“That makes sense,” remarked Lady Hazel.
“It was—and still is—a very accurate way of defining the borders of a piece of land,” Richard continued. “And we have many old documents in our files using these terms.” He looked at Sir Duncan. “Your request, sir, was one of them.”
“I had no idea,” Sir Duncan replied, eyes wide.
“It is interesting, to be sure, but in this instance, I think I’d best move on to its application here in our business.”
Holly nodded. “Please do, but know I’m going to look up thesemetes and boundsthings when we’re done.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” grinned her father. “But go on, Richard, if you please?”
“Right, well in our case, thebounds, the markers used at the beginning, still exist. Although it looked as if the river had initially separated the two properties and was, therefore, the current boundary line, our surveyor re-confirmed the position of thosebounds, using information from the original documents…and they arestill in the same place.” He paused. “Two quite large granite rocks, that were partially overgrown and barely visible until unearthed.” He shook his head. “They even had the date carved into them.”
“You’re saying, then, that the movement of the river had no effect on the borders?” Holly’s eyes were wide with surprise.
“That’s just what I mean, even though over the years many must have assumed it would,” answered Richard. “When the confirmation of themeteswas completed, it turned out that Forest Grange has exactly the same boundaries now that it had over two hundred years ago, as does Myrtle Manor and Sir Duncan’s land. Whatever paperwork Blackstone has that shows otherwise is completely invalid, and might well be forged. The only way he could get use of that piece of the river for a public canal would be by leasing the rights from the Chalmers family.”
“Which is what he wants to do to with the Rosewood Park portion of the river,” said Sir Duncan. “His offer was minimal, to say the least. So I’m going to hazard a guess he believes I know little or nothing about the whole canal situation.” He quirked an eyebrow. “In that, he errs.”
Richard’s mouth turned down. “And I’m sure he’d be asking for additional funds to create the locks, all while touting the enormous profits to be made from your investment after it’s been built and working for a few years.”
“How did you guess?” Sir Duncan asked, wryly.
“I’ve seen it happen before, I’m afraid. Thereismoney to be made in canals, without question, but all too often it’s the wrong people who walk away with their pockets full, leaving the waterways and surrounding land irretrievably altered or damaged.”
“Well,” Holly straightened. “That explains why you were attacked, Richard. Somehow Blackstone knew what information you were bringing with you to Sir Duncan. And he knew it would reveal his own dishonest plans.”
Richard nodded briefly. “Yes, I agree. Somehow, he must have learned about your request to our firm, Sir Duncan, but he still thought he could get you on board. By eliminating the documents I carried, he would persuaded you to invest, andthere would have been no questions or contrary evidence against his any of his assertions.”
“He might well have done it, too.” Sir Duncan looked embarrassed. “He’s a fast talker and puts together a solid and intriguing proposal.” He paused. “I wonder what he was going to tell Chalmers…”
“Good thing Harry was not at home,” remarked Lady Hazel. “But now that we know the truth of this matter, we are faced with the question of what to do next.” Her gaze travelled to Richard. “And what to do about the missing papers, because without them, we have only your word…”
The implications of her statement struck Holly immediately. “Oh no. He’s not going to try to eliminate Richard. Not here. Not at Forest Grange. We simply cannot allow that…”
Lord Hawthorn laughed. “Rest easy, Holly dear. I don’t think he’ll dare to try anything havey-cavey, with all of us in residence. Hired thugs and a dark night in the woods are one thing. A well-lit and fully staffed country home is another. Besides, he doesn’t knowweknow his real plan. He thinks that with the documents gone, he has a clear road to achieving his goals.”
Holly subsided with a mutter and shot a pointed look at Richard.
“I’ll be quite all right,” he murmured. “But thank you for worrying.”
*~~*~~*
“It is a complicated situation,” sighed Sir Duncan. “And although I’m glad we all are aware of what’s happening, I cannot say I have any ideas as to how to move forward.” He looked atLord Hawthorn. “I’ll be honest with you, I dislike the notion of confronting Blackstone with this. The man is intimidating.”
“I agree,” endorsed Lady Hazel. “But given the situation and the snowstorm, we can’t kick him out, much as I’d like to. I cannot be happy with the idea of letting him believe we are unaware of his plans, but I don’t think I could maintain the façade for very long.”
Holly turned the problem over in her mind. “Papa, if the documents were still with Richard, Blackstone couldn’t hope to convince anyone that his plan was legitimate, could he?”
“Well, no, certainly not. If they were as definitive as Mr Hawkesbury describes.”
“They were, my Lord.” He paused. “I wish there had been time to make copies. I had the map that was drawn by the original surveyors, and two accompanying documents verifying the ownership of the land in question, but there simply wasn’t time—or the idea that it was even necessary—to create copies.”
“Ownership records are usually kept in a variety of places,” mused Sir Duncan. “I have a copy in my library, and I’m sure you do as well, Hawthorn?”
“I do,” the Viscount nodded. “But I doubt they’d be regarded as valid evidence of something this important.”
“Papa, I have an idea.” Holly rapidly turned it over in her mind and then looked at Richard. “When we were talking a little while ago, you mentioned that you paint, yes?”
