Chapter Seven
Reuben remained fully occupied on the morning after the visit from his neighbours, but that did not prevent him from mulling their problems over, distracting him from estate business.
There had to be a plausible explanation for Dalton’s desertion of his family – other than his being dead.
His financial situation was clearly pressing, but what sort of man walked out on his family and left them to face his obligations without any support or understanding of the mess he had created?
Reuben curled his upper lip, aware that gentlemanly obligations notwithstanding, Dalton would not be the first man to have run away rather than face bankruptcy and public humiliation.
He shook his head, disapproving strongly of such cowardly actions.
Dalton must have known that Lady Farrah was the only family member who would take it upon herself to redress the situation, and it appeared that he was perfectly willing to let her do so.
He hadn’t even had the decency to take her into his confidence.
‘You have that look about you,’ Ezra said, wandering into Reuben’s library and giving Percival’s ears a good scratch when he sat up and wagged his tail.
‘You’re trying to convince yourself that Dalton ain’t dead, but I can’t think of any other plausible explanation.
’ Ezra chuckled. ‘That will put a spoke in Lady Sophia’s wheel.
I mean, if she’s in mourning then she can’t involve herself in the social rout. Shame, that.’
Reuben’s head jerked up from the papers he’d been attempting to make sense of. ‘You sound as though you’re quite taken with the chit,’ he remarked.
‘Oh, good heavens, no!’ Ezra shuddered. ‘I’ll admit that she’s easy on the eye, but five minutes in her company was sufficient for me to know that she would drive me demented.
Far too pampered and full of herself.’ He sighed.
‘Besides, the moment you walked into the orangery I might as well not have existed – and I’ve had quite enough of playing second fiddle to you, your grace. ’
‘In which case, I am glad you didn’t find her to your liking.’
‘I was not the attraction, but rather all of this.’ Ezra swept his arm towards the sprawling land beyond the windows.
‘Can’t blame her for that, I suppose. It works both ways with our lot, gentlemen and ladies alike.
Most need to improve their circumstances by making advantageous marriages, and it’s obvious that Sophia is the Daltons’ best hope of so doing. ’
Reuben grunted, unwilling to voice a contrary opinion. ‘Always supposing that the well-heeled young bucks and their connections don’t object to the lady’s narcissistic character,’ Reuben said absently.
‘Hmm.’
‘Anyway, little brother, we are both accustomed to being pursued for the benefit of our patronage. Lady Sophia is no different to the dozens of others who have crossed our path before her, and so far we’ve survived them all.’
‘Doesn’t always make the pill any easier to swallow.
I mean, I know we are fortunate, but being born into a position of privilege comes at a price.
I never know if a lady likes me for myself or for what I can offer her in terms of social position and materialistic benefits.
’ Ezra grunted. ‘Damned insulting if you ask me – which of course nobody ever does.’
‘What’s brought on this reflective mood?
’ Reuben put his pen aside and studied his brother’s troubled countenance.
‘We are neither of us under any pressure to marry, which is more than can be said for the majority of our contemporaries, so I would suggest that you enjoy your freedom while it lasts. If and when the time comes to get leg-shackled, you will know it.’ Reuben chuckled. ‘Or so our mother insists.’
‘Very true. And speaking of mothers, it might be worth pausing to examine the character of our respective intendeds’ mothers before either of us falls desperately in love.
’ Ezra shuddered. ‘One glance at Lady Dalton and any fledgling feelings I might otherwise have developed for Lady Sophia were well and truly nipped in the bud.’
Reuben laughed. ‘That’s the spirit!’
‘The elder sister’s a different matter altogether,’ Ezra grinned.
‘But I ain’t telling you anything you haven’t already found out for yourself, I fancy, given how long you spent alone with her.
She’s not a stunner like her sister but there’s a depth to her, I can see that much.
Anyway, there’s something about her that held your attention.
’ Ezra quirked a brow. ‘Should I read anything into your interest?’
Reuben shook his head. ‘You’re starting to sound like a matchmaking old hen.’
‘What do you make of Dalton’s disappearance?’ Ezra asked, his expression sobering. ‘Lady Sophia didn’t once raise the subject, and whenever I attempted to express sympathy, she spoke of other things.’
‘If he’s dead, where was he killed?’ Reuben asked, articulating a question that had been troubling him.
‘Beg pardon?’ Ezra looked confused.
‘No one knows how he planned to get here, but if he didn’t use his own carriage then he must have travelled by public coach or else hired an equipage. If the latter is the case, then the coachman would have delivered him to his destination.’
Ezra groaned. ‘Please don’t tell me you want me to quiz all the private hire companies in London to discover if one of them took Lord Dalton somewhere three months ago.
I mean, even if they did, would the jarvey recall where he took him after all this time?
And if he wanted to lay low, he probably didn’t even use his own name anyway. ’
‘I’m thinking aloud, little brother.’ Reuben paused to assimilate the thoughts in question. ‘Dalton knew he was in debt and that his only asset is …’
‘His estate, here in Hampshire.’
Reuben nodded. ‘So it made sense for him to come down and try to stop the rot, insofar as it has been badly managed and presumably ceased to show a profit.’ He leaned back in his chair, still ruminating. ‘But why?’
‘Why what?’ Ezra asked, blinking.
‘It’s only comparatively recently that the rot set in. What has changed in the meantime?’
Ezra shrugged. ‘There you have me.’
‘I think something else is going on with him. Something monumental that caused him to lose interest in his estate and to desert his family.’
‘A mistress?’
Reuben shook her head. ‘A mistress depends upon her paramour for support, not the other way around.’
‘Some sort of business venture that he’s got involved in that went south and made things even worse for him?’ Ezra suggested.
‘That’s more likely – and whatever it is, he’s run away from his obligations in the most cowardly manner imaginable.’
‘How did he get involved? I mean if it required an input of capital, he doesn’t have any.’
‘He could have put up the estate as collateral, but if he did, would he leave his wife and daughters to be evicted?’ Reuben shook his head. ‘He might be irresponsible, but surely he wouldn’t leave himself open to that sort of censure.’
Ezra shrugged. ‘Who knows what lengths a desperate man will go to. Seems damned cowardly though, and I don’t envy you having to figure it out. Needles and haystacks spring to mind.’
Ezra wandered off again, claiming an appointment elsewhere, leaving Reuben to speculate on the types of ventures a desperate man might turn to in an effort to make a quick fortune.
He was no nearer to reaching a conclusion when the time came for him to meet Lady Farrah for their afternoon engagement.
He drove his travelling chaise, conveyed by a pair of matching greys, to the agreed meeting place and was unsurprised to find the lady there ahead of him. He halted his team, secured the ribbons and alighted, smiling as he doffed his hat.
‘I hope you shall not mind this mode of transportation,’ he said, helping her onto the box seat and resuming his place beside her.
‘We are protected from the elements by the hood, but it doesn’t look as though we shall have more rain.
’ He glanced up at a clear sky to emphasise his point.
‘This carriage is faster than anything else I own, and I can drive it myself, which assures us of privacy.’
‘You assume that no one will observe the Duke of Alton driving an unescorted female.’ She smiled at him, appearing amused rather than offended at being considered a threat to his freedom.
‘The carriage is perfect, as are your lovely horses, and they will cover the distance in no time at all, I am sure.’
He moved his team off at a brisk trot. ‘It should take no more than an hour,’ he said, glancing sideways at her.
She wore the same cloak that he had seen before with its matching hat.
Her hair was neatly tidied beneath its brim but already strands had escaped and blew around her face in a halo of russet and red.
Her cheeks were flushed a delicate shade of pink, the result no doubt of the mile she had been obliged to walk in the fresh March air in order to keep their rendezvous.
‘I trust you have not had second thoughts about meeting your aunt. I am acquainted with the lady and can assure you that she does not bite.’
‘None whatsoever. I am less sure about inflicting myself upon her at a time when her husband is so unwell though.’ She paused. ‘He is unlikely to recover if what I hear is to be believed.’
Reuben’s expression sobered. ‘That is a concern, I’ll grant you, but I think if anything your arrival will be viewed as a comfort.’
‘I hope you are right. I remain to be convinced that she can help in any way to locate Papa, but I would not dare to disagree with any suggestions made by you.’
Reuben chuckled. ‘I think there is very little you would not dare to do.’
She tilted her chin, a playful smile dancing about her lips. ‘How discouraging to have my character so easily understood after such a short acquaintanceship. You might at least pretend to be mystified by me, your grace.’