for cattle crashed.â He filled his glass again, took a generous mouthful.
âWhich means that the estate you will inherit is on the verge of bankruptcy. Without money to appease those vultures of bankers, you will be left with nought but an enormous debt, a debt which grows daily as the interest accrues. More likely, they will force the sale of the estate, and you will become landless.â
âBut Father, is not our land entailed against just such a happening?â
âI must admit I thought so. But those evil bankers have beaten me. You will recall your elder half-sister Hepzibah, child of my first wife Isabella. Poor Isabella died giving birth to Hepzibah, God bless her. Then when Hepzibah came of age it was said by her aunts, who had undertaken to find a match for her, that she was ratherâ¦plain. They suggested I offer a portion of my estate to any young man who would wed her. I did so willingly. Hepzibah had expressed deep sadness at the prospect of becoming an old maid.
âYou will know that Hebzibah married the village parson, but alas, she also died in childbirth soon afterwards, along with the infant. Now those cursed bankers have found clever lawyers who claim that the entail is become void because of my naïve act of offering a portionto her suitors. Of altering the words on the document to allow that dispensation. It seems the old entail was rendered obsolete, and its replacement not perfectly constructed. Some pernickety word out of place. Some punctuation mark wrongly disposed.â He took a long sip from his glass.
âNow the estate is mortgaged to the hilt. My agent says the bankers have retained the best lawyers in England. I cannot fight them. I no longer have the means nor the spirit, Harry.â He slumped in his chair.
Now Harry saw behind the surly depths of his fatherâs moods over the past twelve months, the reason he had taken to the brandy bottle. On many a night lately, Harry had tiptoed into the library to find his father lying snoring drunk across his desk, the empty decanter beside him.
Then the stables. Now he understood why the younger, more valuable horseflesh had been sold, the old lame nags pressed into service. The same might be said of the servants, come to think of it. Jem Smith, the young gamekeeper, had lately left, along with Louisaâs pianoforte tutor. Then the woman who had groomed Louisaâs hair and taught her the art of dressing and comportment for her upcoming visits to the London Season had been suspended. Even the estateâs extensive gardens, pride of the estate for centuries, showed signs of neglect.
He remembered the many afternoons Eliza and he had walked those gardens, hand in hand if they were out of sight of the Great House, and talked of their love. He had even promised, in his innocence, that he would extend them when he became master of the estate, especially to please her. She had laughed, said that she was glad he loved gardens, and yes, she would happily take his hand as they walked through his new creations.
Some of the viscountâs former servants had undoubtedly decamped to the estate of De Havillandâs portly neighbour, Ernest Thurber. The wily Thurber had resisted the temptation to join the masses whoâd planned to grow wool. Instead, heâd bought his neighbourâs Jersey cattle to graze on the estate heâd acquired with his earnings from the spinning mills. Then he sold tons of salt beef, cheese and butter to the military at extortionate prices as the wars ground on.
âBut Father, what has this to do with Eliza Downing?â The moment the words fell out, Harry knew the answer. It was not long in coming from his fatherâs now slurring lips.
âYou must marry. Marry a woman of substance. And soon.â
âYou meanâ¦Agatha Thurber?â Harry said. He knew that everyone in the village had seen the match coming since the two participants were babies.
âYes.
âWhich means that the estate you will inherit is on the verge of bankruptcy. Without money to appease those vultures of bankers, you will be left with nought but an enormous debt, a debt which grows daily as the interest accrues. More likely, they will force the sale of the estate, and you will become landless.â
âBut Father, is not our land entailed against just such a happening?â
âI must admit I thought so. But those evil bankers have beaten me. You will recall your elder half-sister Hepzibah, child of my first wife Isabella. Poor Isabella died giving birth to Hepzibah, God bless her. Then when Hepzibah came of age it was said by her aunts, who had undertaken to find a match for her, that she was ratherâ¦plain. They suggested I offer a portion of my estate to any young man who would wed her. I did so willingly. Hepzibah had expressed deep sadness at the prospect of becoming an old maid.
âYou will know that Hebzibah married the village parson, but alas, she also died in childbirth soon afterwards, along with the infant. Now those cursed bankers have found clever lawyers who claim that the entail is become void because of my naïve act of offering a portionto her suitors. Of altering the words on the document to allow that dispensation. It seems the old entail was rendered obsolete, and its replacement not perfectly constructed. Some pernickety word out of place. Some punctuation mark wrongly disposed.â He took a long sip from his glass.
âNow the estate is mortgaged to the hilt. My agent says the bankers have retained the best lawyers in England. I cannot fight them. I no longer have the means nor the spirit, Harry.â He slumped in his chair.
Now Harry saw behind the surly depths of his fatherâs moods over the past twelve months, the reason he had taken to the brandy bottle. On many a night lately, Harry had tiptoed into the library to find his father lying snoring drunk across his desk, the empty decanter beside him.
Then the stables. Now he understood why the younger, more valuable horseflesh had been sold, the old lame nags pressed into service. The same might be said of the servants, come to think of it. Jem Smith, the young gamekeeper, had lately left, along with Louisaâs pianoforte tutor. Then the woman who had groomed Louisaâs hair and taught her the art of dressing and comportment for her upcoming visits to the London Season had been suspended. Even the estateâs extensive gardens, pride of the estate for centuries, showed signs of neglect.
He remembered the many afternoons Eliza and he had walked those gardens, hand in hand if they were out of sight of the Great House, and talked of their love. He had even promised, in his innocence, that he would extend them when he became master of the estate, especially to please her. She had laughed, said that she was glad he loved gardens, and yes, she would happily take his hand as they walked through his new creations.
Some of the viscountâs former servants had undoubtedly decamped to the estate of De Havillandâs portly neighbour, Ernest Thurber. The wily Thurber had resisted the temptation to join the masses whoâd planned to grow wool. Instead, heâd bought his neighbourâs Jersey cattle to graze on the estate heâd acquired with his earnings from the spinning mills. Then he sold tons of salt beef, cheese and butter to the military at extortionate prices as the wars ground on.
âBut Father, what has this to do with Eliza Downing?â The moment the words fell out, Harry knew the answer. It was not long in coming from his fatherâs now slurring lips.
âYou must marry. Marry a woman of substance. And soon.â
âYou meanâ¦Agatha Thurber?â Harry said. He knew that everyone in the village had seen the match coming since the two participants were babies.
âYes.
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