Beck kept his tone neutral. “Winstead?”
“He was my father’s personal”—he waved a gloved hand in the air—“everything. Winstead was both friend and bodyguard. His dogsbody. Both of my parents trusted him. I heard he disappeared. Just left. It is a pity, because he used to force Father to leave the house.”
“It must be difficult to see a parent growing frail,” Beck said.
Ellisfield nodded. “Mother warns me to be ready to take over the title.” He added quietly, “I don’t like having the weight of my father’s death hanging over my head. It is macabre.”
“It is also the way of great families.”
His lordship acted as if ready to say something, but instead chose, “Listen to me. I asked you to come look at a horse with me. Not listen to the family woes.”
“I don’t mind,” Beck answered honestly. “Besides, your family has had its share of tragedy. I understand your reluctance.”
“There are hundreds of people who would be happy to be in my boots, Curran,” Ellisfield said. “I can’t feel too sorry for myself. Are your parents alive?”
Beck thought of the laughing woman in the portrait, the three graves. “No.”
“That is right,” his lordship replied as if just remembering. “There isn’t much to Lady Orpington’s family. Mother was surprised when she learned Lady Orpington was bringing a nephew.”
“We weren’t close,” Beck offered as an excuse. “Family estrangement.”
“It is probably simpler that way. Money tears a family apart.”
“Has it taken a toll on yours?” Beck dared to ask, hoping he wasn’t appearing unreasonably nosy.
He also found he wondered what he had missed.
“Of course. My brother has his resentments, as one would, knowing he is always considered the second-best. He would be happy to step into my place and inherit it all. WhenIam in control of the estate, I will increase his and my sister’s allowances.” He patted his horse’s shoulder, something he did often. “The irony is that I canremember how angry my parents were with my aunt, the last marchioness. They claimed she never gave them enough for expenses, and yet they do the same to their children.”
“Her death was what? Years ago?” Beck said carefully, not wishing to sound too enthusiastic at this new information.
“Decades,” Ellisfield agreed. “But they were the sort of battles one remembers. I hid under a table when their rows were too much.”
“What were they truly fighting over?”
“I said, money. Isn’t everything about money?”
“Colemore has plenty of money.”
“Does anyone ever have enough? But as I remember, my aunt held her own. I keep that in mind when I choose my own counsel over my parents’ wishes.” He lifted his reins and gave the chestnut a kick. “We are almost to the squire’s place.”
Beck feared the time for confidences was over, but after turning down a side road, Ellisfield said, “My late uncle was an innovator—what I hope to be. What I’m trying to be in Yorkshire. My aunt tried to continue his plans, and that is why, I suppose, she wished my parents were more frugal.”
He was quiet a moment and then said, “And I pray I’m more like my uncle than I am my father. I also hope to find a woman with my late aunt’s qualities.”
“Your mother has someone in mind.”
“Ah, Miss Purley, who is very attractive, and veryyoung.”
“She is an heiress.”
Ellisfield laughed. “You sound like my mother.” Then he sobered. “I don’t want to end up like my sister and brother. Jane’s husband is a bore, and my brother, Martin, married Mother.” He rode a bit in silence before confiding, “I know that marriages of convenience aren’t all bad.”
“Were your parents a marriage of convenience?” Beck asked.
“Certainly. They barely knew each other when they married, and now I believe they have high regard for each other. Mother protects Father in spite of his increasing eccentricities. She could let him be, but their lives are entwined. And, strange as it sounds considering what a bastard he can be, I believe she loves him.” He fell silent a moment and then said, “I just don’t want to wait thirty years to finally learn I’m in love.”
Beck heard the last statement as if from a distance. Instead, he was caught up in Ellisfield’s confidences about his parents. Up to now, everyone had claimed that Lady Middlebury was the force to be reckoned with... but what if she acted on behalf of her lord? Few women were as independent-minded as Gwendolyn or her sisters. Most did as they were instructed. Especially if it would protect the family.
