“I fear it may not be to mine.”
“I gave my word, sir…”
“And I must defend my name, Mr. Newson,” Joshua said crisply, interrupting his manager. “There is a child in Haynesdale Hollow who could be my brother Gerald at six yearsof age. His name is Francis Lewis and his mother greeted me like a returned lover.” Joshua fixed the older man with a quelling look. “I must know the tale and the resolution my father chose.”
Mr. Newson polished his pince-nez. “You cannot act upon every coincidence, sir.”
“I doubt it is a coincidence. I suspect Gerald was the boy’s father and the mother, quite reasonably, mistook me for Gerald.”
“It is not your concern, sir.”
“Itismy concern,” Joshua insisted. “If the boy is of my blood, he should be provided for.”
“Your father did not share your view.”
“My father is dead, Mr. Newson. I insist upon knowing what provisions, if any, were made for Gerald’s progeny.”
The older man was shocked. “You speak as if there was an entire village of such children! There were none!”
“There is one for certain.”
“There were women, to be sure, but they were lightskirts and doxies, every one of them.”
“Mrs. Lewis does not appear to be either. She looks to be a respectable woman, albeit one burdened with the obligation of raising a son alone.”
“I would not be so readily deceived, sir.”
Joshua cleared his throat and straightened. “Tell me, Mr. Newson, or I will find another manager. I must know all that occurs within the sphere of my responsibilities.”
“But this was years ago…”
It was in that moment Joshua guessed the truth.
“Was Mrs. Lewis the reason my father bought Gerald a commission?”
Mr. Newson pinched the bridge of his nose. “I swore to keep silent forever,” he said heavily. “But I vow to you, sir, your father and I did not know there was a child.”
“There is.”
Mr. Newson sighed, and took a moment to consider his options. Joshua watched him, knowing his expression was impassive—and not welcoming.
Finally, the older man turned and retrieved a ledger from a bookcase, opening it on the table before Joshua. “Your brother had a habit of seducing young ladies, most of whom, as mentioned, were in the trade of winning the affections of young gentlemen like himself. In London, he spent considerable sums on such women, so much that your father ordered him back to Nottinghamshire.”
“I remember the women,” Joshua said. “I remember the debts.”
But Joshua did not recall Gerald being banished from London to the country.
“I doubt you knew the full extent of it, sir. Your father wished to protect you from your brother’s…inclinations.” Mr. Newson opened the ledger to a page and offered it to Joshua. There was a list of debts, some paid directly to women, some to dressmakers, furriers, shoemakers and jewelers. The sum at the base of the page was staggering, a culmination of extravagance made by both brothers. One date seized Joshua’s attention, the date when all had gone awry, and he anticipated that the spending would at least slow after it.
He had abandoned that life, after all.
But Mr. Newson turned the page to reveal that the expenditures continued and at a much higher rate. Gerald had redoubled his own indulgences when alone in his revels, spending more than he and Joshua had spent together.
“That was for his final year in London,” Mr. Newson said. “He nearly beggared the estate, sir.”
Joshua sat down, astonished. “I knew he overspent his allowance.”
“That tally does not include his gambling debts,” Mr. Newson said, his tone heavy with disapproval. “We didn’t even learn of all of them until he had left for the Continent.” Mr. Newson dropped a heavy finger to the ledger. “You will notice, however, that the spending slows in September of that year.”
