Chapter Twenty-Three
“Mr. Cross saidyou are going out, my lord,” his wife remarked with a question in her tone.
“I have ordered my horse for now and the coach for half past ten,” Navan told her without looking up from the note he was signing. “I simply must call on my local man of business. Then we will be off to Duncan’s for the day. Tomorrow we are to call upon Smithfield House. Did you send someone to Dutton Hall to claim your wardrobe left at your brother’s house?”
“Yes, though I asked someone to do so previously, it was left to the wayside. Mrs. Mayo has insisted on doing it herself. She says Mr. Glenstorm can be quite the stickler in such matters.”
“Likely Mrs. Mayo simply wishes for the opportunity to speak to Glenstorm. They share a few relatives.” He stood then and circled the desk to kiss her. “I promise not to be too long.”
“Is the election and a new Parliament because of Spencer Perceval’s assassination?” she asked. “I had hoped you would have time to travel to either your estate in Ireland or Shaw Manor. You have had no real time to relax.”
“I would not be relaxing at either,” he assured. “There is much todo at both. Thankfully, I have a good steward in place at each. Moreover, Parliament customarily only steps away from London from mid-July to early-November. As to the new session, Liverpool will easily replace Perceval, but it must be executed properly according to British law. Obviously, beyond men in my position, meaning those in Ireland and Scotland, the House of Lords remains very much the same men, except for the occasional passing of a peer and his heir claiming his place. The House of Commons is more fluid, but even there, one finds some consistency. The Parliament, therefore, sits for somewhere between six and eight years before a new election is necessary.”
His wife’s features screwed up in a frown, as well as another question. “So, if an area is represented by a miserable flake of manhood, said man can be in office long enough to exact real harm on the people he serves?”
“I adore your strong sense of both responsibility and pity, and, yes, the British government is far from perfect, but it is better than the alternatives.”
“Even so, I would not wish to live under that particular person’s care,” she countered.
“You sound a bit like Lady Emma in your beliefs,” he teased as he playfully flicked her nose. “Tell me I have not also married a woman who believes in the rights of all the downtrodden, including women, as does Richard’s wife.”
“I cannot say with confidence, my lord,” she said with a sassy lift of her chin, “but perhaps Lady Orson should become my most favored acquaintance.”
He kissed her lips tenderly. “I will carry your banner forward, my girl. As to living under the heavy thumb of another, such will never happen. I promise to assist you in exposing those who harm both English and Irish citizens. Now, I must hurry or we will be late calling on Duncan, and Duncan does not well tolerate tardiness. I shan’t be long.”
With a lingering kiss, he left her to her tasks and rode across town to Mr. Marvin Devon’s office, where he was admitted immediately.
“How might I serve you, my lord?” Devon asked.
“I have several minor items of which I wish you to attend.”
“Absolutely, my lord.”
“I have just returned from my grandmother’s estate in Ireland, where I instructed my man of business there to contact you if there are issues with the new land steward I installed. I believe you briefly met Mr. Liam and sent him to my estate in Staffordshire.”
“Yes, sir. It was only afterwards that I learned you were in Ireland and had recently married,” Devon shared.
“It was all very quick, for we suspect my grandmother’s days are numbered, and I wished for her ladyship to know I was well settled. Her estate will, I hope, pass to one of my younger sons, if I am so blessed,” he said as an image of Annalise in his bed flashed across his memory. “As for the marriage, I intended to wait until the spring to present the lady with my proposal, but it was necessary to execute it faster than I expected. We married on Lord Graham’s southern estate and left immediately for Lady Klare’s estate. As you might have expected, my wife is Marksman’s sister,” Navan explained.
“Felicitations, my lord,” Devon said dutifully.
“In that manner, I assume you received a note for payment for the gowns my wife ordered recently from Madame Emmeline.”
“I did, and I sent a note around to Mr. Cross to confirm,” Devon disclosed. “Madame Emmeline has been paid, my lord.”
“There will be a few other accounts to be established going forward for her ladyship,” Navan explained. “One for the bookstore owned by Mr. Manfried. I will send over a note as is necessary until you are able to know which are legitimate accounts and such.”
Devon nodded his understanding.
“Such brings me to today’s business.” Beaufort reached into an inside pocket and removed the two notes he had written earlier. Hehanded them to Mr. Devon. “The one addressed to Mrs. Dove-Lyon should be accompanied by a hundred pounds.”
Devon’s eyebrow rose in curiosity, but Navan provided no information. He wanted Mrs. Dove-Lyon to know how valuable Annalise was in his opinion. “As to the other, I would prefer you deliver it personally. Miss Baldwin has dared to accost my wife in a public park. Lady Beaufort knew nothing of Julia Baldwin’s presence in my life, and I prefer to keep her ladyship from harm. Miss Baldwin has broken our contractual agreement. By the end of a fortnight, I want her out of the house I have provided her for several years. You are to go through the jewelry and present her with only what the original document declares. Anything beyond what that contract states is to be considered a loan, not a gift.”
Devon’s mouth tightened. “And the disposition of what else I should examine?”
“She may keep her gowns and her perfumes and toiletries. I have no need for them and neither does Lady Beaufort, who is beautiful as she is. Her ladyship requires no adornments. If Miss Baldwin wishes to stay in the house and is able to discover another benefactor, said gentleman must purchase the house from me. If not, she is to be evicted in a fortnight, starting today, and the house placed up for sale. No rentals.”
“Is that all, my lord.”
