But Phineas was no gambler like his friend, the Viscount Dagenham. He wasn’t a wastrel. He was just open-handed with his friends, his acquaintances, himself. And he liked nice things. Nice clothes, nice food, nice drink. And nice things were expensive.
But he really must get his estate in order and stanch the hemorrhaging of his pounds and his pence. He had gotten rid of all his mistresses, he was sparring again on a regular basis, and now he needed everything else tidied up in time for next year so he could devote himself to pursuing Lady Caroline Haskett with no distractions.
William fell asleep shortly after finishing the flask but roused once they arrived in Burchester. He stumbled into the house without assistance, and the two men had a very poor dinner. The bird was flavorless and not sauced. The potatoes had caught and tasted vile. The claret was sour and could not touch what they had drunk while in Sudbury and what Phineas procured for himself in London.
Phineas sighed. He had forgotten how really miserable it was to be in Burchester. But William ate hungrily and made no comment.
After dinner, despite Phineas’ notion that they might talk into the night, William pleaded exhaustion. After bidding his friend goodnight, Phineas went to the drawing room alone and sat in front of the fire.
The fire burned weakly and threw off very little heat. And the chimney did not seem to be drawing properly as smoke billowed up and stained the front of the fireplace and mantel. Phineas banked the fire and went to open a window to let the smoke out. He looked around the cold room. Really, it was so dingy here, so depressing. Not at all like the comfortable rooms he had sat in at Sudbury Manor.
No wonder he hated coming here.
Once, he had been so proud of being earl. And of this house and the land. Now he only felt frustration and his own lacking. Everything good here was crumbling, slipping away.
No. He thumped a fist against a wall. No. Tomorrow, he would settle himself in with Albion Chambers, his steward and lifelong friend, and try to solve the mystery of why the estate was so poor. Then he would take William for a long walk to get his blood coursing and revive his spirits. Exercise had cured Phineas of his short bout of melancholia. It should do the same for William.
Of course, Phineas had the prospect of Caro to look forward to in the new year, and poor Will had no one.
But still, a walk should help.
“Albion.” Phineas poked his head around the door of the steward’s office and grinned.
“My lord.” His boyhood friend stood and bowed.
Phineas came into the room, both hands out, one to shake Albion’s hand, the other to clasp his shoulder. “Please, please, when it’s just us, you must call me Phin like all my other friends do.”
“Yes, my—Phin.”
“Good. I hope you’re well?”
“I am. And you?”
Phineas sucked in a breath. Should he tell Albion about his infatuation with Caro? Albion didn’t know Edmund and wouldn’t be put in an awkward position the way Will or George or Sir Matthew would be.
Phineas wiped his mouth. “I’ve been in just a bit of a welter over a woman.”
“You?” Albion laughed. “I find that hard to believe.”
Phineas shrugged. “Well, it’s true.”
“Doesn’t she respond to the Phineas Edge charm in the typical way?”
Phineas suddenly realized it had been a mistake to mention the subject, even in this indirect way. Caro and his thoughts about Caro were something quite private. She didn’t deserve to be discussed with other men, even with an old friend like Albion.
And Phineas wasn’t sure shewouldrespond to his charm in the typical way and that was a distressing thought. But worrying about it wouldn’t help him. In a few months, he would see her again and she would find him irresistible, wouldn’t she?
Yes.
He waved his hand to change the subject. “Let’s talk about the estate. How goes Burchester?”
Albion winced. “Not well. Expenses keep rising.”
“Blast.” Phineas flopped into a chair. “Any place we can reduce costs?”
“We have things rather close to the bone now, but I’ll keep looking for ways to cut more.”
What a good, responsible man Albion was. “Excellent. You do that. And how are the farmers doing with their harvests?”
