Jane.
Everyone said how generous he was. While the girls hugged and kissed him, I noticed that a tall man had come into the room.
The king noticed him and went over to shake his hand, but the man pulled his hand away angrily.
"Why Doctor Robinson," Mary Jane said, "don't you know this is my uncle's brother Harvey Wilks?"
"He's just pretending to be an Englishman," the doctor replied.
"He has the worst English accent I've ever heard.
I don't believe he is my good friend's brother, and I won't shake his hand."
Mary Jane was shocked, but the doctor continued, "I warn you not to trust these men.
They've learned all about your family somehow, and they have come here to cheat you."
But Mary Jane said to the doctor, "Here is my answer to you." She took the bag of money and gave it to the king.
"Take this six thousand dollars," she said, "and invest it for us. I trust you."
Doctor Robinson gave up and left the house.
That night, there was a big dinner for Peter Wilks' friends.
As a servant, I didn't get a chance to eat until after dinner had been served, but there was lots of food left over.
I was sitting in the kitchen eating when Joanna, the youngest sister, came in.
She was very curious about my life in England.
"Did you ever see the king of England?" she asked.
"Oh, yes," I answered. "He came to our church every week."
"But I thought he lived in London," Joanna said.
"Yes, he does."
"But don't you live in Sheffield?" she asked, with a puzzled look on her face.
Darn! I had forgotten that we were supposed to be from Sheffield.
I thought quickly. "Well, I meant he comes to our church in Sheffield in the summertime. He comes to swim in the sea."
"But Sheffield is nowhere near the sea," she said. "Are you just making this up?"
"No, not at all!" I said quickly.
But soon I made another mistake. Joanna asked me how servants were treated in England.
"Oh, very badly," I replied. "They're not allowed to go to circuses or theaters—or even to church."
"But you're a servant and you said you go to church," Joanna said. "I don't believe you."
Mary Jane and Susan came into the kitchen at that moment.
"What don't you believe?" asked Mary Jane.
"It isn't kind to speak that way to someone so far from home. You must apologize to Adolphus."
And Joanna did apologize to me, very sweetly.
At that moment, I knew that I couldn't let the king and the duke take their money.
I went up to bed early, but I couldn't sleep.
I had to think of a way to get the money back for the girls.
Everyone else was still downstairs, so I decided I would search the rooms of the king and the duke.
While I was looking in the king's room, I heard the two men coming up the stairs. I quickly hid under the bed.
They came in and shut the door. The duke said he thought they should take the money and leave town that very night.
"That doctor might make trouble for us."
But the king refused. "No, I want to stay and sell the houses and land that were left to us. We'll make even more money."
The duke finally agreed. "But I don't like our hiding place for the money," he said. "A servant might find it."
The two men got the bag from somewhere in the room.
I heard them making a rip in the mattress just above me, and they hid the money inside it.
Then they went back downstairs to join the other guests.
At that point, although I had no real plan, I quickly grabbed the bag of money.