“Cleaning the river?”
“The river narrows, sir, on this side of Lollybroch. If the rocks and boulders aren’t removed every spring, the river could dam and back up, flooding the land. We make a party of it, Your Lordship. Invite the inhabitants of Lollybroch to assist us.”
“When does that take place?”
“Normally before now, Your Lordship,” Ralston said. “Many details were delayed to accommodate Mr. Kerr’s journey to America.”
“How fortunate he found me,” he said dryly.
“A revelation of his character, sir, that he could do so with such assiduousness.”
“What does that mean?”
Ralston looked uncomfortable again. “Did you not know, sir? Mr. Kerr is a Fairfax. He would have been in line for the title had it not been for your grandfather.”
As Montgomery stared at him, Ralston continued. “His mother was a Fairfax. The title is allowed to travel through the women of the family, but only after all the male heirs have been considered.”
“My grandfather.”
Ralston nodded.
“Are you certain, Ralston?”
“About Mr. Kerr’s ancestry? Of course, sir. The 10thLord Fairfax paid for his education because he was a Fairfax.”
You need to pay more attention to your inheritance, sir. Being a Lord Fairfax of Doncaster is a great honor.Edmund’s words spoken to him in London. All the solicitor’s endless harping at him made sense now.
Edmund no doubt thought he would have been a better heir.
“Will you be inspecting the stable, sir, and the changes made to the stalls?” Ralston asked.
“Must I?” he asked.
Ralston wore a look of commiseration. The man knew, only full well, that it was more interesting working on his airship than being the 11thLord Fairfax.
“Set up a time, Ralston,” he said, resigned to his duties. For the moment, however, he would escape to the distillery.
Chapter 24
Her aunt, uncle, and cousins left within the time limit Montgomery had given them. Neither Veronica nor her husband was at the door to bid them farewell. No doubt, at the first opportunity, Aunt Lilly was going to send her a scathing letter detailing all of Veronica’s foibles, failings, and flaws. When that was done, Aunt Lilly would waste no time regaling everyone she knew with tales of the abysmal treatment she had received at the hands of her niece, that ungrateful chit.
Nothing she did, from this time forward, would ever be enough to make up for the disaster of the last three hours. Her aunt would never forgive her for exposing Amanda as the thief she was, and Uncle Bertrand would never forget the slight to his dignity.
How sad that she could feel nothing but relief.
She stood at the window of the Oval Parlor, watching until the carriages slipped out of sight. A few minutes later, Mrs. Brody arrived in the doorway.
“They’ve gone, Your Ladyship.”
She nodded. How odd, she felt as if she’d aged twenty years in the past day.
“I had Cook prepare baskets for their journey to Inverness.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Brody,” she said faintly. “I never even thought of it.”
Mrs. Brody smiled, the expression having a touch of compassion to it. “It’s my duty, Your Ladyship.”
Duty. What was her duty?
