Brandon exhaled slowly, but there was no pity in his eyes. George was grateful for that, for it was the worst thing that he could receive from a person.
“You only have four weeks, then.”
“Three. I learned of it last week, after I dared to beat him in a game of faro.”
“And the amount remains unchanged?”
“Indeed it does.”
They drank again.
“You could resolve it,” Brandon said cautiously.
“Do not say what I think you are about to.”
“But it is true. You are about to acquire a dowry of considerable size, and I have no doubt that it would be sufficient.”
George’s expression hardened.
“That will not be touched. That is not what a dowry is used for.”
“I am not suggesting you spend it, only that it might be used temporarily, while you–”
“No.”
The answer was immediate. Brandon studied him more carefully. George had considered it, but only for a matter of seconds when he had read the scandal sheet. He knew that he would not touch her money, for it was hers.
The truth was that it would have been most convenient, but it would have proven that George was a weak man, the very thing that he swore he would never become. He knew too many weak men; Lashton, his father, and he could not do it. If he were like them, he would be unable to look in the mirror at himself.
It was strange, for though he hated his uncle, he at least had to admire him. His uncle went after what he wanted, and did not rest until it was his. George would do the same, though he would never do such awful things in order to get it.
He would be a powerful man, yes, but a good one too.
“You are serious.”
“I am.”
“You would rather face ruin than accept your wife’s money?”
“I would rather face ruin than begin my marriage by stripping her of what little agency she possesses.”
Brandon was silent for a long moment.
“That is most principled of you,” he said at last. “I have come to expect that of you, of course, but it is still… she would never have to know.”
“She has already lost enough through association with me. I will not make her a remedy for my father’s mistakes.”
“Then how do you intend to pay it?”
“I am arranging a sale.”
“Of what?”
George did not answer at once. Brandon’s eyes narrowed, and George knew that his friend had already deduced what he meant.
“You are selling land.”
“A portion, yes.”
