CHAPTER 4
Ethan followed West into his study, eager to leave the women behind. How had he not realized the spoiled woman from the glasshouse was Priscilla’s cousin? It made perfect sense. He knew Priscilla’s father was a marquess himself, and her mother, Lady Wrexham, certainly thought their family to be a cut above the rest. It was understandable that Miss Pembroke would surely follow such logic as well, having been raised in the same manner.
Unfortunately, it had taken Priscilla’s first marriage that required a great deal of caregiving before she saw the world differently, but he was glad her newfound perspective left her heart open to consider his cousin. Though they were still in the early period of being reacquainted, Ethan had never known West to be happier. It was good to see him no longer struggling with the weight of his many responsibilities as both the Marquess of Hampton and head of the Beaumont family. His wife helped bolster him, giving him a confidence and ease he’d lacked after his father passed almost two years ago.
“Here, I can take that.” West extended his hand to take the champagne glass from Ethan before turning to the crystal decanters situated next to his desk. “I can pour us something alittle stronger than these frothy bubbles, but it’s always nice to celebrate family.”
Ah yes, family. Ethan settled into a chair in front of the fire after taking a tumbler from West, who was now slumped in his desk chair. It was nice to once again be so familiar with this side of the family that he could sit with his cousin in comfortable silence while enjoying a drink. He appreciated how hard West was working to repair the familial rift created by his father, a man who had singular ambitions within the peerage which had nearly torn them permanently apart. However, he wasn’t quite so sure the man need feel the same level of benevolence toward his wife’s family as well.
“Tell me about Miss Pembroke,” Ethan ventured, breaking the silence and surprising himself as the question tumbled out. She was nothing but irritating both times he’d interacted with her, yet he was inexplicably curious about the new guest at the estate.
West roused himself from the hypnotic dance of flames, shaking his head and focusing on Ethan. “What do you want to know? I don’t know her well yet, but she and her father stayed with us over Christmas—with Cilla’s parents. She’s a bit shy, but very sweet.”
“Sweet?” Ethan snorted. “Don’t you meansharp?” West quirked his eyebrow, so he elaborated. “She was in the glasshouse earlier to get something for Priscilla. Thought I was a damn handyman and began ordering me about. I didn’t see any of the sweetness you speak of.”
West let out a peal of laughter. “Put you in your place, did she? Well, that’s what you get for parading around the ground like a hired hand instead of the man in charge. And I do think she’s sweet. She arranged the flowers in the dining room to show her gratitude for Priscilla’s assistance with the upcoming season,presumably bringing them in after your encounter,” he said with a smirk.
Ethan could admit that the flowers were a nice gesture and the arrangement had been eye-catching, but he still planned to avoid the lady. He had too much to do and couldn’t be bothered to think about the pretentiousness that accompanied the season.
“As long as she stays out of my way, I have no issue with her—though she could learn a few manners from your wife. Speaking of whom, I need to finish her garden so I can get to larger projects. You know things are still turning around after 1816.”
“Which is why it’s time you finally hire a steward,” West asserted, tipping his tumbler Ethan’s direction. “I know you’ve been working hard to get a feel for everything and that you enjoy being out and working with the men, but I need you making plans. I hired you to oversee the entire estate and rehabilitate it back into health—you can’t be bogged down with the daily labor.”
Ethan rubbed his eyelids with his thumb and index finger, pinching the bridge of his nose. The sharp stabs of pain he felt behind his right eye portended a tension headache forming. “I know,” he sighed. “I’ll look at the candidates again so I can return to the office and finish the reports you’ve asked for.”
His cousin was right. Ethan had been delaying hiring the final man needed to free him up to assume his real position. He had been more than flattered when West approached him about taking over as estate manager and leapt at the opportunity even though he was wary of offending his father by not wanting to continue in his practice. After more than six months of tying up loose ends, he was grateful to be in Northamptonshire now.
The transition had not been without it’s bumps, but on the whole, he believed he could be successful here. Ethan had loved growing up in the countryside. He was comfortable with the rhythm of the seasons and having grown up alongside ahorse breeding business, he knew what it took to run a thriving operation that revolved around animals and the land.
He’d always been fascinated with the science behind soil improvement and animal husbandry to create resilient flocks and herds. Understanding how everything worked together in a larger, self-sustaining system was something he had spent countless hours studying. Working the land properly could improve the well-being of everyone on the estate, and he was eager to implement some of the theories he was reading about. Healthier animals and crop yields meant better products for those who relied on the land as well as increased revenue for each acre of land.
Ethan finally felt like his life had a purpose—no longer enmeshed with the noblemen who simply wanted him to protect their wealth and reputations, often at the expense of the vulnerable.
“Look again at Johanssen, I believe he might be our man,” West said, appraising Ethan with narrowed eyes. “I appreciate how much you love being a part of everything and working with the other men, but you have to realize that they will never truly see you as one of them. You’re still a Beaumont, cousin to the marquess.”
Ethan knew West was right. He wasn’t enough of a hypocrite not to realize that he existed within, and had grown up inside, the world of the aristocracy which he now spurned. Although his father had been estranged from his own brother and the other Beaumonts for twenty years, Ethan still held standing in polite society as the grandson and nephew of a marquess.
He was raised in a world of privilege and had never wanted for anything in terms of wealth or access. Ethan trained as a solicitor because he not only wanted to please his father, whom he greatly admired, but thrived in the structured environment. The natural rhythm of the work involved fit with his tendenciestoward control and order, but he did not have a particular love for the law. While training at Oxford, he envisioned using the law as a tool for good to assist those marginalized by the Great British class system—those left out due to the elitism that was ingrained in society, the economy, and governmental structures of Great Britain.
Instead, he followed his father’s wishes after graduation and joined him at the practice alongside his partner, Hugh Stanton. Yet no amount of admiration for his father could’ve saved him from six years of suffocating work. Ethan couldn’t make a difference when he served men who endeavored to contort the law and preserve as much of their ill-gotten fortunes as possible.
Ethan knew it was incongruous that his new vocation was also in service to a lord, but he understood West to keep the best interest of those who relied upon his estate top of mind. And he was flattered to be offered such responsibility.
Since the title was passed to the Beaumonts nearly fifty years ago, the Lords Hampton before West had never done right by their tenants and the land. Robert the first, another solicitor, earned his money through investments in the shipping of enslaved people. When he purchased his title, he’d had no idea how to properly manage an estate and thus, it had always struggled financially. When the title and responsibilities had passed to Ethan’s uncle he’d fared no better, too consumed by his need to make the family name reputable and known for more than buying their way into thetonto give the estate any real attention.
But everything had changed since West became Lord Hampton almost two years ago. His cousin was determined to chart a different path forward for the Beaumont family, not only mending the familial rift caused by the union between Ethan’s father and stepmother, Margaret, but also divesting from theodious business of enslavement and using Priscilla’s wealth to make improvements to both Hampton House and the estate.
With West’s conscience leading the way, Ethan finally had a real chance to do something that could benefit those around him, and he refused to let his cousin or the tenants down. Which meant it was time he stopped enjoying his freedom and returned to his organizational skills that served him so well.
“I’m not trying to chain you behind a desk once more,” West said, accurately sensing Ethan’s unease. “You know I don’t have a problem with you being hands-on, but there’s too much that needs to be done. A steward can wrangle the men while your brilliant mind devises a plan for how to make this farm functional again. I hired you because I believe in your ideas, but I need you free to convince the others working here that changes are needed.”
“You’re right. I’ll write to Johanssen tomorrow and let him know the job is his if he’s still interested.” Ethan took a large swig from the tumbler, draining every last drop of the alcohol that remained. “There is important work to be done, I’ll not be the one to hold it up simply because I enjoy playing in the dirt.”
CHAPTER 5
The gathering at Lady Spencer’s was a bit of a crush. Wanting to show off her newly refurbished receiving rooms to as many guest as possible, the countess appeared to have invited anyone who could conceivably arrive at Althorp House by carriage within a morning’s drive.
Though Alice had enjoyed touring the beautiful spaces, she longed to escape from the confined rooms for a short reprieve. Dressed in one of her new gowns, she was a tad warm for such a crowd and was beginning to feel out of sorts, with the morning rain’s humidity only exacerbating matters.
