of each other.
Mark wanted to like Teddy for Isabel’s sake, but he had always found him brash and insensitive, which had come about, he supposed, because he was the longed-for son and heir. Born between Jane and Isabel, he had been thoroughly spoiled by his doting mama. So what had he done to make Halliday give him the bag? Whatever it was would not please Sir Edward.
* * *
He was able to make an informed guess later that evening when he and Drew met at White’s and were joined by two others in a game of whist. One was Toby Moore, an erstwhile army captain whom Mark had known slightly during the war, and the other was Lord Bolsover. They were not two he would normally have chosen to play with, but all the other men present were already settled at their games and he could hardly refuse a polite request to make up a four.
‘You are affianced to one of the Cavenhurst girls, are you not?’ Bolsover queried, while they waited for a new pack of cards to be brought to the table. He was a year or two older than Mark, extravagantly dressed. His dark hair was worn short and curled forward over his forehead and ears. His skin was tanned, which was surprising since, as far as Mark was aware, he spent long hours at the gaming tables.
‘Yes,’ Mark said. ‘I have the honour to be engaged to Miss Isabel Cavenhurst.’
‘The wedding to be soon, is it?’
‘In a little under a month. Why do you ask?’
‘Curiosity, my dear fellow. I am well acquainted with Cavenhurst.’
‘Sir Edward?’
‘No, never met him. I meant the son. We have had a few hands of cards together. I am afraid he is a poor loser. I believe he has run home on a repairing lease. I do hope he recovers quickly, I am not in the habit of waiting for my money.’
Mark could well believe that and wondered where the conversation was leading. ‘No doubt he has gone home for the wedding.’
‘So soon? I think not. It is to be hoped his father can come up trumps because at the moment I hold all the cards. I have bought up all the man’s debts and they were spread far and wide. I do not think Teddy Cavenhurst ever bought anything with cash.’ Everyone knew that creditors who could not make their debtors pay often sold the debts for a fraction of the original figure, in order to be rid of them.
His heart sank, but he hid it with a laugh. ‘Sir Edward has always stood buff for his son. Have no fear.’
‘I had heard the estate was in a poor way and Sir Edward hard put to come about.’ Bolsover spoke nonchalantly as he picked up the pack that had just been put on the table in front of him and broke the seal.
‘Where did you hear that? I know nothing of it.’
His lordship gave a cracked laugh. ‘Worried that the lady’s dowry is at risk, are you?’
‘No, of course not. I do not know where you obtained your information, but I suggest you tell whoever it is that they are in error. Now, as we have the cards, shall we play?’
‘To be sure.’ His lordship finished shuffling the pack and put it on the table. ‘Will you cut for trumps, Mr Ashton?’
The subject of Teddy and his debts was dropped, but it worried Mark. From the way Bolsover had spoken about the dowry and the Greystone estate, the amount must be substantial. Surely not enough to ruin Sir Edward? How much was it? He could ask Isabel, or better still Jane. She would be bound to know and also the extent of Sir Edward’s problems.
* * *
‘You are not concentrating,’ murmured Drew, during the break between one game and the next as the pile of coins at Bolsover’s elbow had grown. ‘I had already won that second trick, you did not have to waste a trump on it. That is a beginner’s mistake.’
‘I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.’
‘Dreaming about your bride, are you?’
Mark smiled, but did not answer. He picked up the cards Toby Moore had just dealt. This was better; he had a good hand. They played in silence and recouped some of their losses. Drew was a very good player; he seemed to know where all the cards were and by the end of the evening they were in profit.
* * *
‘A satisfactory evening,’ Drew said, as they strolled to Jermyn Street where he was lodging.
‘I think you must be a seasoned gambler,’ Mark said. ‘Hector Bolsover has a reputation as a sharp, but you made him look clumsy. He won’t like that.’
‘What do you know of the man?’
‘Not a great deal. I believe he is unmarried and spends all his time in the clubs and gaming hells. I have heard he does not always play fair, though no one has seen fit to challenge him. If he has Teddy’s vouchers, it could go ill for the Cavenhursts.’
‘So that was what you were in a brown study about?’
‘It is worrying.’
‘Are you concerned about the dowry?’
‘Good heavens, no! It is the least of my worries.’
‘So, we are still going to look for wedding finery tomorrow?’
‘Naturally we are.’ They stopped outside Drew’s lodgings. ‘And you are going to come back to Broadacres with me, aren’t you?’
‘Have I said that?’
‘No, but you will. I want you to meet Isabel again before the wedding. We will invite the Cavenhursts over for supper.’
Drew laughed. ‘In the face of such a prospect, how can I refuse?’
Mark went on his way to the Wyndham town house in South Audley Street well satisfied.
Chapter Two
‘Papa, can you spare me a minute?’ Jane had found her father in the estate office where he worked most mornings. The desk in front of him was scattered with papers. He had evidently been raking his fingers through his greying hair; some of it was standing up on end.
‘Oh, it is you, Jane. Come in and sit down. I thought it was that reprobate son of mine and I can hardly be civil to him at the moment.’
Jane advanced further into the room and sat on the chair placed the other side of the desk, a position usually occupied by the estate manager, but she had just seen him leave and knew her father was alone. ‘I am sorry to hear that, Papa. It is on his behalf I am come.’
‘So, he has descended to sending his sister to plead for him, has he?’
‘He feels that you have not fully comprehended the trouble he is in and that perhaps I can explain it better than he.’
Sir Edward managed a humourless laugh. ‘I comprehend it only too well, Jane. What he does not comprehend is how impossible it is for me to comply with his outrageous demands without impoverishing the rest of the family.’
Jane
