“What happened to your hair? And you’re far too big.” She squeezed his shoulder, a look of disgust on her face. “Really, you look as if you’ve been doing hard labor, doesn’t he Jeffrey?” she asked his uncle.
Henry’s uncle patted him on the back in greeting. “Well, we haven’t seen him in years. He was sure to change a little.”
“Allow me to introduce my friend, Mr. Elijah Edwards.” Henry waved his hand at Elijah who greeted the pair with a bow.
“It is an honor to finally meet Henry’s family. I’ve heard so much about the both of you—”
“Lord Heartford,” his mother corrected Elijah, her cold eyes assessing the man before she turned to Karrington. “Your Grace, we haven’t had an invitation from the duchess this Season.”
Karrington gave her a curt bow. “Yes, I’m afraid Her Grace has been rather busy with the children. I will inform her of your request for an invitation to dinner.” He placed his hands behind his back.
“Uncle, where is Mr. White? I would like to discuss our financial situation with the both of you.” Henry sat down.
“He’s gathering the ledgers as your missive insisted.” His uncle played with his fingers nervously as he avoided eye contact with his nephew. “I did want to explain my actions.”
“Yes, I would like to hear it. When I left you as executor of our estate and all its funds, I did not expect to invest in an entire country.” Henry opened and closed his fist, trying to control his anger, but the more he sat in his mother’s and uncle’s presence, the angrier he became.
“I—I know that our situation must appear to be dire, but once we have arrived in Pomais, our wealth will triple,” his uncle explained eagerly.
“Forgive me, but I have never heard of this Pomais. Is it a fairly new country in Central America?” Elijah looked from Henry to his uncle. Looking as confused as Henry felt.
“It is fairly new but will be well established soon. It’s prime land for building and developing a thriving civilization,” his uncle prattled on like he was a traveling salesman. “Let me show you Pomais on the map.” He walked over to the large table against the wall.
Everyone followed his uncle to the table, which was covered in hand-drawn maps and other papers. The large map in the center showed Pomais and its land.
“Here is Pomais!” his uncle announced with vigor as he pointed down at the map. “All of this land is ready to build and establish a new world!”
Henry pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to find patience. “Yes, this is all very exciting, Uncle, but what I want to know is how much of our money did you invest in this so-called country?” He peered down at the map, ready to discover the depths of their stupidity.
What dismayed him the most about this entire ordeal was his uncle’s behavior. Jeffrey Livingstone had always been a quiet man, one who lived in the shadow of his elder brother. Once Henry’s father died, his uncle became the father figure Henry never had, but watching the man try to explain the poor choices he had made with Henry’s finances was like looking at a complete stranger.
“You must understand that it was an excellent opportunity for us. It is a chance for me to be my own person and do something for our family at the same time.” His uncle waved his hands in the air like it was nothing.
“How much?” Henry demanded again, his patience waning. He balled his fist so tight that he could feel them straining within the confines of his gloves.
His uncle wiped his forehead repeatedly, his bottom lip trembling. “A—A little over a hundred … thousand pounds.”
The room went silent at his uncle’s admission.
A hundred thousand pounds! That was the bulk of the funds that Henry had grown over the years after his father had left them with little. He wasn’t a complete idiot like his brother, but Albert Livingstone, the late Marquess of Heartford, was no man of business. Still, he had left his family with something. It was Henry who had grown their wealth with Karrington’s financial expertise. The duke was a good landlord and a sound investor. Now all of Henry’s hard work and dedication was gone, like a whisper in the night.
“You daft prick—”
“Henry!” His mother’s shrill voice rang in his ears, but he ignored her as he advanced toward his uncle.
The older man retreated until he was pressed against a wooden bookshelf.
“You invested a hundred thousand pounds of my money in a country that no one has ever heard of! The only thing you had to do was live off our wealth, not fucking grow it!” Henry roared, his anger finally overflowing.
He leaned forward, eyes locked on the man who he once looked up to like a father. Henry was so close to him that their noses nearly touched. He fought the urge to knock some damn sense into the older man. Henry’s body shook with the exertion it took to keep from driving one of his fists into the side of his uncle’s head.
“Heartford, you must calm yourself,” Karrington instructed from his place on the other side of the table.
“Henry, nothing good can come from your anger.” Elijah placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.
“Y-you must understand that the rewards to this family will be greater than we’ve ever seen before. We have the opportunity to be a part of the creation of a new civilization. It will be bigger than America!” His uncle’s eyes were wide, his voice full of wonder. The man was a damned idiot.
“You abandoned us and now you have the gall to come here and question us as if we have done something wrong,” his mother spat at her son. “Your uncle has made the bravest decision for all of us. Who cares about a measly hundred thousand pounds? We will be richer than we’ve ever imagined once Pomais is established.”
