“What’s this?You need a judge now.”
Nora looked up at the speaker. The Duke of Sudbury, as dignified and austere as the day he appeared on her doorstep in Rome, came out onto the terrace. He had spent the afternoon in the library. England’s business. Always England’s business. Of all Jamie’s friends, he was the only one who made Nora uncomfortable, but the men were devoted to him in spite of his grandeur.
“Papa, you missed my best hit,” his oldest son, John Thornton Hayden, who they called Thorn, exclaimed.
Richard put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but my work was important.”
“It always is,” Thorn said mournfully, drawing a frown from his mother. Richard ignored it.
“Where is His Grace?” Richard asked, confusing Nora who glanced up at Jamie.
Lily, Richard’s duchess, responded. “Charles took Jonny to the nursery an hour ago. The lad wore himself out running after the older children.” She offered her hand for her husband’s kiss, and he sat next to her, Thorn hovering at his side.
Nora recalled that Charles, the charming young man, was also a duke. Another elevated title. Charles Wheatly had become Duke of Murnane at eleven. Under his uncle, Will Chadbourne’s, tutelage, he’d developed an open and friendly personality, and she tended to forget.
Charles had also married young, and his life had been difficult. Catherine, Will’s countess, had explained to Nora that Jonny, his son, had been born with a weak heart. At six the boy seemed to fail a bit more every year. His father’s devotion was unstinting, although—or perhaps because—he had been afflicted with a disastrous marriage. The couple were effectively separated. The entire group of friends were protective of the young duke and his son.
Dukes, it appeared were as human as the rest of us. Nora had to remind herself of that.
Andrew pouredamber liquid in Jamie’s glass. “If Will is going to go on any longer, you’ll need this.”
The four friends had gathered in Chadbourn’s study, and the earl was expounding on the status of the funds he’d managed for Jamie over the years. The original debt would have been paid three years before, but they had agreed, with Jamie’s assent, to reinvest funds. The estate had been enlarged, improved, and put on solid footing. Agriculture being uncertain at best, the Ross estate had made other discrete investments. No longer indebted, Jamie was in fact, on his way to becoming moderately wealthy.
“It’s time Jamie. Your steward knows his business. So do you. It is yours,” Will pronounced.
The timing was vital to Jamie, with two growing boys to educate, and his friends well knew it. Determined not to touch Isabella’s wealth except for their basic housing, he needed every bit of his to augment his salary from teaching, especially the way they were growing. Besides, Robby would be Baron Ross in time, and now he could to leave the estate to him in solid condition.
“Perhaps now he’ll come home to England more often,” Andrew said in a faux whisper.
“I’ll never be able to repay you for this,” Jamie said.
“Weren’t you listening? We’ve been repaid.” Richard didn’t keep the irritation from his voice.
“Money yes, but not the effort it took to set me up so well,” Jamie retorted.
“You helped. You’ve been informed and made decisions as we went,” Will told him. “Besides, friends support friends. We always have.”
“There will be plenty of opportunity for reciprocal favors.Georgie tells me you and Nora have agreed to take Aeneas back with you. A year in Rome will suit him down to the ground. He’s also begging for Athens and Delphi,” Andrew shook his head ruefully. The brilliant young man already read three ancient and six modern languages. He would attend Sapienza University and, his father suggested, devour every library in Rome.
Richard sighed and raised his eyes to the ceiling. “When Thorn finds out I won’t hear the end of it. The difference is Aeneas’s unique talents. Public school has been wasted on him and he’s ready for university. Not so my son, I fear.”
“Bring him for a visit. The next time the foreign service sends you to Rome, bring the whole family!” Jamie meant it. The duke nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps he would even do it.
“Let’s get down to it,” Will said, sliding papers that would dissolve their trust and restore control of the Ross estate to Jamie across the desk.
All four men signed, and drinks were refreshed.
“To our friendship,” Jamie said.
“To success,” Richard added.
“To our children,” Andrew put in.
Will smiled broadly. “The next twenty years will be exciting. To their adventures,” he said.
“Speaking of adventures, what has happened with your wards, Catherine’s brothers?” Jamie asked.
“Adventures indeed,” Andrew murmured. “The ends of the earth.”
