Harry patted him on the back. “Now, Percy… you have struggled for a long time, not only with your father but with yourself. You deserve a break.”
Then Maria stood and hugged the two of them. Harry blushed.
When they finally let go, Harry straightened his waistcoat and gestured for them to sit again.
“I take it you accept Anna’s offer to manage her estate?”
They nodded.
“But how shall you manage without me here at Creassey?” Maria asked.
“You forget I am marrying too. Anna will be able to help me.”
Maria laughed. “I hope she knows what she is letting herself in for.”
“I expect we will be able to hire more staff and the burden will be less.” Harry picked up a paper and studied it. “But there are just a couple of more issues.”
“Uh oh,” Percy said.
“It is nothing to worry about,” Harry said. “It concerns your dowry, Maria.”
“Oh, yes, that.”
“I am going to increase it to thirty-thousand,” Harry said casually.
Maria gasped. “But that is enormous. How can you do that?”
“Anna and I wish you both to have a good start to the marriage. We are taking the funds from what she is bringing to our marriage. Believe me, it is a small sum considering what she is inheriting.”
“I had no idea…” Maria said.
Harry then turned to Percy. “But there is a stipulation that I am adding.”
“What is that?”
“You may not give more than one-quarter of that sum to your father. That money is to be for you and Maria. I want her to be secure and I cannot have you squandering it on your reprobate father.”
“Believe me, I do understand. I would not give him anything, but I cannot help myself. I must also consider my mother.”
“I understand. That is why I am allowing you to give them a quarter.”
“But that will not solve your father’s problems,” Maria said to Percy.
“Yes, I know. But the rest is up to him. If he can find any wisdom, he might take that money and increase it through wise investment. Who knows…?”
“And there is one last issue,” Harry said. “What would you say to having Dorothy’s, Anna and my, and your weddings together. A triple wedding. Does that not sound delightful?”
“I think it sounds marvelous,” she said smiling broadly.
“Here, here!” Percy added.
* * *
Anna, Dorothy, and Maria were having lunch together at Repington Hall. Anna was making a list of what they needed to go over that afternoon as they began to plan their joint weddings. The champagne was flowing freely and they were a little tipsy and giggly.
“Of course, our first concern must be setting the date,” Dorothy said. “Christopher and I have set our wedding for next May—which seems ridiculously far away to me, but it seems we must observe mourningforever…”
“How do you feel about that, Anna, now that you are to be married too?” Maria asked. “It does seem a very long time away. Might there be a way to marry earlier so that we may get on with our lives?”
