Chapter 12 #2
“All I want is to take care of it,” I finally finished. “Agreeing to this arrangement was a way of doing that. To secure it now and in the future.”
“What if your father passes without an heir?” he asked quietly, a beat before he turned his gaze back to mine. “From the sound of things, this system is still set up in a way that means you and your sisters don’t count, right?”
Pain streaked through me, deep under the surface, and yet, when Jesse looked at me, it was like he could see it. He even winced a little when I finally responded.
“You’re right,” I said. “We don’t count. Female offspring mean nothing for the line of succession of one’s own family. If my father should pass before one of us has produced a son, the estate and title pass to a distant male relative.”
Both of his eyebrows lifted slowly when he seemed to realize I was serious. “Distant how? Wouldn’t it just go to a cousin or something?”
I shook my head. “It will pass to the closest male Roderick alive at the time of my father’s death, which in our case, is someone so distant, we’ve never even met him. He’s certainly never stepped foot here.”
“That’s fucked up.”
Despite the coarseness of the statement, I nodded my agreement. “It certainly is, but that’s just how it works.”
“You couldn’t even stay here?” he asked. “Surely, being your father’s daughter should entitle you to some kind of rights over the place.”
I shrugged, my chest tightening a little at just the thought. “Unfortunately, no. All rights and title will pass upon his death. My sisters and I will be afforded a short window of time to remove our personal belongings from the estate, but that’s it.”
He let out a low whistle between his teeth that made the dogs’ ears perk up, but they didn’t move a muscle otherwise. “I’m sorry, Eliza. That sucks.”
“That’s the reality.” I finally looked back up at him, blinking away the pressure behind my eyes in favor of giving him a forced, probably tight smile.
“What’s worse is that because he’s never been here, the estate will hold no meaning to him when he inherits it.
He’ll almost certainly sell it to developers or break the land into parcels. ”
“Break it into parcels?”
I nodded curtly. “They’ll turn it into holiday cottages or luxury flats. It’s happened to a few of the old estates in the area. Tourists and people from the city are willing to pay good money for property that used to be connected to royalty. No matter how distant.”
Jesse exhaled slowly, finally looking at me like he really got it now. “You’re trying to prevent all that from happening.”
“Yes.” I supposed there was no point trying to deny it. I’d just told him as much. “Technically, it should be Eugenie’s responsibility.”
The rain softened, turning into a steady hush against the roof. He tilted his head, his gaze moving slowly from one of my eyes to the other. “Because of your birth order?”
“Yes.”
“Why not just leave her to it, then?” he asked. “Your family’s situation isn’t completely dissimilar from ours, but when my dad retired, Alex took the helm without a second thought.”
“You’re lucky,” I said. “My sisters don’t care about this place the way I do. Alex stepped up for your family company when the time came, but Eugenie hasn’t done the same for mine. Nor does she seem to have any inclination to do so.”
It wasn’t a criticism. Just a fact.
He gave me a slow nod, like all the pieces were clicking into place in his mind. “Let me guess, neither of your sisters want to lose the title or the castle, but they’re not committed enough to sacrifice anything to keep it?”
I averted my gaze. “They do love the castle. It’s just that they don’t feel responsible for it.”
But I did. Every cracked stone and leaking roof, every acre of land that had been ours for centuries… It’s my responsibility because I’ve taken it upon my own shoulders to make sure we never lose it.
“Winnie would’ve married you,” I said quietly. “If you’d chosen her, she would’ve done it, but her motivation wasn’t the castle or the legacy. Mine, however, is all about that, Jesse. I will do whatever I can, anything I can, to protect this place.”
One thing I’d fast come to learn about the man I was marrying was that he listened carefully every time I spoke, and every time I glanced at him, he was already looking at me.
This was no exception, and suddenly, the thought that had been weighing heavily at the back of mind since the first time I’d seen him again slipped out.
“You’re different now.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated, feeling my cheeks flush in response not only to how much I’d ended up telling him, but also with the thought of what I had to say to explain this bit. “I remember you being much more wild.”
His mouth curved into a soft smile. “You do, huh?”
“You were always a loud presence in a quiet room back when you visited here with Eugenie,” I said, just blurting it all out now. “I remember thinking that you were very aware of yourself. Full of yourself, even, and not afraid to admit it.”
He chuckled. “Apparently, there are two versions of me.”
I smiled. “Well, I like this one better if I’m being honest.”
The words slipped out easily, but for a split second, something flashed across his face. It was so quick that I almost missed it, but since I was looking right at him, I saw it even though it vanished in a flash, replaced once more by that effortless composure.
Curious, but deciding against asking him what was on his mind, I motioned toward the castle. The rain was letting up a little and the fog had begun to roll back across the fields, swallowing up only the distant trees now. “We should head back.”
Jesse glanced out at the mist and frowned slightly. “Why? Is the tour over?”
“For now,” I said. “My father has important guests tonight and I ought to be getting ready soon.”
He straightened, a slight frown marring his brow. “What’s so important about these guests?”
Holly and Maeve instantly sprang to their feet as I started down the path. “They’re the kind who expect announcements.”
He fell into step beside me, keeping stride as easily as before. “What announcement?”
I looked up at him, my heart clenching for both of us at the thought of what lay ahead. “Once I sign the contract, our engagement will go public. This is technically a royal wedding, remember?”
This was the part Winnie had been looking forward to. The part she would have been much better at.
Royal weddings came with a level of pomp and circumstance all their own, no matter how far removed from the crown the royal in question might be. Even if that royal was as far removed as me. I just didn’t think Jesse had quite realized that yet.