‘The earl is returning to England. He intends to live in London for the moment, but apparently he wishes to pull this house down and build a new one in its place.’
‘He can’t,’ Millie wailed. ‘Oh, I hate him. I’ve just got to like being here. Men are horrid. I wish they would all go to war and get killed so we could live as we please.’
‘Millie! That isn’t nice,’ Selina admonished. ‘The earl is not concerned with us for the time being, so we may carry on as we wish. Mr Breck is coming down next week to have a look at what we’ve done and make a check on a few things I pointed out to him. He may know more of the earl’s intentions then. If he gives us a few months, we shall be able to find a nice cottage somewhere.’
‘It won’t be like living here, in this wonderful old house,’ Millie said and her eyes filled with tears. ‘We shan’t have many books, and there are so many I want to read.’
‘Well, perhaps the earl won’t want to be bothered with this place for a while,’ Selina said hopefully. ‘I should not have come here had I thought this would happen—but it seemed ideal for us. Had we been granted a few months of peace, Amy might have found a husband, and I … well, I might have found something, too.’
‘Don’t worry, dearest,’ Amy said, a gleam in her eyes. ‘I’ll find a husband by Christmas—you see if I don’t. All we have to do is give a few dinner parties and invite all the eligible men and their mothers and sisters.’ She smiled confidently. ‘I might not catch an earl or a lord, but I don’t mind a sir—or even a plain mister if he is rich enough.’
‘No, you must not rush into marriage for our sakes,’ Selina said hastily. ‘Please promise me you will not, dearest. I want you to be happy. Millie and I will manage in a cottage for the time being if we have to—but you must marry well. You were born to shine in society, my love, and I refuse to let you sacrifice yourself for us.’
‘It would not be a sacrifice if he could give me the things I want—and provide a decent home for you.’
‘But you like to mix in good society, and you long for a season. No, Amy, whatever happens I will not have you sacrificing yourself for us. Remember you are not yet twenty and I am your guardian. I shall not allow it.’
‘You would not refuse me if I really wished to marry?’
‘Not if you were in love and the gentleman was suitable,’ Selina said firmly. ‘Do not give up yet, my dears. We owe this placing to Mr Breck, and should we need to move on, I think we can rely on him to help us. We shall simply carry on as before.’
‘My instructions were that you should employ a housekeeper, sir,’ Robert said, glaring down at the lawyer from his superior height. ‘My uncle did not wish for a tenant and neither do I.’
‘You said you would not be returning for some years, my lord. I thought there could be no harm in it since the young ladies were in such desperate straits. They had to leave their home before the builders moved in—and they have taken good care of your property, I assure you. Miss Searles is an excellent manager, and had been helping to care for her father’s estate for the past three years.’
‘I take it she is a spinster of advancing years?’
‘I would not say that, sir—though she is not a very young lady. In her early twenties, I believe. Miss Amy is nearly twenty, and the youngest girl will be thirteen shortly.’ Mr Breck threw him an anxious look. ‘It was my intention to visit them tomorrow and discuss the matter. I have heard of a house that might be suitable, but it will not be vacant until the second week in January. If you could see your way clear to allowing them to stay until then …’
Robert’s expression hardened. ‘You say she is acting as an unpaid housekeeper?’
‘It was an arrangement that I thought suitable, my lord, though I offered remuneration. Miss Searles felt unable to accept a monetary reward. She needed a home quickly and the house was empty. She and her sisters and her servants have moved in—and I’ve had good reports of her. She has already found some things that she thought needed to be brought to my attention regarding the tenants of one of your two farms.’
‘Indeed? What may that be? I should hardly have thought a young, single woman capable of finding something my uncle or his bailiff had missed.’
‘It was to do with a tithe that was payable to the church but had been mistakenly paid to the estate, but it does not, however, show up in the accounts. Also, there was a matter of a lease on some land that had lapsed, and the tenants had been allowed to stay on—if no rent is paid, they could claim the land in another few years. I have already set the matter of a new lease in hand, so you may thank her for it.’
‘Remarkable. One wonders how my uncle’s man of business could have overlooked something of that sort—unless he had good reason?’ Robert said thoughtfully.
‘Precisely. Miss Searles thinks there might be some kind of relationship between the agent and the tenant. Your uncle’s agent left rather abruptly when the earl told him you would be taking over the charge of the estate. I think what Miss Searles uncovered may be the tip of the iceberg, my lord. I daresay your uncle had been cheated for some years.’
‘In that case I cannot put off my visit for as long as I planned. I must go down and poke about—discover just what has been going on.’
‘Will you wish Miss Searles and her family to leave?’
‘No, of course not. I am not a barbarian and nor do I have a heart of stone. I think there are enough rooms for us to share a house for a while. Pay your visit as you planned, Mr Breck—and tell Miss Searles I shall come down in eight days from tomorrow. She may hire some more servants from the village and open up the west wing. I shall move in there with Henry Norton and Jobis. Jobis was my batman in the army, and he looks after me as well as most valets—though I admit he does not understand how to black my boots. I have hired a man to help for my stay in town, but I shall not be taking him with me to the country. Henry, Jobis and my grooms are all I need for the moment.’
‘As you wish, my lord.’
Robert stared out of the office window at the busy London streets. Rather to his surprise, he had found them dirty and less than welcoming after the warmth and beauty of Italy.
‘Before I can think of pulling the house down, I must have plans drawn. If you could furnish me with the name of a good architect, I shall ask him to come down—perhaps stay over Christmas and give me an idea of the cost of a complete rebuild.’
‘Very well, my lord. It is generous of you to agree to my clients staying on in the house for the moment. I shall tell the ladies they can stay until the new house is vacant—which means they can have Christmas where they are. I believe it was Miss Searles’s intention to give a little party for your neighbours.’
‘As I am in official mourning for my uncle, it must not be a large gathering, but I see no reason why she should not have a small one if she wishes—though you did say she is also in mourning?’
‘Yes, my lord. However, she wanted to get to know her neighbours.’
‘Who will not be hers for much longer …’
‘She will not be moving too far. The house I have found is a large farmhouse no more than ten miles from your estate. The owner is settled abroad and the tenancy is for five years—should she wish to take it.’
‘Then she must do as she thinks fit,’ Robert said, and frowned again. ‘The name seems to ring a bell, but I do not recall having met the family.’
‘Her father was Lord Richard Searles, and her mother was a Seymour of the Devon branch—but they were country gentry. I believe they rarely visited London. Lady Searles was often an invalid. Some years ago she paid a few visits to Bath to take the waters, but then her health deteriorated and she stayed at home. Her husband visited London alone sometimes—and that was when he was … unfortunate enough to lose