Chapter Thirty-Three

Niles felt as if he'd been run over by a mail coach. He'd sneaked a glimpse of himself in a mirror and knew he looked like it as well. But he'd come away from a bout with the Bath Butcher with no broken bones, able to stand and walk, and with his wits intact. That was reason to be proud of himself.

That hard-earned pride, though, didn't entirely erase his disappointment. He'd known victory was unlikely, yet he'd harbored some hopes of securing the winner's purse. He could have been that much closer to beginning his life with Penelope.

There would be other fights he could take up, but he wasn't sure he dared. It wasn't merely that he was older now than the majority of his opponents would be, neither was he afraid of taking another beating. He'd drawn more attention during this match than he had in the past. Were his identity to be discovered, it would put an end to a great many things: his political aspirations, his acceptance in Society, his future family's standing. He wouldn't do that to Penelope.

This had been his chance at a windfall, and he'd come up short.

A quick knock sounded at the door in the rhythm Stanley and Lucas had always used. The Gents had come to look in on him, no doubt.

Wilson had remained in the room while Niles's own valet saw to duties that took him to other areas of the house. The young man opened the door but not far enough for anyone to enter.

"Is he decent enough for us to intrude?" Lucas's voice asked from the other side.

"It doesn't matter if he is or isn't," Wilson declared. "No one will be intruding on my watch." The young man was fearsome, that much was certain.

"Are you attempting to improve my manners, Wilson?" Lucas asked with a laugh.

"I'm attempting to look after your Puppy," Wilson answered. "If you receive a lesson in manners as a result, so be it."

A rumble of laughter echoed in. Lucas had not, it seemed, arrived alone.

"They can come in, Wilson," Niles said. "They'll do so regardless."

Wilson looked back at him. "If they cause a ruckus, I'll toss them out. I've been using your boxing building, and I'm not terrible at fisticuffs."

"We consider ourselves warned," Lucas said as he stepped inside.

As Niles had predicted, the rest of the Gents were with Lucas. But Niles had not guessed that Penelope would step inside as well. He wasn't disappointed, only surprised.

"Lud, Puppy," Lucas said, eyeing him up and down. "You look like something purgatory itself tossed out."

"Quite." Digby summoned one of his expressions of theatrical dandification. "The purple arising around your eye does nothing for your complexion."

Niles met Penelope's eye. "See what I have to put up with, Penny?"

She climbed onto the bed, where he sat propped up on pillows, with a blanket pulled up to his chest, which was wrapped in bandaging to ease some of the pain in his ribs. She settled in, seated directly beside him. To the Gents, she said, "I am fully aware of the scandalous nature of my current location, but as nothing untoward is actually occurring and he does, in fact, look like something tossed out of purgatory, I will trust the lot of you to keep your mouths firmly shut on the matter."

"Else what?" Kes asked.

"I'll tell Our Julia, Lily, and Le Capitaine that you are causing problems and let them exact whatever punishment they deem appropriate."

That threat hit its mark, and she very swiftly had vows of silence from all of them.

Everyone found places to sit or lean as Penelope reached to hold Niles's bandaged hand.

"How are you feeling?" Henri asked. "Truly?"

"Like I just fought ten rounds against the Bath Butcher."

"Accurate," Kes said with a nod.

"I don't think anything is broken though," Niles said. "And there's nothing that hurts that won't heal."

Penelope tucked herself against him, not saying as much but clearly showing that she was grateful he wasn't worse off than he was.

"Would you like to hear something that'll make you feel remarkably better?" Lucas asked.

"Coming from you lot, I'm not sure."

They grinned, all knowing perfectly well that they'd been known to be more than a little ridiculous at times.

"You want to hear this," Aldric said.

"I always listen to the General." Niles was beyond intrigued.

"Firstly," Digby said, "we have settled upon the perfect nickname for Penelope."

"Have you?" He turned to look at her, but she only shrugged.

"I have not yet heard this."

Lucas looked ready to burst. "Mag," he declared. "We've tested it out amongst ourselves and will not be swayed from adopting it."

"I might believe it is perfect if I had any inkling why you've chosen it," Niles said.

"It's a simple thing," Lucas answered. "She's our Puppy's Penny, but she's tiny, more like a quarter penny. But we couldn't call her Farthing, now could we?"

Digby looked horrified at the very idea. "Certainly not."

"We chose the next best thing," Henri said.

Ah. To his sweet Penny, Niles explained, " Mag is a cant term for a farthing."

She smiled broadly, looking at the Gents with every indication of delight. "I accept."

"Our second announcement," Digby said, "is that Mag has had a stroke of absolute brilliance, something frankly, we're all a little embarrassed to not have realized sooner."

"What is this brilliant idea, Penny—I intend to keep calling you Penny rather than Mag, assuming you've no objections?"

"None." She looked exceedingly happy. "I was thinking of the fairings we had at the fair, and I realized we'd sorted the difficulty with biscuits in just the way we ought to with land."

"Martin must have hit me harder than I thought, because my mind can't make sense of that at all."

Penelope smiled ever more broadly. "I'm explaining it poorly but only because I'm so pleased that there is a third option, just like we decided to believe there would be."

Niles looked out at his friends, hoping someone would explain it plainly.

Aldric took up the task. "Fairfield is not subject to an entailment, which not only means that Mag's great-uncle was able to leave it to her but also that it does not have to remain intact. The owner of the property is free to do with it as she sees fit."

"And she asked us if it was possible for a piece of the estate to be portioned off and sold," Digby continued the explanation, "and, assuming it was possible, if the requirement to own land in order to serve in Parliament dictated how much land a person had to own."

"It doesn't," Niles said. Anticipation spread like a bubble in his chest, the way it did when one was on the cusp of something significant.

Penelope sat up a little straighter, looking more directly at him. "There is a corner of Fairfield, a small clearing amongst some trees. It isn't near the stables nor part of the lawns or the kitchen gardens or the area where the horses would be running. What if you owned that part? You would own land, but it would be part of our home, adjacent to where you lived. Then, when you find your place in Parliament, you would be living among the people you would serve without having to live away from... me."

"There might be some question whether or not it is actually mine." He didn't want the possibility to lodge itself in his mind before he knew if it was, in fact, both possible and advisable.

"That is why it is important that you actually purchase it," Aldric said. "If the deed to the land is in your name and there is record of a purchase, it would be undeniably yours."

"Are you certain?"

"Believe me, I have spent a great deal of time these past months studying what it takes to make a permanent claim on an estate." Aldric had been given the use of one of his father's many estates but not ownership of it. It made sense that he was keen on discovering the exact ramifications of that.

"And," Digby added, "you could erect a building on the land, perhaps make it look like a cottage or some such thing so it didn't draw attention, but inside, you could hang bags of hay and keep strips of fabric for wrapping up knuckles."

"My very own boxing building?"

The Gents all nodded. Niles looked at Penelope and saw eager agreement on her face as well. Could this work? Could it truly work?

"Land in that area of Surrey comes dear," he reminded her.

"We did talk about that," Penelope said. "Paying a fair price would be important should any questions arise about your ownership, so I worried that that might make this impossible. But the Gents don't think so."

"If one is buying an entire estate with a house and significant land, then the price would be quite steep," Aldric said. "But you would be purchasing a very small parcel, without any roads leading to it, without buildings or improvements. A fair price for that would be well within your ability to purchase."

He wanted to believe it. "Henri, you are Archbishop for a reason, and I'm counting on you to live up to that moniker by not lying to me. Is all this doable and fair?"

"I have spent years searching for a place to call home," Henri said, "and I know the price of land and the intricacies of what determines that price better than almost anyone. And I can say with certainty that this is, by all accounts, both a fair and ingenious idea."

Niles held tighter to Penelope's hand, no matter that it made his hand ache all the more. This was the miracle they needed.

"There is one difficulty though," she said. "Don't look so crestfallen," she quickly added, apparently seeing his countenance drop. "It isn't insurmountable, by any means. For me to retain ownership of Fairfield, my brother has to sign the marriage contract that he initially negotiated with your grandfather, but to make certain there is no question of legitimacy to the sale of the parcel, you would need to purchase it before the contracts are signed; yet, if we are to catch my brother before he leaves for Ireland, we have to go directly to Cornwall."

"Where are your trustees located?" Niles asked.

"London."

That was not precisely on the way to Cornwall. "What do we do?" he asked the room in general. "Penny and I cannot be in two places at once."

"We have a plan," Lucas said.

"Four words that strike fear into the bravest of hearts," Niles said under his breath.

Penelope leaned against him once more. "It is a good plan, I assure you."

"You and Mag write up letters of intent to buy and sell respectively, requesting that my brother-in-law act as your representative," Kes said. "I'll take the letters to him in London. He is a barrister and, thus, is in a position to meet with Mag's trustees on your behalf in a way that satisfies the law. We can see to that while you two make your way to Cornwall."

"Can your brother-in-law sign on my behalf?" Niles didn't think so.

"No, but he can have all the papers drawn up, have Mag's trustees sign them, and entrust them to me to deliver them to you in Cornwall for the final signature."

"And once you do, I can sign those papers and then the marriage agreement without adding a question mark to the land purchase?" Niles ventured.

Kes nodded.

"What happens if Penny's brother won't sign?" Niles asked.

That brought the first hints of uncertainty to their faces.

It was Digby who spoke. "Then, you two will have yet another decision to make."

"I am choosing to believe it will not come to that," Penelope said. "Life ought not be so cruel as to take away two people's best chances for happiness."

It is a travesty how many people have to fight so very hard simply to be granted the right to live the life they ought to have been permitted all along. Stanley would have urged him to move forward eagerly, clinging to the hope that he would be permitted that precious chance to live a life filled with joy and love. How could he do anything other than keep fighting for it?

"Sounds to me, Digby, like you are about to lose an entire gaggle of guests," Niles said.

"But as I will be abandoned for a good cause," Digby said, "I'll be happy to see you go."

Penelope stretched enough to place a kiss on Niles's cheek. It happened to be his painful one, and he involuntarily winced.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said.

"That does raise another question that needs addressing," Lucas said.

"What question would that be?" Niles asked.

"What explanation we plan to give the rest of the ladies for the sorry, sorry sight of you."