“But please say nothing to him about this beforehand. I want to get his unplanned reaction to what I have to say.”
“I understand, and I agree.”
Chapter 34
Lucy was nervous all afternoon. It was not in her nature to hide her conspiracy with George from her brother, but she must. It was necessary to confront him when he was not expecting to defend himself.
Dinner was uneventful. The daughters were sober after their harsh meeting with the Duchess earlier that afternoon. Both George and Lucy were preoccupied with their meeting with Harold after dinner, so it was left to the Duchess to carry the brunt of the conversation with Harold. George noticed that his mother seemed much livelier. And that usually indicated that she was hatching some scheme or other.
The plan was for Lucy to invite Harold to their suite on some pretext and then George would drop by unannounced.
“Brother, might you help me with a problem I am having with my novel? I need to pick your brain about some details I need about farming operations. It would be most helpful and should not take very long,” Lucy asked as they were ready to leave the dining room.
“Of course, I was planning to retire to our suite in any event. I feel like having an early night. Adjusting to my new duties have been most tiring.”
Lucy offered her hand, and they held hands as they headed for their rooms.
“Now then, how may I be of assistance on your novel?” Harold asked as soon as they entered the suite.
Lucy was unprepared with questions, as she thought George would arrive before she needed to come up with specific issues to ask her brother.
“Ah… let me see,” she prevaricated, as she leafed through the pages she had been working on. “Oh, my… I cannot seem to find my list.”
Fortunately, George knocked and came in at that moment.
“Your Grace,” Harold said, standing up when George came in.
“Please sit,” George said as he glanced quickly at Lucy.
“Did you need something?” Harold asked, sitting down again.
George stood squarely before Harold and clasped his hands in front of him. “Harold, this is not going to be an easy conversation, and I hope that you will listen carefully before you respond.”
“Sir?” Harold asked, blanching slightly.
“Before I begin, I want you to know that it is my intention to solve problems rather than to create them, so please do not feel threatened.”
This seemed to alarm Harold more than it calmed him.
“What is this about?” Harold asked brusquely.
George reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out the articles fromThe Times.
“These have come into my possession from an uninterested outside party. He thought it was something I needed to know. And after reading these, I agree. Please look these over and respond.”
He handed the articles to Harold who seemed to turn grey as he read. When he was finished, he looked up at George, and instead of becoming angry or quickly defending himself, said weakly, “I wondered how long it would take before you found out.” He then turned to Lucy. “I am so sorry, my darling sister.”
“Oh, Harold…” she said, going over to him, sitting beside him, and giving him a hug.
“Then you do not dispute the veracity of those articles?” George asked.
“I do not. But might I speak in my defense?”
“That is why I did not dismiss you out of hand. In most cases, there are many sides to a story. I am willing to hear yours.”
Harold stood, pulled down his jacket, and faced George directly. “Of course, I could plead I acted out of a young man’s recklessness. And that is partially true. I could also say that I had been traumatized by the loss of my family in the fire. And that too would be true. But there was another factor that affected me even more.”
“And that would be?” George asked.
