Read Online A Poor Relation by Carola Dunn - Free Book Online

him from the gaming tables, not that he was addicted to gambling.
    Mr. Deakins patted him on the shoulder. “Cheer up, lad. That sum’ll take us through the apple harvest, too, for there’s no shortage of labour with Boney on Elba and the army disbanding. Now, here’s the last ten years’ accounts here on this shelf. This is the current book, and this one’s 1813.” He lifted down the heavy ledgers and laid them on the desk.
    Chris nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Deakins. Dismiss!” He shook his head ruefully at the other’s surprise. “I beg your pardon. I myself am still not entirely free of the army, it seems. I should say, that will be all for now, and I’ll send for you if I need you.”
    His lordship sat a moment in thought. It would be pointless to sell his curricle, for he would not get the half of what he paid for it. He had chosen the horses with an eye to strength rather than speed, so nothing would be gained by selling them. There was one extravagance, though, that he would be happy to do without. His expensive and disapproving valet was more suited to serve a town buck than the gentleman farmer he saw himself becoming. Jessup should return to London on the next stage, with an excellent reference and a month’s wages. Potter could do all that was necessary to take care of his wardrobe.
    There was another good reason for keeping the curricle, he thought as he opened the first ledger. The incomparable Miss Grove might be persuaded to let him drive her about the countryside.
    After two hours of puzzling over the accounts, Chris was delighted when the butler interrupted him.
    “Her ladyship asked me to inform your lordship that there are callers, my lord.”
    Nothing loath, Chris abandoned Mr. Deakins’s hieroglyphics and made his way to the drawing room.
    In the course of the next few hours, he became acquainted with a large proportion of his neighbours. With the excuse of calling on the dowager, the matrons had no need to wait for their menfolk to visit before they could with propriety bring their marriageable daughters to the new earl’s attention. The older gentlemen were eager to meet the premier landowner of the district, and their sons were ready to admire the exploits of a Peninsula soldier.
    “I’m exhausted!” Chris sank into a chair as the last guest departed. “I am not used to doing the pretty by the hour. How did they all hear of my arrival? The country rumour-mill is as efficient as the regiment’s.”
    “Surely you did not expect the appearance of a handsome, titled and unmarried gentleman to go unnoticed?” asked Lady Farleigh dryly. “Every eligible chit within a dozen miles has now been presented to you, and a few whose eligibility is questionable.”
    “Some of them are delightful girls, though not one has half Miss Grove’s beauty.” Bernard, as his lordship’s intimate friend and an interesting invalid, had come in for his share of attention.
    “Will it be proper for us to call at Grove Park tomorrow, ma’am?” Chris asked the dowager.
    “Hooked already, eh, Major? Yes, you might even go today to express your appreciation for dining there last night.”
    “I must drive into Evesham this afternoon. Do you care to go with me, Bernard?”
    “Thank you, no, though I do not mean to retire to my chamber today. I believe I shall explore your library.”
    “No doubt you will appreciate it better than I. By the by, I forgot to tell you that Miss Grove’s odd little cousin turns out to be the young woman who stopped you bleeding to death in Kent. I knew I recognized those green eyes, though I could not place her.”
    “Miss Caxton? That settles it, then, we must go tomorrow so that I can thank her.”
    “What a fortunate coincidence that she happens to be Millicent Grove’s cousin.” Her ladyship’s voice was heavy with irony.
    Bernard grinned at the old lady. “I assure you, ma’am, that were she cousin to Old Nick himself, I should feel obliged to thank her for saving