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‘There you are, Jane,’ her ladyship said. ‘We have a visitor.’
‘So I perceived.’ She sank gratefully on to a sofa beside Sophie and laid the crutch on the floor beside it. Her leg was beginning to ache abominably after her exertions. ‘Is it Mr Halliday?’
‘Yes. He and your father have been closeted in the book room for hours. We have all been requested to wait in here until they emerge.’
‘Do you know why he is here? Did Papa send for him?’
‘I do not think so. They were both looking very serious.’ She appeared her usual calm self, but Jane could see she was trembling. ‘I suspect they are talking about making economies.’
‘Ugh, I hate that word,’ Isabel said.
‘Papa did warn us,’ Jane said.
‘So he did, but I cannot think he meant it. People like us just do not economise.’
‘People like us?’ Jane asked, lifting one eyebrow.
‘Gentry.’
‘Issie, gentry or not, we have to cut our coat according to our cloth.’
‘And that is a silly thing to say.’
‘How has your morning been, Jane?’ her mother asked, changing the subject abruptly. ‘How did you manage?’
‘I managed very well. Everyone was helpful. The Reverend Mr Caulder is going to speak about the Hadlea Children’s Home after his sermon on Sunday when he makes the usual announcements. He will ask the congregation to offer their services to help run the fair, and for donations for the stalls and the prizes. We have decided to have it on the last Saturday in August on the Ten Acre Field.’
‘Are you sure it will not overtax your strength?’ her ladyship queried.
‘Mama, I am as strong as an ox and my leg will be quite mended by then.’
They heard a door open and close, then their father, followed by the senior Mr Halliday, entered the room. They both looked sombre. Sir Edward invited the lawyer to be seated and then drew up a chair to sit close to his wife. There was silence for a moment while everyone looked towards him expectantly.
He cleared his throat. ‘My dear,’ he said, addressing his wife, ‘the situation is far worse than I thought. I am afraid we have to make changes in our way of life. Big changes.’
‘But why?’ she queried. ‘It is not as if you are a gambler like Teddy.’
‘I don’t gamble at the card table, it is true, but I gambled on the ’Change. The harvests have been bad for some time, but last year was the worst. The crops failed, the tenant farmers could not afford their rents and the Home Farm has made no profit at all in three years. In truth, it ran at a loss. My capital was dwindling and I thought buying and selling stock might see us through the worst of it. I was ill advised, not by Mr Halliday, but by others.’ He sighed heavily and appeared to be on the verge of tears. ‘I lost everything and in order to maintain our style of living I borrowed and allowed the debts to mount up. They are being called in and I cannot honour them.’
‘What are we to do?’ she asked, while their daughters looked from one to the other in shock. ‘Must we do as Jane suggested a few weeks ago and get rid of the carriage and horses and dismiss the servants?’
Theodore Halliday interrupted with a gentle cough. ‘My lady, I am afraid such economies would not be enough. It is unfortunate that all Sir Edward’s debts have passed into the hands of a single person.’
‘Lord Bolsover.’ Jane had almost been holding her breath and she let it out on the man’s name.
‘I’m afraid so. He has made no secret of the fact.’
‘What has the man against us?’ Jane asked. ‘Do you know, Mr Halliday?’
‘I am afraid I do not.’
‘Do you, Papa?’
He shook his head without speaking. His face was white and his hands were shaking.
She turned back to the lawyer. ‘Are his lordship’s claims valid?’
‘I am afraid they are.’ He paused. ‘Unless it is put out of his reach, he will claim the whole estate.’
‘Greystone Manor?’ Grace gasped. ‘He can’t do that, can he?’
‘I am afraid he can if your husband makes no effort to recompense him.’
‘But it is our home. The Cavenhursts have lived here for generations, ever since the Interregnum.’
‘I am inclined to think his motives might go back as far at that,’ Jane put in. ‘I found a headstone tucked away at the side of the churchyard. It said...’ She paused to make sure she had the wording correctly. ‘“Colin Bolsover Paget, beloved son of Lord and Lady Paget, died by his own hand, May 1649, aged twenty-seven years. May God forgive him and allow him eternal rest.” Do you think that might be significant?’
