Chapter 2

On a broad,

wide land a little to the east of the town of Bath, a young

man called Edward Chisholm

was out riding on his beloved Beauty - a beautiful black horse with

an almost dark blue sheen to it. Edward grinned as he rode up the

steep incline and reached the summit of the tall, broad hill on

their land. There he climbed down and secured Beauty's reins to a

tree before sitting down on the ground and looking out over the

estate. From that point on their land, all of what his family owned

could be seen. It constantly brought out in Edward a source of

great pride.

For more than

200 years , the Chisholm

family had lived on the land as farmers who provided tenants with

opportunities for somewhere to live and to work. Edward had grown

up among the tenants. He regarded them all as extended family, as

they did him. For as long as he could remember, they had spoken to

him with affection as they called him 'Young Master'.

Now twenty years of age,

Edward felt like he was neither a boy, dependent on his parents, or

a man, completely independent. He was the only living child his

parents had, after several miscarriages. Following his birth, his

mother had been told she should never be with child again. All

responsibility would one day be on him to manage the entire estate.

For the moment, both of his parents were alive and active in the

management of the land, buildings, and tenants.

While

Edward wasn't a sociable

person, he had been well brought up with good manners. Because of

this, he did seem to make friends easily, although there were few

instances where he could see them. Everyone he knew, he'd met

through his parents. Being the future master of the estate, it had

been explained to him very early on that he wouldn't go to school

like other children. Instead, he would remain at home and be taught

everything there was to know about the land before him. His father

regarded that as infinitely more valuable than any schooling could

be.

With a mother who'd been

well educated, however, even being confined to the estate, she'd

ensured Edward had a tutor who could teach him as well as any

teacher in the school system. As a result, not going to school was

no loss to him academically. He'd grown up well versed in

literature, language, music, and bookkeeping.

S itting on the

summit, pondering the many aspects of his life, Edward could feel

the chill of winter beginning. The grounds were beautiful with

leaves of various colours scattered around. It wouldn't be long

before winter truly set in. He knew it would then get frightfully

cold. He was thankful that he was fortunate to live in a home that

was solid, and warm once all the fires were going. They would have

enough people around in winter to be able to keep a good supply of

firewood coming into the house, ready for use at all

times.

The only negative thing

he occasionally felt about his life was the aspect of sometimes

feeling so lonely. There were always many people he could see and

talk to, but now and then he did feel alone. His father had been

telling him for a long time that he needed to get on and meet

someone who could provide an heir for the family. It seemed to have

been left in Edward's hands to find that 'someone'. Nothing had

changed so far. He never met anyone new, so no courting had ever

taken place. Because he believed his parents weren't too old to

leave this world yet, he didn't consider there was any

rush.

~~~~~

After enjoying the

tranquillity and beauty of the summit and its views, Edward stood

up and started down the hill again toward the main house. As he

approached his home, he dismounted and watched as Beauty was led

away to the stable by the stable hand. Having grown up with horses,

Edward sometimes considered them as good a friend as any man could

have. He'd seen and heard of horses doing things that saved men's

lives. They were a constant source of wonder to him, despite him

having been around them every day of his life.

Walking into the house,

he immediately went up to his room to freshen up and change before

going to find his mother. As he entered the drawing room, he was

confronted with his mother looking agitated while talking to his

father.

"Charles, he

needs to get married so our line - your line - can

continue," his mother said. "Why do you object to this so

much?"

Both parents looked up as they

noticed Edward had entered.

"What are you talking about?"

he asked his father, who shook his head in reply.

"It does not concern you,

Edward," his father replied.

Edward could see the dismay on

his mother's face.

"Are you sure, Father?"

he boldly asked. "Who else needs to get married around

here?"

His father was silent.

Seeing his mother also appearing hesitant to speak up, Edward went

and sat beside her. She appeared visibly upset, whilst an angry

vibe seeped from her.

"Father?" he prompted, one more

time.

Finally, his father looked at

him and spoke.

"Edward, you know that it will

be your duty to marry and carry on the family line and business,"

he said.

Edward

quietly nodded in response before

his father continued.

"Your mother has found someone

who she considers suitable for you to take as a wife."

Edward looked at his

father, his mother, and then back again. He felt somewhat perplexed

at the rather unusual conversation.

"And you do

not consider her suitable?" he asked.

"She is a nobody, with no land

or social status," his father said.

Edward

was surprised to hear a sound of

almost disgust in his father's voice.

"She has money! Exactly

what we need!" his mother said forcefully. "How can you call that

nothing?"

"Oh, Mother," Edward began to

ask. "How has she come to have money if her family has no social

status?"

"She is

descended from a well-known family in Italy, with connection to

Italian royalty," his mother replied. "She is hardly a

nobody !"

At that point, his father

jumped back into the conversation. Edward immediately began to see

why they were disagreeing so much.

"They aren't

known or respected! " his

father exclaimed with passion in his voice. "No-one has even heard

of them!"

Edward looked at both of

his parents. He could see their individual levels of stubbornness

that he'd witnessed on many previous occasions. He knew they could

have a stand-off for days, or even weeks, if they both felt

strongly enough about their own points of view.

"Mother, perhaps you

could tell me how you have learned about this young lady, and why

you see her as a good match for me," Edward suggested in an attempt

to calm his parents down. He watched as his mother took a moment to

consider her words.

"I know that

they are a family who do not live in society , and they have very little land," she said.

"They live as though they are common people, but in this girl's

heritage there is history and honour. They have contacts who are

the equivalent of dukes and duchesses, even if they do not live

like that themselves. The young woman is to inherit a very large

dowry now that she has turned eighteen."

Edward could see his

mother's point of view. She was a romantic soul. She'd ideally

prefer a marriage to be more than just an exchange of money or

land. In this instance, however, he could see that money appeared

to be a major contributor to her enthusiasm.

"And Father?" he asked.

"What is your argument against this young lady?"

"I have no particular

argument against her," his father replied, beginning to look worn

down. "I have never even met the girl or her family. But your

mother's argument that her ancestors had some kind of standing in

Italy makes no sense to me. She would bring a cash injection to the

estate, but she won't bring land or social status to you. What real

purpose would she be?"

Edward looked at his father and

could see stress on his face. That worried him.

"Would her

real purpose not be to be my wife , and to give me children?" asked Edward. "I do not think

that she needs land or

a title for that. All I could wish

for is someone who I can get on well enough with, and who will work

with me to keep our home together and running smoothly."

As

h is parents looked at each

other, Edward saw softening on their faces as they both appeared to

relax.

"I understand that you

have tried to leave it to me to find someone I wish to marry,

however I am simply not in any position to meet new people," he

said. "To be honest, I would be happy to marry anyone who can think

and speak, and is as eager to work at marriage as I will be. So,

Mother, if you think you have found someone suitable, even if just

to secure more money for the estate, could we not at least meet

her? What harm could there be in inviting this young lady and her

family to stay here for a few weeks, so we can all simply

meet?"