Saturday, 22 October 1825
The Surrey-Ashton School for Boys
Maidstone, Kent
Two in the afternoon
Robert and MichaelAshton stood next to each other, watching the masonry workers edge the stone marker into place. Sitting at an angle to the entrance to the estate, it added an air of elegance to the double iron gates behind it, which had recently been repaired and painted a lustrous black. A shield centered on each one represented the two houses of the school, which Robert hoped would foster both competition and cooperation between the boys. Ashton, represented by a falcon on a quartered field of burgundy and indigo; Surrey, represented by a wolf on a diagonally divided field of gold and purple.
The falcon had been Michael’s idea, as a way to honor the young woman who had caught his eye. While the lady was willing, her father was less than intrigued by the idea of his daughter connected to the third son of a duke—who still carried the reputation of a rake. As a result, Robert had asked Michael to join him in the endeavor to restore the estate and establish the school. While the boys he wanted to educate remained his prime goal, Robert found it somewhat amusing that both brothers saw it as a way to impress the fathers of the women they loved.
“You think Eloise will be pleased?” Michael tilted his head as he examined the marker, as if he could place it better than the expert masons busily securing it to its base.
“I do not know yet. I doubt she has read that far in the letters.”
“But she did respond?”
“This morning. Saunders returned with even more letters that she had posted—thought she had posted—but that had been confiscated by her aunt. The one she sent in response to receiving the box was, shall we say, terse.”
“But her anger was not with you.”
“Definitely not. Nor Timothy.”
Michael crossed his arms, nodding at the masons. “They are doing a splendid job.”
“When you can afford to hire the best, you should.”
Michael cut a glance at Robert. “So exactlyhowwealthy are you?”
“You really do not want to know.”
“Oh, but I do. I know what you have given me to rebuild the stables and purchase horses and other livestock. But Father said Campion’s estate was in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Or more.”
Robert laughed. “Father is just pleased that I recently transferred the money for a new ship into Fairside’s account.”
“Ah. So that’s what he meant when he was muttering about ‘money begets money’ this morning. Mother is worried that this school will bankrupt you. He tried to reassure her.”
“I will do the same at Christmas.”
The brothers watched as the masons completed their work and stood back, checking every crack and angle.
“Robert?”
“Hm?”
“You have made a lot of progress. When are you going to talk to her father?”
Robert hesitated. In the last three months, his life had made a huge reversal in fortune. Following Eloise’s advice, he had sold three of Bill’s businesses for an enormous profit, investing the money in the others, as well as in Fairside Shipping, his father’s transportation and storage company. The improvements and expansion had increased his returns two-fold. The press Robert had received about turning the estate into a home and school for boys from the street had brought in praise from reformers—and more than a few investors.
Putting Ophelia in charge of the emporium had been exceptionally well received—and rewarded. Only one other gambling establishment in the city was run by a woman, and she and Ophelia had collaborated to make the businesses compatible, not competitive. He still ran the floor on occasion, but the tenor was different now that everyone knew Robbie Green was Robert Ashton, and it made more sense for Ophelia and him to move others up in the ranks.
The one in-road that he could not make, however, was with Lord Percival Surrey. Robert had written to the earl several times, with no response. He had attempted to talk to the man at White’s, only to be rebuffed.
“The earl still refuses to see me.”
After a moment of thought, Michael replied, “Then perhaps he does not know.”
Robert looked at his brother. “Know what?”
