The American Earl (8 page)

Silence.

Lizzie said, “You have to, Mama. Julia has no mother or father. We have to help her.”

Lovely and kind
,
Evan thought approvingly as he looked at Lizzie.

“All right,” Lady Barbara said. “But I must speak to Julia herself to make certain she understands the standards I will expect her to uphold.”

“Certainly,” Evan said. “Don’t worry, Aunt Barbara, I‘ll make everything clear to her.”

During the two-hour drive home in the curricle, Evan thought about nothing except how he was going to present this idea to Julia and convince her to accept it.

Chapter Ten

After Evan left to pay a duty visit to Aunt Barbara, I saddled up Isabella and went to visit my dear friend, Sir Matthew Clarkson, our local squire. He was in one of the stalls with a pregnant mare, stroking her neck and murmuring to her soothingly.

“How’s she doing?” I asked.

He turned to me. “She was a wee bit restless, but I think I’ve settled her down.”

He gave the mare one last pat then joined me in the aisle. “I hear that the new earl has arrived from America.”

I laughed. “Gossip in the village always runs like wildfire.”

“What do you make of him?” Sir Matthew asked, raising his bushy white eyebrows.

“I’m not sure,” I replied.

“Come along to the office and we’ll have a chat.”

We moved down the aisle to the comfortable old office, a small room where Sir Matthew kept a wide assortment of remedies for his horses and hounds’ various ailments. There was a battered old desk in the corner with two chairs that were swathed in dark blue horse rugs. Once we were seated, Sir Matthew asked, “What does the new earl make of the financial disaster he inherited?”

“Mr. Shields recommended that he take a mortgage out on Stoverton.”  I scowled.  “I hate the thought of it.  It’s like selling Stoverton to a bank.”

Sir Matthew leaned back in his chair. “It’s his only option, other than selling off the land, lass. And I know you’d hate that even more.”

“I would,” I said gloomily.  “What I’d like best would be if he’d use his own money to bring Stoverton back to what it once was.  He has millions of dollars, Sir Matthew!  But that’s not going to happen.  He tells me he only makes investments that are going to earn him money.”  I glared.  “The man looks exactly like the first earl, but he’s a cit at heart!”

Sir Matthew said, “It would be grand if he’d spend his millions on Stoverton, but it’s asking a lot of a stranger from another country.  He feels none of the blood ties to Stoverton that you do.  And a mortgage won’t be so bad.  If he makes regular payments, Stoverton will be free and clear once the mortgage is repaid.  If he’s as rich as you say he is, he should be able to do that easily enough.”

I thought about that for a minute.  Perhaps Sir Matthew was right.  Perhaps a mortgage wouldn’t be so bad after all.  And if I was managing the property, I would make certain that every penny was put to good use.  I could have Stoverton paying it’s own mortgage in a few years.

Sir Matthew cleared his throat. “Er … has the earl come up with any suggestions about your future, lass?”

I sat up straighter.  “As a matter of fact, I have come up with a solution, Sir Matthew.  I suggested to Evan that I could act as his agent here when he went back to America.” 

I bounced a little on the chair in my enthusiasm.  “It’s the perfect answer to both our problems.  He doesn’t want to remain in England, and I don’t want to leave Stoverton.  If he appoints me as his agent, then he can go home with the confidence that he has entrusted Stoverton to the best person possible.”

There was a strange look on Sir Matthew’s face. “Did you mention this idea to his lordship?”

“I did.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said he’d think about it.”

Sir Matthew closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.  He opened his eyes and looked at me.  “It’s impossible, lass.  If his lordship doesn’t know it now, he soon will.  You cannot be the agent for Stoverton.”

I stared at him in astonishment. “Why not? No one knows more about the house and property than I do. I’m the perfect person for the job.”

“You cannot do it, lass, because you’re eighteen years old and the daughter of an earl.  You’re not a child any more, you’re a young lady.  The life you’ve been living cannot continue.  You must marry a man of your own class and have your own home and family.” 

I stared at him in horror.  “But I don’t want to get married.  If I got married I would have to move away from Stoverton.”

Sir Matthew leaned toward me.  “Julia.” He never called me Julia.  “You know I care for you.  You’re the daughter I never had.  But you cannot give all your love to a building!”

To my horror I felt tears sting my eyes. “You really want me to go away? You wouldn’t miss me?”

“I would miss you terribly. I meant it when I said I love you like a daughter. But all fathers have to let their daughters go eventually. It wouldn’t be a sign of love if I tried to hang onto you. It would be selfishness. I have to recommend what I think is best for you, and I think the best thing would be to find a man you like and marry him.”

I swallowed.  “I see.”

“Think about what I’ve said, lass. I know it isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s advice that comes from my heart.”

I managed a shadowy smile, stood up and said, “I think I had better be getting along home now.”

He nodded slowly and watched as I tried not to run out of the office.

* * * *

What Sir Matthew said upset me profoundly.  It wasn’t that I didn’t know that girls were expected to marry.  It was just that I had never thought that expectation would apply to me.  My mother had rarely taken me with her when she made calls on our neighbors, or attended the few local gatherings she deigned worthy of her presence.  I had always thought it was because she was ashamed of me but I didn’t know what I could do to make her like me.  

In the past, when I thought about my future, I assumed that my brother Philip would marry and I would stay on at Stoverton while he and his wife lived mostly in London.  I knew Philip would be perfectly happy to have me take care of his house and property.   I wouldn’t even have minded being a substitute parent to his children, as long as I could remain here, on this land that had belonged to my family for all these centuries. 

You can’t live all alone in this huge house,
Evan had said. 

I took Isabella to the stable and wouldn’t let Toby unsaddle or groom her. I dawdled for as long as I could, putting some oil on her hooves so they wouldn’t dry out and brushing her tail until Toby told me it would start to fall out if I didn’t stop.

As I made my way to the house I realized what the unfamiliar feeling in my chest was.  Fear.  My life wasn’t in my own hands anymore, it was in the hands of this American, who had inherited land and a title he neither understood nor respected. 

Stoverton was my land.  I was the one who would love it and cherish it and keep alive the tradition of one of the greatest families in the history of England. 

It was almost time for dinner when I reached the house and I went upstairs to my bedroom to put on one of the five dresses that hung in my wardrobe. There was a tall mirror in the corner of the room and, as always, I automatically went to check that my appearance was neat.

This time I stood and really looked at myself.  For dinner I usually wore my long black hair knotted at the back of my head, an easy style for me to do by myself.  My light gray eyes looked out from beneath my black brows and lashes, and the shabby blue dress, which had belonged to Maria when she was my size, was rather sad looking. 

I knew I didn’t live the life expected of an earl’s daughter, but I lived the life I loved. And I was prepared to fight to keep it. 

* * * *

Cousin Flora dominated the dinner conversation, asking Evan about Lady Barbara and her plans.  I didn’t pay much attention; I was too busy trying to figure out how I could maneuver Evan into doing what I wanted him to do.  Unfortunately, he did not appear to be a man easily manipulated. 

I would come up with something, I thought. I had to.

After the pudding had been served, Evan asked if Flora would mind if I remained in the dining room with him so we could speak in private. 

“Of course not,” Flora said, much too effusively. “Come along, Maria. You can play the piano for me while your sister speaks to Evan.”

Maria threw me an alarmed look. I kept my face blank and gestured for her to leave.

After the door had closed behind them, Evan picked up his glass of wine and came to sit across from me. 

“You and I have to talk, Julia,” he said. He proceeded to tell me about his visit to Aunt Barbara and her agreement to take me to London and present me along with Lizzie. I grew colder with every word he spoke.

“I don’t want to go to London for a Season,” I said. “I want to stay here.”

He regarded me thoughtfully.  “I’ve been thinking about your idea to take charge for me here at Stoverton, and I believe it has some merit,” he said.

I lit up inside. “You do? That’s wonderful, Evan! That’s just…wonderful! I’ll do a good job for you. I’ll do the best job anyone could do.”

“I know you would,” he said.  “But after meeting Aunt Barbara, and speaking to Flora, my original feeling has been confirmed.  You can’t be left here by yourself.  Your family, the society you live in, won’t allow it.  And Maria needs you.  You’re all she has, and living alone here at Stoverton is not good for her.”

He was speaking quietly and reasonably. And what he said about Maria was true. I bit my lip. “What do you think I should do?”

“You need to find a husband,” he said.

“No! You want me to go and live in a strange place with some strange man? I can’t do that, Evan!” I leaned toward him, desperate. “I can’t!”

He didn’t say what I expected to hear, that other girls did it all the time, why couldn’t I?  Instead he said, “We might be able to keep you at Stoverton, Julia.”

I just stared.

“Think,” he said. “You must marry. There’s no getting around that. But you don’t have to marry a man who has his own property. What if you picked a younger son, someone who would be happy to have a great estate he could live on?”

My mouth fell open.

“When we get to London, look around,” he said.  “You might find a man who likes all the things you like – horses and hunting, that sort of thing.  You could continue to live at Stoverton and maybe you could even come to love him.”

I doubted that, but the rest of his idea was worth thinking about. 

“What about money? When a woman marries, her money becomes her husband’s.”

“The only money you will have, Julia, is my money, and your husband will have no right to that.”

“But when I get Stoverton profitable again?  We can’t have the same thing happen that happened with Papa.”

“Julia, your husband won’t own Stoverton because it doesn’t belong to you.  He won’t handle any of Stoverton’s money.  You will because I will designate you to be my agent.”

He was right. It was a brilliant plan.

I said slowly, “So all I have to do is go to London with Aunt Barbara, go to all the boring parties she drags me to, and try to find a poverty-stricken husband who’ll marry me for my dowry.  And once I do that, I can come back to Stoverton to live?”

“Yes.”

I smiled as I hadn’t smiled since my fathet died.  “Oh Evan, thank you!”

He blinked.  Then he said, “It’s a good business proposition for me as well.  You’re right when you say you know more about Stoverton than anyone else.  The fact that you’re a woman shouldn’t stop you from using that knowledge, or me from taking advantage of it.  My sister has run a multi-million dollar business for years.  And has borne two children, as well.  I think you’re the person for the job.”

I bit my lip as an uncomfortable thought hit me. “But what if no one wants to marry me – even with the dowry? What will happen then?”

He favored me with that heart-catching smile. “You’re a beautiful girl, Julia. Believe me, you’ll have no problem finding a husband.” His eyes narrowed to dangerous blue slits. “But you must follow Aunt Barbara’s advice and be pleasant and accommodating to her and to your cousin. I must also tell you that Aunt Barbara has agreed to include Maria in her household and find her a proper governess and a good music teacher.”

I thought about having to listen to Aunt Barbara and repressed a shudder. 
I can do it,
I told myself.  I have to do it.  The prize would be Stoverton, and Stoverton was worth any sacrifice.

I managed to say, “I will do whatever Aunt Barbara tells me to.”

He blessed me with the smile again. “Good girl. I’ll send word to Aunt Barbara tomorrow that all has been agreed to. She plans to leave for London in a week.”

“A week! That’s not much notice!”

“It’s not as if you have a lot to pack,” he said dryly.

“Yes, but I have to make sure the hay is ordered and the ….”

He cut me off. “I will leave enough money with Toby for him to manage. You trust him, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

He stood up. “Good. Then let’s go into the library and tell the good news to Flora and Maria.”

I stood as well. I felt as if my head was whirling. “All right,” I said, and allowed him to take my elbow and steer me out of the room.

Chapter Eleven

Evan was jerked out of sleep by the sound of screaming. He leaped out of bed, ran out into the hall in his nightshirt and saw Maria opening the door to Julia’s bedroom. Without thinking, he raced down the hall and followed her inside.

The window in Julia’s room was uncovered and the moonlight shone directly in, giving Evan a clear look at the picture in front of him. Julia was sitting with her face in her hands and Maria had her arms around her sister’s shoulders. Julia’s breathing was audible - harsh, fast and frightened.