Chapter 7
It was the following day that Julian sat at breakfast with his mother and sister. They had been too occupied with the chatter of all the suitors who had sent cards asking to call on Juliette. Julian had been grateful for the silence until a letter had arrived that made his mother gasp.
“Well, is that not lovely?” she exclaimed, looking up from a note that the butler had placed in front of her.
“What is?” Juliette asked inquisitively, craning her head from across the table in an attempt to sneak a glance.
“Lady Brewster has invited all three of us to dine with her and her family. Miss Prescott and her mother will also be in attendance.” She raised a hand to her throat, sighing happily as she placed the note back down.
Julian said nothing, thinking instead of the day before when Eleanor had made such a big scene of hanging on his arm. Had Lily thought anything of it, and what did it matter if she had? He quickly reminded himself that he had never intended to court her, so her thoughts did not matter.
“Shall we attend, Mama?” Juliette asked with a not-so-subtle glance in his direction.
“Of course we will. It would be rude of us not to attend. Lord and Lady Brewster are prominent figures in society after all. I shall send a note at once accepting the invitation on our behalf.” She glanced at Julian before continuing, “This could be a wonderful opportunity for you to get to know Miss Prescott better, Julian. She is such a lovely young lady.”
Julian’s fingers clenched around his knife and fork. “I hesitate to remind you, Mama, but I shall choose my bride in due time. And I shall thank you all for not thrusting anyone in my direction.”
His mother’s face fell after exchanging a look with Juliette. “It is a pity that you will not leave the past behind, Julian. Just because…” His words cut her off sharply when he spoke again.
“I will not hear of it, Mama. It does not matter what happened in the past; the matter is settled. I shall choose a bride in good time. Love has nothing to do with it,” he said harshly.
Hushed silence descended on the room as his mother and Juliette looked at their plates. It was not until some moments later that his sister broke the silence again.
“I do not think that you would have anything to concern yourself with, Julian,” she glanced hesitantly at her mother. “Miss Everet told me last night that Lily is already engaged to be married. She has a fiancé back in New York.”
Frowning, Julian ran his hand over the stubble that had begun to form on his chin. They had not spoken very much, but he was almost certain that Lily would have mentioned it if she had been engaged. She had danced with him freely without so much as a mention of any prior attachments.
A mixture of relief and confusion flooded his mind. If it were true, it would mean his mother would let the matter rest. Yet the thought of her even dancing with another man made the pit of his stomach knot uncomfortably.
Juliette once again broke the silence with her chatter. “So, if your only objection is being thrown in Miss Prescott’s direction, then you have nothing to fear.” She sounded pleased at having delivered the news.
The rest of the breakfast passed in relative silence until the butler announced that Mr. Southampton had arrived for his weekly ride with Julian.
***
“Are we going to talk about the tension that I witnessed between you and Miss Prescott at the gallery?” Benedict asked as he pulled his horse up beside a stream to drink.
The chestnut mare dipped her head, drinking deeply from the cool running water as Benedict held onto the saddle.
A light breeze blew through the tall grass, promising to bring a hot summer. “I do not know what you are referring to,” Julian grumbled, dismounting his white and gray stallion. The country road they had chosen on the outskirts of London was all but deserted as Julian looked both ways.
Benedict scoffed. “Come now, Julian, you cannot pull the wool over my eyes. There was definitely something between the two of you. Miss Prescott seemed to steal glances in your direction at every opportunity, and your eyes were all but glued to her,” he laughed.
“You have it all wrong. Miss Prescott is merely an interesting acquaintance; besides, she is engaged to be married.” Julian shook his head.
“And who told you that?” Benedict asked with a frown deeply etched into his brow.
“Eleanor told Juliette yesterday that she has a fiancé back in New York,” Julian replied as he reached up and placed his palm flat against the horse’s muscular neck.
Throwing his head back, Benedict laughed from the pit of his stomach, causing Julian to tighten his face as he frowned.
“I do not understand what is so funny?” He asked when Benedict finally stopped laughing.
Shaking his head in amusement, Benedict smiled.
“I think it is safe to assume that Miss Prescott is not, indeed, married, Julian. Anything that Miss Eleanor Everet says regarding you, or any of the women you have been interested in, is to be taken under advisement.” He shook his head again with a deep chuckle.
“Are you saying that Miss Everet made up the story? Why would she do such a thing?” Julian asked.
Narrowing his eyes, Benedict cocked his head to the side. “Do you truly not know that Miss Everet has been in love with you? She has been since the day I met you. There is no telling what lengths she would go to, to stop you from courting another woman.”
Looking down the river where the water made a small indentation with rocks, Julian thought back to all of the times that he had tried to let Eleanor know that he never thought of her as anything more than a friend.
He had known of her infatuation from early on, but his own feelings had never developed beyond that of simple friendship.
He had always been mindful of not leading her on, and there had been someone else…
He quickly shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the past. “It does not matter. I have considered finding a wife, but I shall attempt to mend the estate by all other means if it can be helped. Miss Prescott would be better off if she were engaged to somebody else.”
Benedict shot him a pitying look but said nothing more as he turned his attention back to his mare. Everyone in Julian’s life knew that it was better to allow the matter to rest rather than pressuring him in that direction.
Changing the subject, Julian remounted his horse and made himself comfortable in the saddle. “Have you made any progress with the money required to purchase your ship?”
Benedict nodded. “My father has agreed to front the costs, and I have a possible investor who is willing to lend me the rest. As a matter of fact, I was planning on seeing the man this afternoon. What will you do with the rest of your day?”
“I have a meeting with Alfred Baker, the family solicitor. I had him look into the Redding Hall estate with the hopes that he would be able to come up with a solution. There must have been some small, unturned stone with finances that can be used to save the estate. If I am lucky, I will be able to place all of this marriage business behind me.”
Benedict seemed doubtful but shrugged instead. “Well, let us hope that he has good news for you then.”
***
Julian sat across from his solicitor in the family study.
The short, bespectacled man seemed to be staring quite intently at the documents laid out before him.
“I am afraid that I do not have good news, my lord.” He sat back in the leather armchair and sighed, before removing his spectacles and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and thumb.
Looking around the sparsely decorated room with shelves of books on either side, Julian took a moment to compose himself before speaking again. “Was there nothing at all?”
Alfred opened his eyes and sighed before replacing his spectacles on the bridge of his nose.
“I am afraid that it is a great deal worse than nothing at all. The estate, as it is, is in a great deal of debt. As you know, I have spent the past few weeks combing over every available document and ledger that was found at Redding Hall. And as it stands, you owe more money than the property is currently worth.”
“How is that even possible?” Julian leaned forward, placing his elbow on the desk as he clasped his hands together.
“It would seem that in an attempt to save the estate, your late cousin borrowed money, but instead of using it wisely, he gambled it away in an attempt to make more.”
Julian swore under his breath as he fell back in his chair.
“I am sorry to say, but you would have been far better off if you had passed the title along to the next in line. You would have lost the title, but at least your own finances would not be in jeopardy as they are now,” he said gravely.
What will I do?
Julian clenched his jaw, racking his brain for even the smallest of ideas that would help him.
Julian continued. “There are two other matters that I am afraid I must bring to your attention. The first has to do with the tenants. They are no longer willing to carry on working the land and paying their rent when none of their demands have been met.
Several of the smaller farms are in dire need of repairs. It would seem that your late cousin held them at bay with nothing more than empty promises. You could speak with them yourself, but I would not wager that the tenants would be willing to listen.”
“And if we sell the estate along with Redding Hall as it is now?” Julian asked begrudgingly, wanting the meeting to be over.
Alfred shook his head in defeat before looking up again. “Which brings me to my second point. It would not be possible to sell the estate without making at least the most pressing of renovations. And even then, you would be left destitute.”
“So, the only solution would be for me to come up with a large sum of money?”
“And preferably soon. If the matter of the tenants and the repairs is not settled within the next three months, then I am afraid that all will be lost…” His voice trailed off ominously.
Placing his head in his hands, Julian stared down at the letters in front of him on the desk. He would need a miracle if he were to save his family. There was his mother to think of, and his sister would soon be receiving her own proposals of marriage.
Marriage…
The word hung in the back of his mind like a guillotine waiting to execute him.
His only hope would be to arrange a marriage of convenience with a substantial amount of money.
Lily’s family was said to be wealthy; he had heard as much through all of the gossip, but that did not make it right, unless she wanted the marriage as well.
He sat up again, wondering if Benedict had been right about Eleanor lying; then it would mean that there was still a chance that he could court Lily.
The solicitor drew his attention back to the present conversation as she stood and began to gather all of the documents.
“I am sorry that I did not have better news for you, my lord. I did try my best. I will keep an ear to the ground and carry on searching, but for now, I would advise you to start making plans for the future. Perhaps your mother and sister would be happier in a country cottage while you sell this home and return to your military career?” He gestured around the room, encompassing all of the house.
Never.
Julian felt his chest clench in pain as he stood. “Thank you, Mr. Baker, I shall consider all of your advice,” Julian greeted the man and watched as he left with his black leather case and stack of ledgers under his arm.
This house in London had been the only thing that his father had left them in his will.
His life had been cut short so suddenly that there had not been any time for fortunes to be built.
It had taken all of Julian’s wages to keep it up and look after his mother and sister.
The last thing he wanted was to have to sell the home where they had grown up.
He had always thought of the house as somewhere that his mother could grow old and his sister could visit with her children.
There had been a time when he, too, had considered bringing his children to visit, but those dreams had been squashed long ago with any hopes of finding someone to love. For true love did not exist.
But if it did not exist, then perhaps there was a woman out there who would accept an arranged marriage based on mutual respect rather than affection.