Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

GEORGE GETS A SHOCK

"Just what exactly do you mean by this?" George waved the offending slip of paper in the air between the two men. When the Duke of Astor had approached him at his father's funeral the day before, he had simply thought the man meant to pay his respects, George had never imagined, had no reason to suspect, that the Duke was about to turn his well-ordered life upside down.

"I believe you'll find it is entirely above board, all stated honestly and laid out there for your understanding." The Duke of Astor stood sat on the other side of the desk, fiddling with his collar.

"I see," George glanced once more at the paper in his hands. "Have you read this?"

"I have." The Duke of Astor admitted, not in the least embarrassed.

"You believe it to be true?"

"I do." The Duke of Astor shrugged, the action irritating George.

"You're saying that my father had another child?"

"Yes, a tough little thing too."

"Outside of wedlock?" George tried to hide the judgement in his voice, but the mere thought of fathering a child outside of marriage was incomprehensible to him .

"Come now old chap, I could name two dozen men off the top of my head who have dallied outside of their marriages, it is hardly a crime." The smug look on the Duke of Astor's face told George all he needed to know about the man's character.

"Where is the child now?"

"A home in the country, your father wasn't forthcoming with details, perhaps he mentions it in his letter to you?"

"Perhaps," George wasn't about to let the Duke of Astor get his hands on the letter, that was for sure, not when his father mentioned him by name.

"And what of the mother?"

"Died in childbirth, poor thing, all rather tragic. Still," the Duke of Astor continued, "a stroke of luck for your father, goodness knows what might have transpired otherwise."

"Indeed. I thank you for passing this on to me as my father requested."

"Of course, he was a dear friend of mine, his company will be missed greatly." Once the Duke of Astor had taken his leave, George summoned his butler and handed him a lengthy letter, tasking him with the job of delivering it directly to his lawyer in London at once.

Never had George felt so betrayed and angry with his father, not in any of his five and twenty years. George had no doubt that had his father not have met an untimely death, he would never have discovered that he had a brother. Most likely the child would have remained unclaimed and alone in the country somewhere, George recoiled with the thought. Well, not any more. George was not his father, and he would prove it.

It would be five days before George's lawyer arrived on the estate, weary with travel, his carriage full with the presence of an unusual burden.

"Peter," George gripped his lawyers hand in a firm handshake, the two of them friends as well as business acquaintances.

"George, I would like you to meet your brother," he turned and gestured into the carriage, a matronly woman stepping out with an infant child. "He's a quiet baby of around seven weeks in age, although not yet named, his mother having succumbed to childbirth, I have been informed by a reliable source that his mother intended that he be named Charles."

"Charles," George took the infant into his arms, smiling down at the sleeping form, a sudden lump in his throat. How could his father have been so vile as to leave him unprotected, unprepared, worse still, alone? "Welcome home."

"George, this is Mildred Sinclair," Peter gestured to the women standing to the side. "I wasn't sure how well situated you would be to care for your brother and took it upon myself to hire her services."

"Thank you, Peter. Mildred," George turned to the woman before him. Middle aged, she had a soft, round face, and the feeling of kindness surrounded her, "I assume Peter has already checked your references?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Good, then I just have one condition of your employment. How my brother came to be in this world is of no consequence, is that clear? From now on he is in my charge and protection as Duke Livingston and shall bear the title of Lord Livingston. He shall be raised with all the advantages befitting a brother of mine."

"I understand Your Grace."

"Excellent. Then perhaps you would be so kind as to follow my housekeeper, Mary Beckham, she will show you to your room. I'm afraid you will need to share a room with Charles tonight, I wasn't sure how he would be equipped and thought it best to wait on ordering furniture for his room."

"Of course, Your Grace, I shall prepare a list of items he will need and have it ready for you tomorrow, if that would be of assistance to you?"

"It would be appreciated, thank you." George handed a still sleeping Charles over to Mildred and watched as they followed Mary from the room .

"Is it all done?" he questioned Peter as the two walked through to George's study.

"Yes," Peter sunk into the plush armchair in front of the fire, looking exhausted. "The official registration of birth has been lodged with the crown and there are no relatives on the mother's side, so custody is not an issue."

"Good."

"Are you sure about this, George?"

"Yes," George smiled weakly at his friend. "I am not my father; I will not have my family cast aside for society's sake. He will have the upbringing he is entitled to."

"And what of you and your future?"

"It is the right thing to do."

As George made his way to bed later that evening, he recalled his friends words. He knew what Peter had been saying, he knew the kind of life that was ahead of him. It mattered none that George had claimed Charles, to some in the upper crust of society, Charles would always be illegitimate, and would be shunned as such. George knew that marriage to Arabella was now an unlikely prospect. He only hoped that her family would not cast him and his brother to the side, he knew he was going to need all of the help he could get in the coming years.