David sighed. “And Mrs. Humphreys is hardly any better. Miss Leigh doesn’t ask for assistance often because she is so often ignored or treated like a burden. So, when she does ask for something, it is not merely a passing fancy—it is a true cry for help. Yet I’ve seen Mrs. Humphreys and the rest of you dismiss her petitions because you judge them as less important than whatever is happening at that exact moment.”
Stopping in place once more, David studied Benjamin. “Do you have any idea what it says to her that you think Mr. Tryck, Mr. Moody, or Mr. Pine is a good match for her? Because though she has said not a word of it to me, it’s clear as day that your opinion is low.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” replied Benjamin with a heavy sigh.
“That is the point. You and your sisters are not purposefully cruel to Miss Leigh, but all those little signs make it clear how you view her. She is not dour or cruel. She is reserved and slow to trust, but once you win that trust, she is loyal and giving. If she is willing to embarrass herself publicly simply to help people she hardly knows, what do you think she would do for someone she adores?”
Benjamin huffed, throwing his arms wide. “It’s not that I don’t adore her. My actions of late have proved that.”
Though it took significant effort, David didn’t scoff or laugh at that statement. Ludicrous though it was, his friend meant it. Such honest conversations were always delicate and needed to be handled carefully. So, instead, David studied his friend as he thought through the last few weeks. Though there was little (or rather nothing) to support that assertion from an outsider’s perspective, he grasped onto the only thing that might be considered brotherly concern.
“Are you talking about your sudden interest in her matrimonial state? Why are you so keen on it? You’ve never given it a second thought before.”
More fidgeting as Benjamin shrugged. “I want to see her settled.”
David narrowed his gaze. “Out with it.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Benjamin sighed. He nodded towards the stables. For all that they’d been out of doors for some time, they’d made little progress toward their destination.
“I am nearly one and twenty,” he finally said.
As that was something they both knew, it required no response, so David waited as his friend gathered his thoughts.
“My entire life, my parents have spoken of the time when I would finally reach my majority and break the entail on Whitley Court, for they cannot without my assistance,” said Benjamin, tucking his hands behind him.
With a frown, he shook his head. “I know what is expected of me, yet I know it would be a mistake. Our family is not in dire straits. We do not need to sell off bits of the property to live comfortably, yet Father is already planning to dispose of several small transactions to fund an expansion of his library. Mother wishes to improve the drawing room to host larger parties. Each time they speak of the changes, they couch them as though it will have little impact on the estate’s health as a whole, but I cannot trust that they won’t continue to do so until there is nothing left of our family’s legacy.”
As they had spoken of that subject many times, David merely nodded and waited for Benjamin to arrive at the point, all while hoping this trail of thought was heading in the direction he anticipated. This was Benjamin’s life and decision, to be sure, but David knew what he hoped his friend would choose.
“I do not wish to break the entail,” said Benjamin with yet another heavy sigh, his shoulders dropping. “Grandfather placed it on the property knowing he needed to protect it from Father, and I do not think it is right to go against that decision for no better reason than that my parents aren’t content with what they have. Father keeps insisting that isn’t the case, but Grandmother Cora spoke to me about it on more than one occasion. Sometimes she joined Katherine in the nursery, and she’d speak of the future, begging me to be strong enough to stand against my parents.”
David sucked in a sharp breath. If his memory served him correctly, the old Leigh matriarch had passed some ten years ago, which would make Benjamin only ten years old at the time. Good gracious, who would place such a burden on a child?
Yes, the Leighs certainly had caused damage to all their children.
Lifting a hand to his forehead, Benjamin rubbed at it. “If I tell them no, I am afraid of what they might do to persuade me otherwise. I fully expect to be cut off, so I am considering my options at present, and with the assistance of my brothers-in-law, I am certain I shall be able to find a position. But if my parents set their sights on Katherine, I will give them what they want. Whatever our relationship at present, she shouldn’t be made to suffer, and Father has all but stated he will cast her out if I refuse to break the entail.”
And what did a fellow say to that? For all that he felt he knew Benjamin, and for all that the fellow often spoke of his troubles, David was surprised to hear such a thing. Despite his low opinion of Mr. Leigh, he hadn’t anticipated such coldness—but in the same vein, it was entirely fitting. Though not familiar with all the details, David had heard enough whispers to know that Mr. Leigh had schemed to ensure his loveliest daughter married well, even at the cost of his elder daughter’s feelings.
Despite Benjamin’s poor execution, his intentions had been well-meaning. But it was said that they paved the road to hell, so it was little surprise that his plan had crumbled so spectacularly.
“I am her brother, and it is my responsibility to ensure she is protected, but I will be in dire straits myself and unable to care for her,” he said, his brows pulling tight together. “Francis treats Katherine as poorly as our mother. Prudence hasn’t the space in her house for Katherine. Rosanna has the means, but the two of them are always at odds, and it isn’t Malcolm’s responsibility to take on his sister-in-law. The best solution would be for Katherine to settle in her own home. She ought to have that. I think it would make her happy.”
Raising a challenging brow, David said in a sharp tone, “Her music makes her happy, yet you are relieved that your parents ripped it away from her.”
Benjamin’s mouth opened as though to refute the remark, but no sound came forth. His brows furrowed slightly as though considering it, but they pulled tighter together with each passing second.
“I hadn’t thought of it in such a light.”
Clearly, he hadn’t, but now that the seed was planted, there was no use in pressing the issue. So, David turned back to the conversation proper.
“Have you spoken to her about your concerns and this plan?” he asked, refraining from calling said plan either “foolhardy” or “ludicrous.”
“And burden Katherine with it?”
Miss Leigh’s words concerning her escape plan rang in his ears, but that was a confidence he couldn’t share. Not that he knew enough for the information to be of any value. Yet it was clear that Benjamin was making a mighty mistake planning for his sister’s future without consulting her.
And so he told him.
