The next morning, John made the relatively short journey to the little town of Meryton, just twenty miles north of Mayfair. He found Mr. Phillips fairly easily by the simple expedient of traveling down the main street of the town. The solicitor’s place of business was right on the main road and was clearly marked by a colorful sign.
When John entered the office, he was greeted by a clerk and was quickly shown in to see Mr. Phillips. The discussion didn’t take long once John explained his purpose. The only delay came toward the end of the conversation.
“I assume you would like to see the place before you sign a lease for it,” said Mr. Phillips.
“Oh, there is no need,” said John airily. “I have it on good authority from someone who has stayed there in the past that the place is quite suitable for my purposes.”
Mr. Phillips looked at him piercingly. “As a businessman, it would be in my interest to hurry this along,” he said. “However, I cannot in good conscience allow you to spend so much money on a lease when you don’t even know what kind of condition the house is in. Even if it was suitable in the past, time has a way of changing things. Therefore, I would encourage you to see it for yourself.”
John sighed. The older man was correct, but John was hoping to complete this transaction without anyone being the wiser to his presence. “Very well,” he said after a bit of hesitation. “If you could give me directions, I will take a look at it.”
“I will do you one better,” said Mr. Phillips. “I will send my clerk with you. He can guide you to Netherfield, and with himwith you, you can see as much of the inside and outside as you like.”
“Is your clerk discreet?” asked John. “I was hoping to keep my presence here as quiet as possible.”
“He is as discreet as I tell him to be. If you do not wish anyone to know you are here, he will not say a word. It is possible, however, that others will see you and draw their own conclusions.”
“I can do nothing about that,” said John. “I am simply attempting to reduce rumors as much as possible.”
John spent the next three hours going over the house and its grounds. The house was well-kept, though too large for a single occupant, but the hunting forest on the edge of the property looked promising enough to make up for that.
When the tour was complete, John happily signed a three-month lease for the house, which was to begin the first of February.
The final hiccup occurred as he was signing the document. He had originally introduced himself as Eric Porter, a persona he frequently used when he wished to go unnoticed. When he signed his true name, Mr. Phillips appeared genuinely surprised and perhaps a bit shocked.
When the contract was complete, the solicitor said, “Thank you, my Lord.”
John held up a hand. “None of that, now,” he said. “You boasted of your discretion, and I will count on it. I am Eric Porter.”
“Yes, of course,” said Mr. Phillips. “You may count on me.”
The two men shook hands and John headed back to London. The next few weeks would be difficult, but at least he had this little holiday to look forward to.
~~~~~
The next few weeks were, indeed, difficult. There was his investiture, where the title of Earl of Matlock became truly his. That was harder than one might assume. John was so used to his father or his grandfather being the earl that the name didn’t sit comfortably on his shoulders.
Then, there was an enormous amount of work going through his father’s ill-organized papers, with the aid of his secretary, to determine what his new wealth consisted of and where it was placed. He also had to disperse several legacies from the will.
His mother had received her original dowry back as well as generous dower rights. That was no surprise. What was surprising was that, despite saying that Richard would never get any inheritance, since the old Earl had arranged for his position as colonel, their father had left Richard ten thousand pounds.
This change to his father’s will dated from three years ago, just after a physician visiting Natalie discovered that it was impossible for her to bear children. They had kept this information within the family, but ever since then, Richard had been treated as the heir by both John and their father.
Upon hearing of Richard’s bequest, Natalie’s expression grew quite sour, though she said nothing since they were in public at the time. However, John heard all her complaints at length that night at dinner. Apparently, she resented thebequest, seeing it as John’s father disposing of money that was rightfully theirs.
John let her complaints simply wash over him. He could not sympathize with them in the least. He had too much as it was, and he was more than happy to have some of it go to his brother if it would help him live a better life.
By the time John had settled into his new role and his new wealth, the month of January was almost over. On February first, he bade farewell to his wife, reminding her to say nothing about moving to his mother until he returned from Hertfordshire. He then climbed into his carriage. As the vehicle began moving, he breathed an enormous sigh of relief.
He had spent the last three weeks gradually heaping more and more responsibility on himself, all the while grieving the loss of his father. Now, however, he was going to a place where he would have no responsibility whatsoever. It would be one last breath of fresh air before he fully embraced his new role as Earl of Matlock.
Chapter 6
The rest of January was different from any other month in Mary’s life. She and her two new friends established a sewing circle. Miss Lucas called it The Mary Circle. Three times a week, they would get together and work on whatever little projects they had while they chatted about anything and everything.
Mary had become better at getting along with her neighbors over the last two years, but she had never felt so included, so much like she belonged, as she did in those weeks, not even among her own family.
She still did not feel as though she had much in common with either young lady. Miss King was obsessed with novels and Miss Lucas, like Kitty, was obsessed with fashion. However, Mary found that it did not matter overmuch. Each of them shared what they knew and what they did with the others, and they each listened to the others’ enthusiasm even if they did not share it.
