could return at any time. Just don’t come crying to me when you’re homeless and destitute.’
‘Now, that is not called for, sir.’ Mr Breck looked outraged. ‘If such a thing should happen, Miss Searles must apply to me, and I shall find her a cottage she can afford to rent until such time as she is married.’
‘And who will want to marry a woman with no fortune and two sisters in tow?’ Cousin Joshua said harshly. ‘Only a fool would consider it.’
With that he strode from the parlour, leaving silence behind him.
Selina recovered first. ‘I fear I have upset our cousin,’ she said calmly. ‘Do not judge him too harshly, Mr Breck.
He has little from his inheritance but the house, and you cannot blame him for wanting it to be free of occupants who pay nothing.’
‘Mr Searles is a warm man. It would not have hurt him to allow you to live here free of charge as his tenants.’
‘No, it would not,’ Selina agreed. ‘However, he has long held a ridiculous notion that we shall marry, and I think he hoped to force my hand—but nothing would make me consider it.’
‘It was not what your mama hoped for,’ the lawyer said. ‘She believed you would marry well once you had your chance at a proper come-out.’ He hesitated, then, ‘I suppose you would not allow me to advance you the money for a season?’
‘How good you are!’ Selina exclaimed warmly, shaking her head. ‘Really kind—but I could not allow it. I might never be able to repay you. No, do not say it doesn’t matter, because it does. We may be poor, but we are honest, and we have our pride, sir.’
‘Yes. I was afraid you might not accept—but your own idea is better than mine. Though I wish you would allow me to pay you for looking after the estate. An extra three hundred pounds might have provided enough for Miss Amy to have a come-out in a year or so …’
‘No, Selina must not be made to feel guilty on my account,’ Amy said instantly. ‘She is the beauty of the family. I am confident that something wonderful will happen. Before you arrived we had nowhere to go—now we have a new home. What is the name of the house, sir?’
‘Banford Hall,’ he replied, and smiled at her. ‘It is an old property, Miss Amy—gothic, some might call it, and rather beautiful in my opinion. The family has lived there for centuries, and parts of it are medieval.’
‘How exciting!’ Amy exclaimed. ‘Does it have a ghost?’
‘Any number of them, I should imagine,’ Mr Breck replied with an indulgent smile. ‘I doubt they will bother three intelligent young ladies like yourselves.’
‘I am becoming more excited by the minute,’ Amy said, and gave him a sparkling smile. ‘Mama always said she did not know how she would have managed without your help, sir—and you have gone to so much trouble for us.’
‘Not at all, m’dear.’
The lawyer looked ridiculously pleased, and Selina smiled inwardly. Amy always said that she, Selina, was the beauty of the family, but her younger sister was herself a very charming, not to say fascinating, young woman. Given her chance she would no doubt marry well.
‘As a matter of fact, it will suit me admirably to have you installed as a family rather than leaving it to a housekeeper—for sometimes, you know, they tend to neglect a house if the owner is abroad.’
‘You can rely on us to keep it in good order. If I should discover some necessary repair, may I apply to you for the cost?’ asked Selina.
‘Certainly, certainly. His lordship—my client’s nephew, that is—was explicit. He wants everything as it ought to be, especially for his tenants on the estate—but for the moment he is content in Italy and does not wish to live there. I believe he thinks his uncle, the old earl, may recover and wish to return home, though for myself I think there is no prospect of it happening. He has gone to a warmer climate to spend his last days in comfort and will not think of returning.’
‘Well, if he does he shall find his house in good order. Should he be pleased with what we have done, he might offer us a home—if I continued as his housekeeper.’
‘Would you consider it?’
‘Only if it is a choice of that or going to my cousin for help.’ Selina shuddered delicately. ‘I would prefer to be independent—unless I find someone I would care to marry, of course. We are not quite destitute, sir. As well as our two hundred a year, our aunt left each of us fifty pounds and a small token of jewellery. The jewellery is not worth selling, except for the pearls Mama passed to me, of course. Mama’s jewels may be worth as much as five thousand—’ She broke off as she saw the lawyer’s frown. ‘You think I overvalue them?’
‘Most of your dear mama’s jewels were sold to pay your father’s debts, Miss Searles. Your father had copies made. I believe there is one pair of genuine diamond drops that remain, and the pearls you mentioned which were left to her by her aunt.’
The two girls looked at each other aghast. Selina was the first to recover.
‘We have even less than we thought,’ she said grimly. ‘At least we need not part with what we have of Mama’s. You have the diamond earbobs, Amy. Millie has a gold bracelet and I have the pearls. Even if the rest of what we thought heirlooms are just fakes, they look well enough to pass for being genuine if we have to wear them to a ball. Still, we are not destitute. We shall manage, but we must be very careful.’
‘I am sorry to be the bearer of more bad news.’ Mr Breck looked upset. ‘I had thought you knew.’
‘We had no idea things were so bad. I wondered why Mama did not sell something when she needed to repair the roof in the west wing. Now I understand. At least we have her furniture and her clothes …’ She paused. ‘Unless they are earmarked for a bill?’
‘No such thing,’ Mr Breck assured her heartily. ‘You may take everything that was particularly your mama’s when you leave.’
‘You can be assured that we shall take nothing Cousin Joshua is entitled to think his own.’
‘I should like Papa’s duelling pistols,’ Amy said. ‘He taught me to use them and I have a fondness for them.’
‘Well, since they are personal property and not part of the estate, I see no reason why you should not take them—his clothes belong to you, and any other small personal items.’
‘So we can take his hip flask and his signet ring?’ Amy asked. ‘That would mean each of us had a small keepsake.’
‘I can see no reason why you should not take everything that was personal to your father. The estate consists of land, houses, furniture, important silver, books and pictures.’
‘Then we shall take as much as we can,’ Selina said. ‘I shall hire a cart to move our belongings, for I should not wish to use anything that rightly belongs to my cousin.’
‘Our riding horses are our own,’ Amy said, ‘but the carriages and the carriage horses belong to Cousin Joshua. I think we must hire a carriage to take us to our new home, Selina—and Jeremiah must bring the horses.’
‘I
