Mr. Bird began, “Your Lordship, there is a matter of some delicacy regarding the Ravensclough living.”
“Go on.”
“Well, it regards Mr. Oliver Hodge and his supposition that he will assume the living once he takes orders.”
Oliver felt his insides tighten. “Yes, it is my understanding that the late Lord Connally intended it for him; that it has been held until his twenty-fourth birthday, which is this year.”
Mrs. Bird spoke. “About that. There may have been some discussion of his intending it for Mr. Hodge. However, when it came to it, in the end, Lord Connally decided to give the living outright to Mr. Bird.”
Oliver frowned. “I do not understand. I was certain that you, Mr. Bird, had signed a resignation bond agreeing to forfeit the living at the appropriate time.”
“I never signed any papers, agreeing to such,” Mr. Bird insisted. “IfLord Connally ever intended the living for Mr. Hodge, then he never took the necessary steps to ensure it would pass to him before he died. Legally, the living is mine. Now, of course, I would be willing to take on young Hodge as my curate, until such time as he can find another living. I would not suffer him to be unemployed, naturally.”
“If Lord Connally intended the living for Mr. Hodge when he came of age, then the living should rightly belong to Mr. Hodge. I cannot believe that he would be so remiss as to not have the proper paperwork signed.”
“Be that as it may, I believe I am in the right when I say that the living is mine, and that a court of law would uphold my claim to it. You cannot expect me to give it up without some proof that Lord Connally intended the living for Mr. Hodge.”
“Naturally, we do not expect your friend to remain as a curate for the duration of his career,” Mrs. Bird put in, to soften. “Surely, with so many connections of your own, another suitable living can be found. And of course, when Mr. Bird takes his leave of this earth to rejoin our Lord and Savior, you have the right of the next presentation, and may pass it on to him then.”
“Mr. Bird, you are in good health. I cannot imagine your death will come anytime soon, Lord willing. Therefore, I must assume that you will remain on this earth for the better part of Mr. Hodge’s life. For him to wait so long to receive what is due…well, I cannot think that His Lordship would have wished that.”
“His Late Lordship’s wishes aside, the living does, in fact, belong to me,” Mr. Bird repeated. “It was settled on me after the previous incumbent passed away, during the years while Your Lordship was away, I suspect due to my having served the parish faithfully as a curate for so many years.”
“We do not wish to cause any discord, of course,” Mrs. Bird said. “Hence we came to you with such a delicate matter. We trust you will communicate the situation as it stands with young Mr. Hodge, and smooth things over with him.”
S
“Selfish creatures!” Theo exclaimed after Oliver told him what the Birds had come to him about. “To think that they would renege on the agreement with my father, after everything!”
“But what are we to do?” Oliver asked. “I have no proof of my claim, other than your father’s word to me.”
“I will write to my father’s solicitor, in London,” Theo assured him. “If some record of the resignation bond exists, then he is sure to have a copy of it. I will not allow Mr. and Mrs. Bird to snatch from you the one good thing my father did in this life.”
Setting aside the unfairness of that statement, Oliver said, “I can well see how Mr. Bird would be unwilling to give up his claim, even if it were on terms which he verbally agreed to. A good living is hard to come by.”
Theo shook his head. “You do not understand. Mr. Bird is not without a living of his own. It is public knowledge that some years ago, he was given the living of Morley by his uncle. He stayed on as curate of Ravensclough solely on the hope of obtaining a second benefice, despite knowing that my father intended to give the living to you.”
“I was not aware of that.”
“It is true. Even if he were to forfeit the claim of the Ravensclough benefice over to you, he would not be reduced to making his way on a curate’s salary. He could go to Morley and serve the parish there, which has no doubt been placed in the hands of a curate. The living is not a rich one- about two-hundred pounds a year, by my reckoning, but still two to four times greater than what the average curate might hope to earn.”
“Still I can understand his reluctance to dispense with the additional income his current position affords. The Ravensclough living is far more prosperous than Morley. Over five-hundred pounds a year, is that not so?”
“It is. And it should rightfully be yours. I will not see them deny you it.”
S
Louisa was eager to promote the match between Caroline and Lord Connally. “Mrs. Hurst has taken my suggestion to invite Lord Connally and his guests for dinner,” she told Caroline one morning. “This would be the perfect opportunity for you to further your progress with Lord Connally. Make sure to wear your red dress– you know, the one with the gold embroidery and scalloped neckline which shows off your assets to their advantage. Now, after dinner, I shall invite you to sing for our guests. For heaven’s sake,don’tchoose one of those horrid arias like you sang when Jane and Miss Bennet were staying with us at Netherfield.”
Louisa turned to go discuss something with the cook, but then she turned back. “Oh, she’s invited Mr. and Mrs. Bird to come, along with their niece. Poor homely little thing. I suppose we must have some compassion for her, being reduced to work as a schoolteacher after her father’s death. I am certain our dinner here at Fairclough will be far grander than anything she is used to in Bath.” Louisa smirked.
Caroline laughed. “And a more elevated society too, to be sure.”
S
Theo looked at his pear orchard with satisfaction. Not long after his return to Raven’s Cliff, he hired seven new under gardeners. Bill and Jack, seeing that their place was at stake if they continued in the way of the sluggard, began rising at an early hour with their fellow gardeners to do whatever tasks their master or Mr. Hodge might command them.
Mr. Hodge nodded his approval over the freshly-pruned orchard as well. “Another week or two, perhaps, ‘n we might see some blooms on these trees, m’lord. Ye’ve done a mighty fine job of it. I haven’t seen these trees look so good since Her Ladyship went to her great reward.”
