Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“The law leaves us no choice, Lady Jane.”
Jane stared at the solicitor, convinced she must have misheard him. Her heart had started hammering so hard she could hear only the rush of blood in her ears.
“No choice?” she repeated quietly.
The elderly gentleman shifted uneasily beneath her gaze. His leather portfolio rested against his knees, his fingers worrying the worn edge as though he would rather be anywhere else than the morning room at Wynten House.
“I’m afraid not.”
Across from him, her uncle Zachary smiled. It was not a warm smile, but the satisfied smile of a man watching a trap close.
Lady Wynten looked from the attorney to her brother-in-law, confusion giving way to alarm.
“What is he talking about?” she asked. “Surely, Colin remains Earl of Wynten.”
“He does,” the attorney answered gently. “Legally, Lord Wynten retains the title until he is either found… or declared deceased.”
Jane’s heart lurched painfully at the words. “Then what is the purpose of this discussion?”
The solicitor inhaled slowly. “In Lord Wynten’s absence, someone must administer the estate.”
Jane frowned. “That responsibility belongs to his estate manager.”
“I’m afraid it does not,” the solicitor said as his frown deepened, and Jane suspected this poor man had been bullied by her uncle to be here.
Silence settled over the room. The grandfather clock ticked steadily against the far wall. Jane looked toward her uncle, who had not spoken yet. Instead, he had been watching and waiting. The smirk that tugged at the corners of his mouth made Jane realize that he was enjoying this.
The attorney cleared his throat. “Until Lord Wynten returns, stewardship of the earldom passes to the nearest eligible male relative.”
Lady Wynten blinked. “You cannot mean—”
“I’m afraid I do.” He lowered his eyes, as if he felt bad for what would come next. “Lord Zachary Deverell becomes acting steward of the estate.”
Jane felt as though the floor shifted beneath her. “No.” The word escaped before she realized she had spoken aloud.
The attorney looked genuinely regretful. “My lady,” he began, but trailed off.
“No.” Jane stood, smoothing her hands over her skirt. “Colin has been gone scarcely over a week.”
The solicitor said, “I know.”
“No one even knows where he is,” Jane continued.
“I know, my lady, but the law—”
“He could walk through that door this afternoon,” Jane said as she looked toward her mother.
“I sincerely hope he does.” The solicitor wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
“Then how can my uncle simply arrive and declare this house his?”
“He is not declaring himself earl,” the solicitor said.
Jane folded her arms tightly across her chest. “But he is behaving as though he already is.”
At that, Zachary finally laughed. “My dear niece,” he drawled, “must everything become so melodramatic with you?”
Jane turned toward him. “If you have come here to gloat, you may leave, Uncle.”
“Oh?” His eyebrows rose. “And surrender my legal responsibilities? Surely, that would be neglectful. Not to mention it would bring such shame to the family.”
The solicitor looked mortified. Jane almost pitied him.
“I did not ask for this assignment,” the solicitor said carefully. “But the law regarding dormant peerages is… rather clear.”
Jane’s jaw tightened. “There must be another arrangement.”
“There is not.” The solicitor tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously, averting his gaze from Jane’s.
“My mother and I live here. What will become of us?”
The solicitor said, “You may continue to do so.”
“For now,” Lord Zachary said pleasantly.
Lady Wynten paled. Jane caught it immediately. “For now?”
Lord Zachary spread his hands. “If the estate proves… unsustainable, then we might have to rethink the arrangement.”
Jane’s fists clenched. “It is sustainable.”
Her stomach rolled as she stared at this man. He was her father’s brother. Did that mean nothing? How could he be so callous? When Jane thought about her father and her uncle, she realized that the two had never been the same. The difference made her ache with grief for her father.
Her uncle continued as if she had not spoken. “Or if it is poorly managed, certain economies may become necessary.”
“You have not even looked at the estate accounts,” Jane protested.
Zachary said, “I intend to.”
“You know nothing about Wynten.” As soon as the words left Jane’s mouth, she knew she had overstepped, but she didn’t care. She wanted him to know that this place, her home, was special. And he knew nothing of it.
“I know enough,” Zachary smirked.
The room fell silent. The attorney shut his eyes briefly.
Jane took a deep breath. “We will continue to run Wynten House just as my father did, just as Colin does, until he comes back. I know everything will work out.”
Zachary’s smile disappeared. “You inherited your father’s foolishness.”
Jane’s eyes flashed. “My father built this estate.”
“He squandered it on sentiment.” Zachary sneered.
Lady Wynten rose anxiously. “Please… let us not argue.”
Neither of them looked at her. Jane refused to. She would not give Zachary the satisfaction.
“My brother devoted every waking hour to this earldom,” Jane said softly.
“The man was dragged from his own sister’s engagement celebration by armed criminals,” Zachary pointed out.
“What are you insinuating, Uncle?” Her brows knitted at once as her blood raced in her veins.
Zachary shrugged. “The estate does not cease functioning because your brother made unfortunate acquaintances.”
Jane’s stomach twisted. “My brother did no such thing.”
“Didn’t he?”
“He is an honorable man.” Jane felt the dampness in her eyes threatening to spill over down her cheeks.
“So honorable someone abducted him.”
Jane clenched her teeth. “You will not come into my brother’s house and slander him.”
“It is my house now.”
The words landed like a slap. Lady Wynten gasped. Jane stared. “No.”
She regarded her uncle. He was on the shorter side and thin. His dark hair was swept back in a fashionable swoop, but it did nothing to hide his gaunt features. His nose was too thin, his cheekbones too high. He reminded Jane of a weasel.
The expression of glee on his face was one that Jane had never seen before. He was far too happy that Colin was gone.
“Oh yes.” Her uncle crossed his arms over his chest.
“It is Colin’s.”
“For the present.”
Jane swallowed hard. “It will always be Colin’s.”
“We shall see.”
Jane’s composure cracked. “You speak as though he is already dead.”
“I am only being pragmatic, dear niece. You’d benefit from such an approach, I reckon,” her uncle said.
“He is alive,” Jane’s mother said almost in a whisper.
“Oh?” Zachary smiled again. “And where is he, then?”
“He will be found, and he will come back,” Jane responded, keeping her back straight.
“Of course,” he said with a too-wide smile. “Until then, you’re both under my care. You’d do best to remember that, dear niece.”
Jane hated him in that moment. Her cheeks flushed so hot and so cold at the same time that it startled her. Her uncle wanted this life that they had here, or rather to take over this life. He wanted Colin gone so he could have the title that he felt he deserved. He wanted Wynten House.
Zachary did not care that Colin was gone. He wasn’t worried or grieving. He was plotting. The realization made her skin crawl.
The attorney spoke carefully. “If I may, the transfer concerns administration only.”
Jane turned. “What exactly does that mean?”
The solicitor opened several documents. “Lord Zachary will oversee estate finances, tenant matters, contracts, and the steward’s office. He will also assume responsibility for decisions requiring the earl’s authority until Lord Wynten returns.”
Zachary tilted his head. “I admire your optimism. As touching as this family devotion is, I should begin reviewing estate matters.”
Jane’s pulse quickened. “No.”
He looked back. “No?”
He walked toward the door, leading deeper into Wynten House.
“Lord Deverell—” The solicitor’s strained voice barely carried down the corridor.
Zachary did not so much as glance over his shoulder. His polished boots struck the marble floor with leisurely confidence as he crossed the entrance hall toward the west wing, where Colin’s study overlooked the gardens.
Jane stared after him for only the briefest heartbeat before anger propelled her forward. “You have no business in there.”
He continued walking.
“If you ignore me one more time,” she said, lengthening her stride, “I shall assume your hearing has failed along with your manners.”
A faint chuckle escaped him. “My hearing is perfectly adequate.”
“Then answer me,” Jane demanded, even as she heard her mother’s weak voice calling her name.
“I see no need.” He reached the carved oak door to Colin’s study.
Jane arrived only a step behind him. Her heart hammered. Every instinct screamed that she could not let him enter.
This room belongs to Colin.
And when her brother came back, he would want it just as he left it.
Not merely because it was his office, but because it contained the life he had built from the maps he pored over late into the evening, to the correspondence he answered, and to the estate ledgers he treated with meticulous care.
It was where her brother became the Earl of Wynten each morning.
Zachary rested one hand upon the brass handle.
“Colin will return,” Jane told him.
His fingers tightened around the handle. “So you keep insisting.”
“He will. You’d do best to remember that, Uncle.”
Without another word, he opened the door. Jane followed immediately. The familiar scent of paper, polished wood, and leather wrapped around her the moment she stepped inside.
Morning sunlight spilled through the tall windows overlooking the south lawn, illuminating the broad mahogany desk Colin had inherited from their father.
Nothing had moved. His spectacles still rested atop an open ledger. A pen remained beside an unfinished letter.