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Chapter 19
After Lucas left Lavinia withHannah, he went to his room and pulled out the notes he’d gotten from Finch regarding the repairs to Primrose Farm and the costs that would be involved as a result. It made a certain amount of sense, Finch had explained, to bring only a few acres into production at a time. It would minimize the outlay of expense; the income made could then be used to help cover the costs of rebuilding the farmhouse and bringing more acres into production the following year, and so on and so forth until all the acreage of Primrose Farm was once again producing.
The alternative was to get the entire farm into production during the upcoming year. They could plant a few acres of fast-growing crops now in order to recoup some expense with its harvest. In the meantime, the rest of the land could be drained and prepared for next spring’s planting. This was the best way to proceed, as far as Finch was concerned, and Thomas and Isaac had agreed.
It made the most sense to Lucas too—except for the cost involved. He didn’t doubt that Lavinia had funds. She’d given him a banknote written for a generous amount just the other day. How much more money she had beyond that, he couldn’t say. It wasn’t his place to ask her for her personal financial details. If their betrothal were real, he’d be entitled to such information; itwould have been addressed in the discussions of their marriage contract.
He looked over the notes again, adding a column of numbers here, subtracting there. Labor, seed, drainage, pumps. Times acreage. What cropsyielded the best return when sold. What crops had the fastest growing seasons. Acreage set apart for raising livestock, particularly sheep. The amount of landsheep required.
Information Finch had shared and Lucas was trying to digest.
If one were to ask Lucas how to dig a trench or walk twenty miles in torrential rain—or take the life of a Frenchman intent on taking his own—thatinformation Lucas could recite in his sleep. How to clean a rifle. How to treat a wound.
He went over the notes and numbers until they began to blur before his eyes. There was no way to decide on the right solution for the farm without all the knowledge, and he didn’t have the knowledge that was key here: the amount of available capital.
Lucas knew how much money he himself had. He’d been one of the fortunate ones during his years in the army, and he had saved as much of that income as he’d been able. On its own, it was almost enough to fund the first plan regarding Primrose Farm, the conservative one that would take years to implement.
If he and Lavinia were to combine assets . . .
The idea knitted well with the other thoughts that had been constantly in his mind the past few days, namely, getting Lavinia to agree to a betrothal in truth. He knew she trusted him more than any other man. But did she trust him—or, more to the point, did shecarefor him—enough to give up her independence to him in marriage? A wife’s property became herhusband’s upon marriage, and that would make Primrose Farm his. He hadtwo days to find out the answers to those particular questions.
He felt restless. Perhaps he’d take Hector out for a nice run.
When Lucas arrived at the stables, he was surprised to see Simon there preparing to mount one of their father’s horses.
“Simon, have you had enough of the family already that you must leave before you’ve even been here a day?” he said, somewhat amused.
Simon settled himself easily atop the horse; he’d always been a natural horseman, even as a boy. “Not at all, Lucas,” he said, grinning. He looked much better now than he had when he’d arrived early this morning. “I am merely riding to the village to post a letter. Thought I’d tell a friend where I’d gotten toso he doesn’t have the authorities dredging the Thames looking for my body.”
“Your little joke isn’t that funny, Simon,” Lucas said.
“I suppose not. Blame it on the hammer pounding on the anvil in my head, although it’s much improved since this morning, thanks to you.”
“Would you care for company on your ride?” It wasn’t what Lucas had originally had in mind when he’d left his room, but spending time with his rebellious younger brother seemed a good way to fill what was left of the afternoon.
“Thank you, but not this time,” Simon said. “Don’t worry—I shan’t get lost; I still remember the way to the village. I’ll be back in time for supper.”
“Away with you, then, and post that important letter of yours. I wouldn’t want people frantically searching the Thames for you when you’re safe in the bosom of your family.”
“Indeed.” He nudged his horse down the lane and then turned back. “That’s quite a bride you’ve got, Lucas. I daresay her looks are one of a kind—that hair, that figure. That face of hers.”
“Her heart is just as beautiful, Simon. More so.” Simon’s words annoyed Lucas. “I am the most fortunate of men,” he added, even though that fortune depended on how persuasive he could be over the next two days.
“You are certainly that. I imagine there are many gentlemen of my acquaintance who would agree with you.” He gave the horse a flick with his crop, and then they were gone.
Lucas briefly wondered at Simon’s cryptic words, and then they wereforgotten as he gave Hector free rein and let the fresh air clear his mind forthe next few hours.
* * *
It was the day Lavinia and Lucas were to speak to his parents. Lord Thurlby had spent the previous day in Peterborough, and Lavinia had exhausted herself acting as though all was well, keeping a keen eye on Artie and Delia and helping Lady Thurlby with wedding plans. Lucas and his brothers had ridden to Primrose Farm once again, reporting back at supper on the progress of the farmhouse and fields.
This morning, Lavinia took her time eating breakfast—if one could call the few bites she’d managed to swallow “eating”—so she could be alone in the breakfast room with Delia and Artie when they arrived later, as had been their routine. She needed to warn them to pack their bags. She’d decided during what had been a sleepless night that if Primrose Farm was indeed ready for them by next week, she could afford for them to stay at the inn in Sleaford for the few remaining days until then. She and Lucas were to speak to Lord and Lady Thurlby this afternoon, at which time Lavinia would make her apologies, take dinner in her room, and leave with her friends first thing tomorrow morning.
Her heart was heavy.
By the time Delia and Artie arrived for breakfast, the room was essentially empty, every family members’ whereabouts accounted for as they all went about their routines as usual. Soon the entire family would learn that Lucas’s betrothal to Lavinia was a lie.
“I’m telling you, Delia, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” Artie’s voice preceded him into the breakfast room. “When I said you were like an egg, I meant it as a compliment. There’s no reason for you to be upset over such a little thing.”
