Chapter 2
"Iam well aware that our late great-aunt was a wealthy creature, but I confess I do not understand why we have been summoned here at all — nor who that is."
Nathaniel had been wondering much the same.
He and James were the only ones Mr. Braithwaite had asked to attend; the solicitor had been quite particular about it.
The small office was panelled in dark, aged oak and heavy with the scent of paper and sealing wax.
It seemed arranged for a far quieter occasion than the reading of a great lady's will.
His attention was caught by a movement at the door, his eyebrows lifting in surprise at the two ladies stepping in to join them.
The young lady's fair curls danced lightly as she walked, her eyes darting this way and that as she clutched her reticule with both hands.
The older lady with her — her mother, Nathaniel presumed — gestured for her to continue into the room, directing her towards two vacant chairs near the front.
He tilted his head, his gaze lingering on the young lady with the fair curls.
She did not seem to belong here — and from the bewildered way she looked about her, she plainly knew it, and understood her presence no better than he did.
Her eyes flicked across the room, grazing his before pulling away again, her teeth catching the edge of her lip. Clearly, she was anxious or concerned about some matter or other, although Nathaniel could not understand why. Perhaps she was afraid she would not be given as much as she hoped for?
Turning his head away, he fixed his attention on the solicitor, who was still shuffling papers at his desk, muttering to himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young lady sitting down beside the elder, her hands gripped tightly in her lap.
Much to his relief, Mr. Braithwaite cleared his throat in a manner that suggested he was ready to begin and, after a few moments, the room stilled.
Nathaniel sat, stiff-backed, in his chair, his brother beside him.
This was a solemn occasion, and it was only right that he give the reading of the will his full attention.
He could not allow himself to become distracted by any young lady, fair-haired or otherwise.
"Thank you for coming so promptly, Miss Fairleigh.
" Mr. Braithwaite's half-moon spectacles glinted in the light from the window as he looked from the young lady to the two gentlemen and back.
"I have asked Lord Ashcombe and his brother to attend, as the matter I am to lay before you touches upon their family — and Lady Warrington's wishes were quite particular that it be heard by all whom it concerns. "
A matter that touches upon our family, yet is laid before a stranger?
Nathaniel barely had time to register the strangeness of it before the solicitor continued.
It was unlike his great-aunt to have arranged anything so irregular — though he recognized that Lady Warrington, having always been careful, deliberate, and orderly, would have done nothing without due consideration and purpose.
The young lady — Miss Fairleigh, then — pressed her hands together in her lap, and Nathaniel's eyebrows lifted. She was no relation, plainly, and yet here she sat, named before them, for reasons he could not begin to guess.
Mr. Braithwaite turned to her. "Lady Warrington has bequeathed to you an inheritance, namely, the sum of ten thousand — "
The words struck the room cold. Nathaniel could only stare at the solicitor, his disbelief turning to something harder as he understood that a significant sum was being given to a young lady who was not in any way connected to the family.
And there was no clear reason for it.
His gaze shot to Miss Fairleigh. Her face was white with shock, her eyes rounded.
He felt no sympathy. Only confusion and doubt.
"She is no relation to Lady Warrington!" James was on his feet before Nathaniel could prevent him, and though Nathaniel would not, in honesty, have disagreed with a word of it, he saw Mr. Braithwaite frown. "Why should she be given such a substantial amount?"
"James." Nathaniel said it low, a single word, conscious of the two ladies and of the solicitor's sharpening gaze — but his brother would not be checked.
"She is the daughter of Viscount Harding — how could our great-aunt do something so foolish?
" The colour was high in James's face now.
"I know our great-aunt was wealthy indeed, but that is a good deal of money for a young lady such as she.
Her father is near a pauper, is he not? Why waste such coin upon a family who cannot look after their own fortune with any sort of care? "
Nathaniel, having very little understanding of who Lord Harding was or what he had done, said nothing.
Fairleigh was the family's own name; Harding, the title her father bore.
And yet he could not pretend the objection unjust. A young lady with no connection to the family, handed so great a sum; a father impoverished and, by James's account, foolish with his debts.
To his mind, a daughter raised in such a house would, no doubt, follow in her father's footsteps.
That money would be squandered, or would go to pay debts that were no concern of Lady Warrington's.
And she not even related to her in any way.
Mr. Braithwaite let the silence stretch, one eyebrow raised, until James subsided into his seat. Then the solicitor cleared his throat and repeated, evenly, both the amount and the recipient.
"As I was saying — an inheritance of ten thousand pounds to go to Miss Eliza Fairleigh." He picked up his sheaf of papers again. "And that with — "
Before Nathaniel could put out a hand to stop him, James was on his feet once more, throwing up his hands.
"There must be something we can do. There must be some way we can contest this.
I will not allow my great-aunt's fortune to be so divided.
" Mr. Braithwaite sent him a sharp, austere look, but James did not buckle under it — just as Nathaniel had expected.
"As we have said, Miss Fairleigh is no relation to Lady Warrington, from what we can see, and thus — "
"If you will excuse us."
The urge to leap up beside his brother and begin to exclaim along with him died a quick sharp death as the lady he now knew to be Lady Newark rose to her feet with dignity, her chin lifting and her eyes flashing with what Nathaniel presumed to be anger.
"As you can imagine, this is a great shock to Eliza and to myself.
I believe her part is completed and thus, we shall take our leave.
" Again, she let her gaze move between the two gentlemen, making no move towards the door as Miss Fairleigh remained where she was, her head bowed.
Nathaniel licked his lips and looked away, feeling shame begin to settle on his shoulders.
It was not as if this Miss Fairleigh had done anything wrong, just as her aunt had stated.
In turn, he had given nary a thought to the lady, without even being certain of her character.
They ought not to blame her for anything whatsoever.
Not at this juncture, at least.
Lady Newark swallowed, clasped her hands in front of her and narrowed her eyes a fraction.
"You are astonished, which I can well understand.
But pray, bear in mind that my dear Eliza is all the more confused and that speaking of either herself or her family in a manner that is unkind or even cruel is not at all welcomed. It only adds to our trouble."
Nathaniel lowered his head, shrinking into himself as the lady's soft voice threw heavy blows upon his own conscience.
A chair scraped as Mr. Braithwaite rose to his feet, looking towards Lady Newark and Miss Fairleigh. "There is only one thing more, but that can be spoken of in private, Lady Newark. If you step outside, I will join you shortly."
Nathaniel let his gaze settle on Miss Fairleigh as she too rose to leave.
Her movements were stiff, her eyes fixing to the floor at her feet so she would not have to look at any of them.
Her aunt glanced back at her, and it was clear she made a great effort to lift her chin and pull her gaze upward.
He caught how her hands trembled as she reached for the door, confusion clinging to her every movement.
Nathaniel had no doubt that the words spoken about her father had been cutting but, at the same time, it seemed to him that they were, at least, true.
Schooling his expression into neutrality, he turned his head away from the lady and faced Mr. Braithwaite again, noting how the solicitor's gaze lingered on the two ladies as they quit the room.
For a moment, Nathaniel wondered if the man had expected such a reception, a sense of embarrassment coming over him at how harshly he and his brother had received the news of Miss Fairleigh and her inheritance.
There had been nothing genteel about their sharp words!
He waited.
The door shut with a click, and James was on his feet before it had quite settled, pacing the narrow room, too agitated to keep still. Nathaniel remained where he was, leaned forward, put his head in his hands, and groaned aloud.
"This is madness, brother."
Nathaniel closed his eyes and shook his head. "I quite agree, James, but what is there to be done?"
"What in heaven's name was she thinking?" James continued, seeming not to pay the least bit of attention to what Nathaniel had said. "I cannot understand it."
"Nor can I." Sitting up, he glanced at Mr. Braithwaite, who had gathered his papers and stood waiting by his desk with the patience of a man accustomed to letting tempers burn themselves out.
"It seems most unusual, for our great-aunt was not someone given to whimsical decisions and the like.
She was always so considered and cautious. "