“Daniel.” She was becoming annoyed. “You have promised me that you will choose a wife soon. It is time,especially now that your uncle is dead and you have bothtitles. You owe it to yourself and to your family to providethe earldom with an heir. It would not be wise to delaylonger.”
“I will have a wife soon, Mama,” he said. “She will not be Julia.”
She looked up at him sharply. “You have met someone?” she asked. “In London, Daniel? And have not told me?Who is she?”
His look became guarded. “I have prospects,” he said. “Unfortunately the Season will be over by the time I canleave here. But no matter. You will have your daughter-in-law before another year has passed, Mama, and a grandchild a year after that in all probability. Possibly agrandson.”
She clasped her hands to her bosom. “I knew I could rely on you, Daniel,” she said. “You have always been a dutifulson. I need to be able to turn my attention to Camilla. Sheshows no sign of choosing someone to take Captain Styne’splace in her affections, God rest his soul. And she istwenty-four years old. Of course, now she is the sister ofthe Earl of Beaconswood and will appear that much moreattractive to a prospective suitor despite her age.”
“Camilla does not need such lures,” he said. “She has both beauty and character, Mama.”
“Yes.” She sighed. “And no inclination to mend a broken heart. But 1 still believe you should marry Julia, Daniel. Iwould hate to see this property going to Frederick or Lesley. And Malcolm and Augustus are not even, strictlyspeaking, family since they are your late aunt's relatives.”
“Mama.” The earl looked down at his mother with the stern expression she had come to learn meant that furtherattempts at persuasion were useless. “I will not be courtingJulia. Or offering for her. Or marrying her. I will never be the owner of Primrose Park.”
“Well.” She sighed. “Your uncle should not have been allowed to get away with it, Daniel. That is all I have tosay.”
Augustus grinned rather nervously at his parents as they came toward him across the drawing room. He had notmoved from his place since the solicitor had finished reading.
“Well, now,” his father said jovially, “what are you planning to do with five hundred pounds, Augustus? Eh?”
“I’ll think of something,” Augustus said. “Something useless, you may be assured, Papa. I would hate to wastesuch an unexpected windfall on something useful.”
“We would not expect you to,” his mother said, laughing. “Would we, Paul? That reading lasted a very long time. Were you dreadfully bored?” She sat down beside herson.
“Marvelously entertained actually, Mama,” he said. “How would you fancy your son being a staid landowner atthe grand age of one and twenty? Do you think the imagewould fit?”
His mother laid a hand on his arm.
His father coughed. “We wanted to talk to you about that, Augustus,” he said. “You are one of the nephews, certainly, but you must not feel yourself obligated by that particular clause of the will.”
Augustus grinned again. “I thought it great fun,” he said. “I didn’t realize that Uncle was such a jolly good sport.Though I expect Jule to be hopping mad. She went flyingout of here like shot from a gun when it was all over. I’mglad I was not in her path. I would surely have ended upwith two black eyes before I could have got my fists up.”
“Augustus.” His mother covered one of his hands with hers. “It is not a game, dear. Whoever offers for Julia andmarries her will be married to her for life.”
“I think it would be fun to be married to Jule,” Augustus said.
“Marriage is not fun,” she said. “At least, it is much more than that, Augustus. Sometimes it is frustrating andoccasionally tedious. Forgive me, my love?” She glancedup at her husband, who was smiling ruefully at her. “Always it is hard work if it is to survive with any degree oftolerability.”
“Jule and I have always been the best of pals,” Augustus said.
“And friendship is important in marriage,” she said. “But it is not everything, Augustus. Oh, what we are trying tosay—”
“What we are trying to say, son,” his father said, “is that you are too young to be thinking of matrimony.”
“But Jule isn’t?” Augustus raised his eyebrows.
“That is different altogether,” his father said. “Women are ready for marriage far sooner than men. It is because ofthe childbearing, you know.”
“And because women mature very much sooner than men,” his mother added.
“And that too,” his father agreed. “Don’t make a mistake you will regret, Augustus, my boy. Let someone else marryJulia. There will be other women for you to marry whenyou get older.”
Augustus had lost his grin. His expression had become rather mulish. “What is wrong with Jule?” he asked. “Is herbirth not good enough for the Craybournes?”
“That was uncalled for, son,” his father said. “There is nothing at all wrong with Julia. We are fond of her, yourmother and I, and always have been.”
“But not as a daughter-in-law,” Augustus said.
