Now he positioned himself behind the untidy desk, which was the room’s principal item of furniture, and waited, “How may I be of service to you, Lady Grenville?” he asked at last.
She could tell that he did not quite know what to make of her. Being as close to Nicholas as he was, her arrival on the scene and the circumstances under which it had occurred must obviously be somewhat bewildering. Did he, as would others, believe she had married Nicholas simply to enrich herself?
“Mr. Dodswell, I wish to acquaint myself with the financial affairs of the estate.”
“But, I don’t understand
—”
“I know that all is not well, sir, and I know that you wish to see my husband as soon as he is able. Therefore I wish to learn as much as possible myself in order that I may see if there is anything I can do while my husband remains so ill.”
The agent looked ill at ease, glancing at Daniel and then back at her. “Forgive me, Lady Grenville, but I gave my word to Sir Nicholas before he departed for Venice that I would say absolutely nothing to anyone until he returned and had decided what exactly to do.”
“Charles,” reproved Daniel, “it is Nicholas’s wife to whom you speak.”
“I am well aware of that, Daniel Tregarron, but a man’s word is his bond.”
Laura glanced sharply at him. “And a man’s wife is his right hand, sir.”
“I did not mean to suggest….” the agent began hastily.
“My first responsibility and duty is to my husband and therefore to this estate too. He saw fit to confide in me, telling me of the troubles besetting him and what he wished to do about putting things right. Maybe he did not expect to survive and maybe there was no thought in his head that his marriage to me would last beyond one night, but the fact is that it has. I am his wife and I am proud to be so, and I have nursed him and brought him home to the house he loves so much. You surely do not imagine that I think my duty is done now and that I will sit back and twiddle my thumbs? That is not how I am made, Mr. Dodswell, and I think that you should realize that.”
A ghost of a smile touched the agent’s thin lips. “I begin to, my lady.”
“Do you still feel bound by your word?”
“How can I, when you obviously know a great deal already, and you know it from Sir Nicholas’s lips? I will tell you all you wish to know, but I do not think there is anything anyone can do about it until Sir Nicholas is well again.”
“Maybe not, but I still wish to be
au fait
with everything.”
“Sir Jasper, as you know, left mountainous debts, some of which Sir Nicholas has been able to meet.”
“How?”
“By selling items of value from the house. There is one particularly alarming debt still outstanding, however, and that is to a certain moneylender in London whose reputation is not at all savory.”
“How large is the debt?”
“Twenty thousand guineas.”
She stared at him. “So much?”
“Sir Jasper had been living well beyond his means for some time. At first he resorted to the usual practice of falsifying his returns to the Treasury, raising mortgages here and there
—and finally everywhere—and so on, but gradually he came to need more and more to sustain the white elephant which was King’s Cliff and to sustain his own wildly impractical way of life. He went frequently to London with the Earl of Langford, simply to visit the gaming hells, where he proceeded to lose vast sums
night after night. The estate could only support this for a short while, for it is not productive enough to maintain such extravagance. In the end Sir Jasper was foolish enough to fall into the clutches of a moneylender.”
The agent sighed. “And all the time something could have been done to make King’s Cliff more profitable, but the land is turned almost entirely to the needs and pleasures of fox hunting. The farms are let to tenants who are, like Sir Jasper, enthusiastic about hunting, and vast stretches of good land are simply left
—or cleared to provide long rides. There is no sign of the new methods of high farming here, Lady Grenville, no sign at all. Even King’s Cliff Moor, which could be so fertile, is left undrained. Most of Sedgemoor has been drained, but not here. The medieval drainage system, built by monks back in the mists of time, has been allowed to fall into disrepair, with the result that here you will find the finest shooting in the county. Waterfowl and fish abound, and it is quite the thing to come down to King’s Cliff for a stay. The only persons to benefit financially have been the considerable horde of poachers who inhabit the town of Langford. King’s Cliff eels and birds find their way to tables where they have no right to be found. And all I can do is stand by and watch it all happen, because until now the master of the house has seen fit to allow it all. Sir Jasper was blind to everything but the glorification of both himself and King’s Cliff, and he was encouraged in every way by the Earl of Langford and, I am sorry to say, by Miss Townsend and her mother. They wallowed in that reflected glory, and could not see it for what it truly was—the ruining of a fine and ancient estate. The heedless extravagance went on and on, and neither my voice nor that of Sir Nicholas was listened to. Being land agent to a man like Sir Jasper Grenville was a bitter, frustrating, and unrewarding experience, my lady, but how much worse must it have been for his son?
“Forgive me for speaking my mind, Lady Grenville, but Sir Jasper was an unnatural father, making his preference for his brother’s son only too plain. In Sir Nicholas he had so very much, but he chose to forfeit it. I love Sir Nicholas; indeed I have come to look upon him as the son I never had, and I see in him the will and determination to bring this estate, which is his birthright, to its feet again. I admire him greatly and will willingly stay here to assist him. I endured here because of him, and when I thought he had been killed….” The agent’s voice died away, his glance falling on some neat piles of papers on a shelf.
They were too neat for Mr. Dodswell, she thought, and then realized quite suddenly that they were like that because he had been setting everything in order. He had been intending to leave King’s Cliff, because without Nicholas the estate did not matter. “Mr. Dodswell,” she said gently, “I too endure because of him.”
He smiled at her. “Of that I have no doubt, my lady.”
“Tell me, Mr. Dodswell, how long will it be before the debt to the moneylender falls due?”
“Unfortunately it is overdue now, and that is why I was so anxious to see Sir Nicholas.” He smiled again. “Until yesterday I believed the estate to have fallen into the clutches of the Earl of Langford, and so could not have cared less about the debt
—I feel very little but dislike for the Earl. However, with Sir Nicholas alive still, the matter changes dramatically. I must see him, to have his permission to sell something of value in order to stave off the duns. Mr. Peterson of London is the most notorious and most pitiless of all his tribe, and he will show no mercy at all. Sir Nicholas
must
be made aware of how dangerous the situation is.”
Daniel looked sharply at him. “He cannot be worried, not in his present state. The calmer and more relaxed he is, the better for his recovery
—”
“I understand, Daniel, but
you
must understand
my
anxiety, However, until I actually receive a communication from Peterson, no doubt things can be left in abeyance. One thing is for sure, the Earl of Langford will not give his permission for anything that might yet come to him to be sold, no matter what the reason!”
“The Earl of Langford?” asked Laura. “But what has it to do with him?”
“Unfortunately,” said the agent, “there is a long-standing arrangement within the Grenville family for each head of a household to come to the aid of a kinsman or kinswoman at time of distress, such as illness as in this case. Sir Nicholas is obviously not in any state to run King’s Cliff for himself, and so the responsibility falls upon the earl. There is nothing which can be done about it
—for the moment the earl is in command of King’s Cliff’s affairs. Legally, that is. As to the moral aspect, well that is quite another matter. James Grenville was quite openly delighted to learn of Sir Nicholas’s apparent demise, and he has already been making preparations for taking over here—indeed, his intention was to quit Langford Place, which is not so fine a dwelling, and to live here. No doubt with Miss Townsend as his bride.” The agent’s face told volumes of his low opinion
of both the earl and Augustine, for distaste and dislike twisted his thin lips for a moment.
They were silent for a while, and then Laura spoke again. “So, Mr. Dodswell, for the moment there is nothing we can do?”
“Nothing
—unless Sir Nicholas himself expresses his wish.”
“And he must not be told anything which will cause him stress.” She looked at Daniel, who immediately nodded.
“Mr. Dodswell, is the debt to this Mr. Peterson the only one now outstanding?” she asked.
“The only one of any urgency. Coutts, the bankers, are awaiting payment, but they will not press while Sir Nicholas is so very ill. It would be infinitely better to implement any changes Sir Nicholas wishes to make here immediately, but obviously that cannot be helped. The changes must wait.” He picked up a small sheaf of notes. “Before he left for Venice, he asked me to draw up a list of every parcel of unprofitable and useless land, every item of unnecessary equipment, every surplus hand employed by the estate
—and there are a considerable number—in short, everything which can be dispensed with. I have completed that list. I know that he intends selling the hounds, draining the marsh, and so on, for he had come to that conclusion before he left and went away merely to put everything into perspective in his own mind. I know what must be done and what he wishes to have done, but without his hand at the helm there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. The Earl of Langford holds sway here for the time being, and he will not agree to anything at all which will change King’s Cliff.”
“And there is nothing at all which can be done?”
“The man in me wishes there was, but the lawyer tells me there is not. The law upholds the earl in this.”
She nodded. “Then I must accept the situation, must I not? But at least I can learn a little about the running of an estate like this. There are estate books which will inform me?”
“There are a great many books, Lady Grenville, but I must warn you that although I find them most interesting and informative, you may find them decidedly dry. Information about the valuing of tithes, stock, and crops, the marking, measuring, and selling of timber, complaints from tenants, and guidelines for the taking on of new tenants is hardly enjoyable reading for a lady.”
“We do not all read only Gothic novels, I promise you. I will try my best to find them interesting, Mr. Dodswell,” she said with a slight smile, getting to her feet and preparing to leave.
“We have kept you from your work for long enough. Will you have some ledgers and books sent to me at the house?”
“I will, Lady Grenville. Lady Grenville…?”
“Yes?”
“I have not welcomed you to King’s Cliff, but belatedly I do so now. I see that Sir Nicholas has been very fortunate in his bride.”
“He would have been infinitely more fortunate had I been wealthy, Mr. Dodswell, but I bring nothing to King’s Cliff, nothing at all.”
“Except yourself,” he said gallantly.
“Well, that is not a very great contribution on my part, is it? Good day, Mr. Dodswell.”
“Good day, Lady Grenville.”
He watched her go out and then looked at Daniel, who was putting on his hat and gloves. “I was guilty of grave prejudgment where she was concerned, Daniel, for I believed that she could only be a scheming adventuress. I quickly perceived how wrong I was, for she is every inch a lady of quality, and she is so obviously in love with her husband.”
“But is he in love with her, that is the question?”
The agent nodded sadly. “His wife is worth a thousand Augustine Townsends.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Daniel softly.
“Remember that she is another man’s wife, my friend. I know you well enough to recognize that look in your eye when you watch her.”
“What man could not desire her? As to remembering that she is Nicholas Grenville’s wife, I do not see how
I
can damned well forget it. Oh, but it would be good to suffer a little amnesia!” Daniel grinned at the agent. “Good day to you, Charles.”
“Good day, Daniel.”
As Laura and Daniel came within sight of the house again, they saw immediately that Augustine’s ride to Langford Place later that morning would no longer be necessary, for word had already reached the furious earl who had immediately driven over to see for himself what was happening on an estate which only the night before he had believed to be his own at last.
Laura looked with some trepidation at the landau with its fine team of whites, and Daniel reassuringly put his hand over the small fingers that rested on his arm. They entered the house and Hawkins immediately came forward.
“My lady, the Earl of Langford expects you to attend him in the library at one o’clock.”
“Thank you, Hawkins.” She glanced at Daniel. “He expects that
I
attend
him?
Oh, he does indeed regard this house as his, doesn’t he?”
He took out his fob watch. “You have half an hour in which to fume.”
She smiled. “And fume I will. I will also take myself to my room to change. Shall you go to Nicholas now?”
“Yes.”
“I will come there directly my ordeal is over.”
He watched her ascend the staircase. How small and lost she looked, and how desperately vulnerable, for all her brave talk. Charles Dodswell’s words came into his head again. “Daniel, my laddo,” he admitted to himself, “You do indeed begin to covet that which is not yours.”
* * *
Laura’s route took her past the red saloon, and as its door was not properly closed she heard low voices inside. She stopped, recognizing Augustine’s voice.