Chapter Eighteen #2
“I fear so, my lord,” the servant announced with a lift of importance in his response. “The master returned to London yesterday, and Her Ladyship has gone to Rochester for a few days before joining His Lordship at their London home.”
Evidently, all the servants have been told the same tale, Aaran thought, while he said, “Then if it is possible, might I speak to Lord Pitcairn?”
“I should…” the butler began, but Boyde appeared on the stairs.
“Aaran!” his brother called with enthusiasm as he rushed down the stairs. “I thought you were already in London or I would have called upon you.”
Aaran shook his brother’s hand. “I thought you might make an appearance at the church when Lord Thompson married.”
“I wanted to, but I could not leave Lady Rhonda without company,” Boyde offered as an excuse. It was the one Aaran expected. “I understand it was a grand affair.”
“Thompson and his countess are well respected for their charitable natures and their efforts to provide new opportunities to those who serve them. They have a vision for their family’s future.
While you are in Kent, it would do you well to speak to them.
If you plan to marry Lady Rhonda, it would be wise to learn new methods to keep your barony stable.
You will wish to bring your estate into the next decade before those years catch up with you.
Build an estate and a legacy of which you might be proud.
For yourself. For your children’s future. ”
“Could we speak for a few minutes or are you in a rush to return to Thom Manor?” Boyde asked with a slight frown.
“Naturally,” Aaran assured and motioned for Boyde to lead the way.
Once they were settled behind a closed door in a sitting room, Aaran purposely sat close to his brother. He had no doubt that someone from the household staff would be listening at the room’s servants’ entrance, so he or she might report to the Raylands.
“I am not so settled on marrying Lady Rhonda as I was when the dowager and Lady Rhonda first arrived, though Mother believes ours would be an excellent match,” Boyde explained.
“What has you questioning your choice?” Aaran asked diplomatically, though he had long thought Lady Rayland and Lady Rhonda had been cut from the same cloth.
Boyde shrugged. “I cannot speak to the reason. The lady is beautiful, however, I wonder…”
“I understand,” Aaran said diplomatically.
“As you probably heard, I was once enthralled with the lady’s beauty.
Lord Hightower performed a service for me with his refusal of my request to court his daughter, though I truly could have done without his calling me a ‘bastard.’ If Hightower truly knew the skills I possess as a member of the Home Office, he would have held his tongue.
I could have skinned him alive and left the rest of him intact. ”
Boyde said in genuine tones, “I have been considering approaching Lord Duncan about a position…”
Aaran asked, “Have you spoken to either your mother or Lord Rayland of this decision? I cannot believe Her Ladyship would approve.”
“I will reach my majority at the beginning of March,” Boyde argued. “Such is the reason my mother thinks it is time that I marry.”
“I understand,” Aaran soothed, “but Lord Duncan’s standards are high. He would not take a man under his tutelage whose estate, for example, is suffering. Duncan believes a man can only do his best work if he cares for others, especially those who depend upon him.”
“I do not know…” Boyde began.
“No excuses,” Aaran instructed. “Such is a hard lesson to learn. It is so much easier to blame others for our failures. Most assuredly, our father did not leave either of us a guidebook on how to proceed. I am willing to assist you in learning how to be your own man, a man whose children will think him grand and whose wife will adore him. However, I will not continue to pay your debts simply because you wish to prove yourself a ‘man’ in one of Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s foolish tests or something similar.
You must take responsibility for your actions.
Be held accountable. Do you know the conditions in which your barony exists? ”
“I have not been to Pitcairn Place in over a year,” Boyde admitted with a frown.
“And the condition when you were there?” Aaran pointedly asked.
His brother shrugged his response.
Aaran swallowed his criticism. Instead, he said, “If you truly wish to change your ways, you must remove the executors of your estate, including your mother. We can then employ the services of several well-renowned men of law, as well as a proper land steward. Both Duncan and I could assist if you are serious. As you say, you are weeks away from reaching your majority, but the question that still remains is if you are prepared to stand against your mother and Rayland? I know it sounds as if I am saying ‘them or me,’ but if you mean to refuse to marry Lady Rhonda, you should also cut the ties of those over your accounts.”
“Mother will not be happy,” his brother murmured and turned a bit pale.
Aaran kept his true opinions from both his facial expression and his tone when he responded.
“Did you realize I not only invest in my estates in Scotland, but also in canals and bridge building in both England and Ireland? I receive part of the profits, and I do not need to oversee the work. I can invest because I have first met my commitments to those who depend upon me. That is the important element: When you are a lord of the land, others depend upon you to protect them. You cannot do so if you cannot first take care of yourself.”
“Could I come to stay with you for a few days in London?” Boyde asked. “I would like to speak more thoroughly on how I should respond. I do not wish to stay with Rayland. His Lordship and my mother argue often.”