“Thaddeus,” she replied coldly.
“How long is this business going to take?” Thaddues asked, “I have places to be. I am an important man, and I do not have time to sit around twiddling my thumbs for a tea party.”
“Of course you do,” Ophelia said. “I suppose you are due for another suit fitting, worthlessly stealing the money my husband left for our keeping.”
Celestine softly shifted her platter of cake away from her and looked veritably uneasy with her throat bobbing nervously.
Once again, the door opened, and a man with coal-black hair was immaculately slicked back, his somber tailoring fitting his lean, virile figure like a glove.
“My apologies. It seems as if I am late.” He said in a smooth, cultured baritone.
Thaddues was out of his seat, glaring at Cedric. “What kind of ambush is this?”
Crossing the room, Cedric stuck out a hand. “Thank you for coming, Wentford. It’s been too long.”
“Not for me,” Wentford said. “Do you know the pains I took to forget your ugly face in the Oxford common rooms?”
“It's only gotten uglier,” Cedric replied.
With a devious smirk, Wentford replied. “Your words, not mine.”
Thaddeus scowled. “You two know each other.”
“Funny enough, Wentworth wrote his business theory on buying estates in dire straits and turning them into inns,” Cedric said, his grin wolfish. “The moment I saw his name on the buying deed, I figured out how to derail this aggressive takeover.”
Thaddues scowled. “Our agreement was a done deal. The house is bought and paid for.”
“Not fully,” Cedric replied. “When your solicitor drafted the indenture of conveyance, detailing boundaries, rights, and obligations, you were so hasty that you overlooked one crucial detail.”
“And what is that?” Thaddues said tightly.
“That the estate is legally tied to the family bloodline,” Cedric said. “In the eyes of the law, the current holder, you, often called thetenant in tail, is more like a steward than an outright owner.”
“De Donis Conditionalibus, the tenant in tail was ratified into English common law in 1285,” Lord Wenford added calmly.
“It makes sure that landowners bind their estates to their direct descendants; the deed of the property ensures that it is passed down through a family line rather than being freely sold or alienated.”
Cedric took over, “It means no outright sale, you cannot pledge the estate as security for a loan, since creditors had no guarantee of long-term rights, the land is destined for the heir, andabsolutely no breaking up the estate: Parcels of land can not be carved off and sold piecemeal. The estate must remain intact.”
Thaddues’ tone was glacial. “I will have it alienated then.”
“You can,” Cedric said, “If you have the funds for years upon years of court and solicitors. Do you happen to have three hundred pounds somewhere?”
When the silence went on, Ariadne asked, “Well, do you, uncle?”
Thaddeus’ fist pounded the table, rattling the dishes. “You,Your Grace,”—he jabbed a finger at Ariadne, whose eyes flashed defiantly— “will mind your manners. You may have a higher rank than I do, but I am still your uncle and your senior.”
Wentford plucked his timepiece from his coat, “Are we done here? I have some prior engagements to attend to.”
“What about our deal?” Thaddeus spat.
“There is no deal.” Wentworth stood and nodded to Cedric. “Meet me at Whites next week, Tuesday. I would like to rehash twelve years of absence.”
“I will see you there,” Cedric said.
As the man left the room, Thaddues turned to Ariadne, “You undermined me.”
“No, you undermined yourself by disgracing Papa’s legacy,” she said boldly. “I never thought you would be so cold, Uncle.”
