And still Rod chafed under the teasing. There was truth to it. Every man ought to have his own source of income. If only he could find a field of study that would actually result in largesse or profit. But thus far, all Roderick had been able to do was essentially amuse himself with information. Hardly a profitable exercise.
Not like some of his friends. Some of the gentlemen he regularly associated with at the University were discovering or inventing things that would surely lead to lucrative businesses. The poor sots didn’t know the first thing about business, though. Unlike Rod. That was the unfashionable truth he was coming to discover. The thought of turning a profit from one of his friend’s developments invigorated him unlike anything he had yet studied.
Roderick was growing in determination to do something about his friends’ situations. He had witnessed one too many times when his friends’ hard work had resulted in the enrichment of their benefactors while they remained in a state barely better than that of a starving artist. It was dreadfully unfair in Rod’s estimation despite the fact that his friends didn’t seem to mind or even notice.
A sigh threatened his throat. He supposed that meant he wasn’t truly a scholar like the rest of them. And that was why Roderick must wed.
Some might not see the leap from directionless scholar to marriage-minded beau, but Rod could and that was all that truly mattered. He had once jokingly told his brother he would remain at the university until he had read every book there. He hadn’t truly meant it at the time but as the years had passed, he had made it his determination to actually meet that goal. It had seemed insurmountable but he would soon be able to claim his success.
And he was ready to accept that he wasn’t going to be a true scientist like some of the other fellows, so it was time for him to figure out a more sustainable way to assist their studies. He was going to make the terribly vulgar step of going into business.
Not that Roderick truly believed it was vulgar to be in business, but he was certain his father, the earl, would do so. And possibly even Adelaide. Roderick cared about both men’s opinions in varying degrees but he wasn’t going to let it stop him, no matter how forcefully said opinions were brought to bear.
He even suspected he would be good at it. Not that he had made any truly lucrative investments yet. But he was working up to it. He had managed to slowly grow a comfortable competence out of his rather small allowance.
It wasn’t enough, though.
Not enough to support his friends’ endeavours in any case. He had already found the perfect property. The Alldred Estate was going on the market, as it was unentailed and the current holder of the deed was growing desperate in the financial department. Roderick felt a little badly about taking advantage of someone else’s poor management but not badly enough not to negotiate the most advantageous price for the property.
From what he had been able to discern, the property had been allowed to run down quite sadly, but it had a solid foundation he could work with. And there was enough property and buildings to accommodate his friends’ various scientific interests. It even boasted a reasonably well-stocked library. When he had viewed it for the first time, he had actually wondered what Lucy Scranton would think of all those books. Not that her opinion should matter to him in the least.
Unfortunately, his small competence wasn’t sufficient to purchase the property. Roderick had considered asking the Gentlemen to invest with him, but none of them had any money either. What little they might have would be needed for their experiments and research.
If he was going to become their benefactor, he needed to do it the right way. And for that he needed a wife. Not just any wife. A wife with a large dowry and enough working intelligence to accept what he planned to do with the money that would become his upon their marriage.
That was going to take all his considerable investigative skills to accomplish. Unfortunately, he was afraid that even if he could identify which of the current species of debutante would fit his requirements, he might not be able to convince her to marry him as quickly as possible.
From what he had already found out through some careful questioning of his sisters-in-law, there were several well-dowered, marriage-minded ladies making their curtsy to Society that Season. It had been easy to glean the first round of information as all his brothers’ wives seemed most eager to see him wed. It was as though they had collectively decided his remaining a bachelor was an affront to their sensibilities. It had already been a couple years of such behaviour on their part. So getting each of them talking on the topic had taken absolutely no effort on his part.
But each of his sisters-in-law seemed determined that he wed a young, eager, social young woman. Roderick was of the opposite mind. Such a creature would expect him to squire her about Town every year for the rest of their lives. He was hoping to get this business over with and perhaps never return to Town again unless his or the Scholars’ business required it. So for his purposes, he was looking for a particular sort of woman. One who hadn’t taken for some reason. It was unlikely he would find a wealthy young woman who hadn’t taken, it was true. In fact, he didn’t really need a woman who was completely loaded, merely flush would do for his purposes. Basically, one with just enough blunt to buy his estate. A little left over wouldn’t be rejected, of course, but Rod was reasonably sure he would be able to cultivate the rest of the funding they would need from there. He just didn’t want a mortgage. He also wasn’t sure if he would even qualify for a mortgage on his own as it stood. He would rather see himself as the lowly creature of fortune hunter than ask his brother for assistance. Not that he suspected any of his brothers would begrudge him the help. But there was just something about being the youngest that made him all the more determined to make a go of things on his own.
And for that he needed a slightly desperate female.
“Why are you asking about wallflowers and spinsters?” Lady Caroline, the smartest of his sisters, although they were all uncommonly intelligent from what he could tell, had asked him with surprise laced with suspicion. “You are a Northcott. It isn’t likely your suit will be rejected by any but the highest steppers despite your less than ideal circumstances. You needn’t look so low.” She had quickly replaced her frown with a smile but Rod guessed that he had worried the dear woman.
He decided to be as frank as possible with her even though he didn’t want to divulge all his plans. They had been sitting comfortably in Caroline’s receiving room and Roderick had felt almost at ease in her welcoming presence. If only he could find someone like her.
“No one really likes to think of themselves as a fortune hunter, Caro,” he’d started his explanation, but it only caused his sister-in-law’s eyebrows to inch toward her hairline.
“Really?”
“Which part of my statement are you questioning?” he’d asked with a light laugh.
“I’m surprised you see yourself as a fortune hunter, for one thing,” Caroline had said. “For another, I don’t think true fortune hunters give the matter the least bit of concern.”
“What else would you call a gentleman with no prospects who is looking to secure a wife of means?”
Caroline’s smile widened. “There you go; you just answered my point. When you say ‘secure’ it just goes to show that you have no intention of mistreating or abandoning the woman.”
“Well of course not,” Roderick had scoffed in answer.
“That is what most known fortune-hunters intend.”
Roderick had shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter how we word it, Caro. I need you to point out to me which of the young women will be most happy to have me in exchange for their dowry. I want it to be as equal an arrangement as possible. If a young woman is feeling a little desperate in her own right for whatever reason, I won’t feel so badly about it.”
Caroline’s frown had returned. “I think you’re selling yourself rather short here, Roderick. You are a fine, handsome, intelligent young gentleman. Any young lady would be most fortunate to have you.”
“You are blinded by your devotion to my family, Caroline. Being handsome won’t keep coal in the fire or food on the table. I don’t need a lot, but I can’t keep accepting an allowance from the Northcott coffers. I’m not ever going to inherit, there’s no reason for him to let me keep my fingers in his purse. But I have no taste for the military or the clergy. I’d really like to keep carrying on as I have been doing, pursuing my studies, assisting my friends’ experiments. For that, I need a well-financed wife. Can you help me or not?”
