“And that would be?”
He slyly insinuated, “If Thomas was to marry well, and the lady had a sufficient dowry… then all might be repaired.”
“You are counting onThomasto make all of us whole?”
“What else is there?” he asked like a naughty little boy trying to explain away the broken window.
“But Wilcox, this is all your doing. You must be the one to make it right. I am so ashamed of you. I did not raise you to be this kind of individual.”
Wilcox could not respond.
“You must sell something,” Augusta blurted out. “I know you owe me about fifteen thousand and I have no idea what you owe Thomas… and any other creditors you might still have… Oh, Wilcox, this is just too much.” She looked around the room and said, “What about this house? You could sell it and live at Denham. How about that as a solution?”
“I am afraid it would fetch little. I already have it mortgaged to the limit.”
Augusta sighed and straightened her dress. “Then you must find a profession.”
“Mother! Me work? How can you even suggest...”
“Certainly, you have friends in the know. A man of your standing must have many contacts who could help you find the right situation. Yes. That is what you must do. Then you can begin to pay us back. It is the right thing to do.”
“Ah…” he said, lighting up. “I just might have a solution.”
“And that would be?” she asked.
He inclined his head slightly. “I will tell you when it is accomplished.”
* * *
True to his promise to George, Thomas had come to meet with Helena’s father, the Earl of Comerford. But his meeting had a dual purpose.
“Ralph, my man, how pleasant to see you again,” Thomas greeted as he found the Earl in the billiards room overseeing the hanging of a mounted eight-point stag’s head. “Did you bag that?”
“In the Scottish Highlands. Fine specimen, is it not?” the Earl answered. “And it seems appropriate to have a wee dram to celebrate? I have some of the best,” he said signaling to his footman to pour them a couple glasses of the best scotch.
The footman complied, and after the first sip, Ralph asked, “What brings you here today, Thomas? Are you here to ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage?”
Thomas was embarrassed by the question. “Not exactly. In fact, I am here to tell you about my engagement to another lady—a London lady.”
“And her name?” Ralph asked, obviously upset with the news.
“I am not at liberty to say. For various reasons, we have decided to keep our engagement a secret for now.”
“Hmm. Sounds suspicious to me. How can you be engaged and not announce? The whole purpose of being engaged is to announce to the world that you are off the market and no longer available. Otherwise, you have chaos in the streets with people marrying left and right because there is no king and no order.”
Thomas thought that was quite ridiculous, but he assumed an intimate voice and said, “The lady in question is foreign. There are international diplomatic implications, you see…”
“No, I do not see. I thought we had an agreement,” Ralph said, pouring himself a second glass of scotch without offering Thomas a refill.
“No, Your Lordship, we had a discussion. Or rather you presented me with a proposal which I said was not acceptable. But you refused to hear me.”
“Hmm.”
“But let us not quibble, because I have something else that might interest you?”
“Oh? Now that you have refused my daughter you want something from me?”
Thomas laughed, refusing to be insulted by the man. “Not necessarily. I have a new project that I believe might catch your fancy.”
