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“I…I do not know what to say,” said Alexander, feeling at a loss. He did not like the feeling. He was used to being in command and in control of everything. But this old man with his blue eyes and calm demeanour had thrown him for a loop well and truly.
“Perhaps you would like to visit my ancestral home to make up your mind,” continued the earl, in the same calm voice. “I could show you around. We could get to know one another. My daughter-in-law and granddaughter are in London for another week, and we would be quite alone. Apart from the servants, of course.” He smiled.
Alexander raised his eyebrows. “You mean…now? Journey to your ancestral home today?”
The earl nodded. “Yes. I would like to move matters along swiftly now that I have found you. Time is always pressing upon me, Captain Fletcher. I am no longer a young man. I do not know when my own time will come, and I wish to sort this out before I die. It is a miracle I discovered you at this late stage at all.”
Alexander hesitated. He could not believe he was even contemplating this madness. But something in the man’s serene demeanour reassured him. He liked the Earl of Weaver already. The man was forthright, level-headed and quick to business. He had no idea if what the man claimed was true, but he guessed that he could make enquiries himself as to the truth of it.
“Where is your home?” he asked slowly.
“My home is Essington Manor in Kent,” the earl replied. “Quite close to London. We could be there by this afternoon. Will you come?”
Alexander smiled, thinking quickly. Perhaps providence was working for him. Lucy and his aunt resided in Kent. He could kill two birds with one stone—visit his family and then continue on to this earl’s estate and find out more about this shocking claim. And then another thought occurred to him.
Aunt Edwina might know something about the earl.Perhaps she might know the history of my late grandfather Oakley. He was her father, after all.
Alexander knew that life was a strange thing, with many unforeseen twists and turns. And this strange turn was just too intriguing to pass up. He would be a fool not to get to know this man and discover what this was all about, even if it led nowhere.
An earl, he thought, with wonder. I might be an earl one day. A ship’s captain. A common man born and bred. Who would ever have believed it?
***
Late that afternoon, Alexander was sitting in his aunt’s small cottage, having tea with her and Lucy. The small living room was cosy with patched upholstered armchairs, a warm fire, and several bookcases, which showed his aunt’s love for literature. A marmalade cat lay curled in front of the fire, lazily licking one paw.
They had been talking for over an hour about his latest voyage and other news, when he decided to tentatively broach the subject that was paramount in his mind, telling them about the Earl of Weaver and his claim that they were distantly related and wanted to leave his earldom to him. To his utter shock, Aunt Edwina nodded calmly.
“Yes, my father told me that he came from a noble bloodline,” said his aunt, sipping her tea. “But he never got along with them because he desired a different life. He wanted to see the world as a merchant. He did not like the idle aristocratic life, you see. He cut all ties with them.”
Alexander shook his head in disbelief, staring at his sister, who looked as shocked as he did. Neither of them had ever heard of this before.
“So, we are truly related to the Weaver Earldom, then?” he asked. “The Earl is not mad?”
Aunt Edwina laughed. “No, he is not mad. It surprises me greatly that he has tracked you down, Alexander. It could not have been an easy thing to do. You say all his heirs are dead and that is why he wants you to take the title when he dies?”
Alexander nodded. “Yes. He wants me to journey to his home in Kent to talk further about it.” He hesitated. “I told him I would do it, but I needed to see you and Lucy first. I can hardly believe it is true. Can you imaginemeas an earl?” He rolled his eyes.
They both laughed. Lucy’s green eyes twinkled with mischief. “A most dissolute earl, brother. An earl who cusses with impunity, has his eye upon every beautiful specimen of the fairer sex, and cannot stop traveling the world.”
“You make me sound like a rake, Lucy,” he said, his mouth twitching. “You are exaggerating. I am not as bad as all that.”
Aunt Edwina leaned forward, gazing at him intently. “What are you going to do, Alexander? It is your choice. That life is not for everyone, even if it is full of privilege and riches. My father chose to walk away from it. Will you?”
Alexander frowned, contemplating his aunt’s question. The simple truth was he did not know. He was still in shock about what he had learnt that day and the offer that had been made to him. He had a hundred questions for the Earl of Weaver. A thousand.
The earl had given him directions to Essington Manor, telling him he was intending to journey there today and would be waiting for him. It turned out the earl’s ancestral home was only twenty miles from the small village where his aunt and sister lived. He could be there by early evening if he wanted to.
He knew he wanted to see the house. He wanted to talk further with the earl. Beyond that, he was not sure.
“I am going to Essington Manor, ladies,” he said, standing up. “And then we shall see what unfolds, shall we?”
