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Chapter 16
Gabriel sat at his desk, flipping through the late Somerset’s will.
“These are all her assets and lands?” He cocked a brow at the solicitor.
The solicitor nodded.
“Does Evie know what she inherited?” Gabriel asked.
“Yes. To my understanding, late Somerset prepared Lady Eabha—pardon me, the duchess—to run his estates. We had several meetings with her present in the room.”
“Hmm.” Gabriel continued studying the documents. The list of her assets was extensive. He wasn’t certain he’d be able to take care of it all, but his wife… Well, he wouldn’t be surprised if she ruled all of it blindfolded.
“Since there was no marital contract drawn up, everything in there now belongs to you,” Mr. Barrel, the solicitor, said tightly. “Including, but not limited to, a seat in the House of Lords on behalf of the Somerset title.”
Gabriel snorted. He hadn’t set foot in the House of Lords even as Winchester’s heir. He wouldn’t start now. Unless she asked him to.
“Can we draw up the marriage contract now? Post marriage?”
“Technically, everything now belongs to you, so if you want to allocate the duchess a yearly allowance—”
“No, I don’t want to give her an allowance,” Gabriel interrupted him briskly.
The solicitor fought for composure, but it was evident he was shocked by Gabriel’s attitude.
“I want you to open a bank account exclusively in her name and transfer all the funds there. She will be in charge of all her estates, and she can even take the seat in Parliament, although I doubt she’d be willing to rub elbows with all those sweaty old lords,” he said in an offhand manner.
Mr. Barrel’s eyes widened briefly. He composed himself and adjusted his spectacles on the bridge of his nose. “You won’t take a penny from her accounts?”
Gabriel scratched his jaw thoughtfully. He didn’t want to take as much as a coin from Evie’s purse. He wanted to show her that although he’d married her for money, that was no longer the reason. He needed to be a better man for her, to dig himself out of this bind by himself, without her support. If he couldn’t solve his own monetary problems, what could he truly offer her? A broken, empty household with just a couple of servants?
He shook his head. “Not a penny.”
The solicitor adjusted his spectacles again and wrote something down in his notebook.
“What do you know about Montbrook’s finances?” Gabriel asked as he lounged in his chair.
“Not much. He had a low to average income. He did try to gamble against the duchess’s inheritance once or twice but wasn’t allowed to take more than the allowance granted by the will, which I believe is ten percent. He hasn’t made any grand purchases since becoming a guardian to the duchess. On the contrary, as far as I heard, he let most of the previous servants go and hired his own.”
“He let go ofallprevious servants?” Gabriel stopped playing with the quill, put his elbows on the table, and leaned forward.
“Most. He’s done it quite recently too. I believe some estates still have a skeleton staff that is the same, but most are gone. Most of them had served the Somerset line for generations. Some were too old to find another placement.”
“Why would he do that?” Gabriel asked.
“I am afraid I do not know.”
Gabriel thought for a moment before regarding the solicitor with a curious stare. “Since you represent the Somerset title, I assume you will continue working for my wife, yes?”
“It would be my honor, my lord.”
“Good then. I shall let my wife make all the decisions from here on out.” He closed the ledgers and set them aside.
Barrel nodded and scribbled something else in his notebook. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes.” Gabriel nodded slowly. “I have a special request for you.”
* * *
