The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone (Lords of Disgrace 4)

‘He is too young a gentleman to have one, I believe, my lord.’ Hampshire cleared his throat. ‘He is very much on his dignity and, if I may be so bold, I would advise caution. I sense repressed emotion about him. Some instability.’

‘I’ll stay. It sounds as though you might need a lawyer,’ Louis said with rather too much enthusiasm.

‘Show him in, Hampshire. And you,’ he added as the butler closed the door, ‘you remember that you aren’t a lawyer yet and keep quiet.’

‘Breach of promise, do you think?’ Louis speculated, for once acting his age. ‘You wouldn’t gamble with a stripling, so that’s all I can think of. So, outraged younger brother come to defend his spurned sister. George says it is about time you—’

‘Louis. Shut up if you value your allowance.’

‘Mr Holm, my lord.’

Oh, Satan’s toenails. Her baby brother. ‘Mr Holm. I am Edenbridge. This is my brother, Mr Louis Stone. How may I assist you?’

The young man standing in front of him was obviously Caroline’s brother, with his blue eyes and blond hair and handsome, open countenance. Anthony swallowed once, hard, but made a very proper bow. ‘My lord. Mr Stone. I have come about a property.’

‘I see.’ No mention of Caroline yet. ‘Will you sit down, Mr Holm? A glass of brandy, perhaps?’

He could see in the boy’s expression the desire to appear a man of the world warring with the knowledge that he was not going to be able to drink strong spirits at five in the afternoon and carry on a discussion at the same time.

‘Thank you, no, my lord,’ he said, winning points with Gabriel. He sat down, crossed his gangling legs with a fair assumption of ease, and then looked anxious when Gabriel sat, too, but remained silent. ‘Er... Springbourne, my lord.’

‘Call me Edenbridge. I won a Hertfordshire estate called Springbourne from your father some time ago.’

‘I need to buy it back. I can’t pay you now, of course, but if you tell me how much, then I will start to make repayments just as soon as I am able. You will expect interest and I realise it will take some time...’

‘What is your allowance?’ Gabriel enquired.

‘Twenty-five pounds a quarter.’

‘And you are how old?’

‘Sixteen, sir. My lor... Edenbridge.’

‘Louis, how much is Springbourne worth?’ His brother whipped open a file and produced a neat summary paper. Gabriel handed it to Anthony. ‘At compound interest of even a modest four percent, can you

work out how long it would take you to pay it back?’

‘Yes.’ For a moment his chin wobbled, then he got it under control. Gabriel had a vivid recollection of Caroline firming her own jaw before launching into an explanation of why she had come to him that first morning. ‘I can see it is impossible. But that was my future, you see. I had to try. However, I quite understand. I will not trouble you further, my lord. Good day.’

He was on his feet, but Gabriel did not move. ‘Sit down. You give up very easily, Mr Holm. How did you find out that your father had lost the estate to me?’

The boy sat. ‘He told me two days ago when I said I wanted to spend some of the summer there.’

‘I imagine he was not conciliatory.’

‘No.’ Anthony tightened his lips and, for a moment, his shoulders hunched.

The bastard hit him, Gabriel realised with a surge of anger. Boys expected to be beaten for misdemeanours, but not for enquiring about property they thought would be theirs. And not thrashed. Involuntarily his hand reached for Louis, then he jerked it back.

‘He’s not in a good temper at the moment because of my sis...I mean... Oh, drat, I shouldn’t have said that. You’ll forget it?’

‘Forget what? Mr Holm, I am not in the habit of gaming for property that has been promised to someone other than the person staking it. I discovered the facts about that estate and it is now being held in trust for you without your father’s knowledge. The income will be invested and the whole, less running costs, will revert to you on your twenty-first birthday.’

Suddenly, appallingly, the boy burst into tears. After a moment he dragged a bedraggled handkerchief out of his pocket, blew his nose and peered wetly over the top at Gabriel. ‘I’m sorry, sir. But are you serious? You aren’t jesting with me?’

‘Look at my brother. I’m a frivolous sort, but Louis never jests, certainly not about money, do you, Louis?’ He had told his brother the bare outlines of the story, without telling him how he had discovered that the estate was destined for Anthony Holm and certainly without mentioning Caroline.

‘Of course not.’ Louis, all of three years older than Anthony, sent Gabriel his best lawyerly reproving look, the one Gabriel suspected he practised in front of the mirror. ‘You may scrutinise the books at any time, Mr Holm. We realise that you are not able to employ anyone to audit them, but if you nominate someone we can set that against the estate income.’