Chapter Fifteen

G avin took Jasper to his apartments in Marylebone, on a street where each red brick terrace home looked identical to the next. It was far too modest a place for someone who had partnered with a bank, but it suited Gavin well enough. He wasn't the sort to host parties, and he rarely had visitors, making the quiet home on Portman Square perfect for someone like Gavin.

As he watched the look on Jasper's face, however, when the carriage stopped in front of the unassuming building, Gavin wondered what the youth was thinking.

They exited the vehicle and walked the white limestone walkway to the front door. An old butler with white hair and faded brown eyes answered, hunched over slightly. At the sight of Gavin, however, he tried to straight up.

"Lord Bairnsdale!"

"Hello, Everton," Gavin said, handing over his hat to the butler. "This is Mr. Jasper Smyth. He'll be staying here for a few months."

Gavin looked over his shoulder at Jasper, inspecting the white chair rail that lined the narrow foyer. The wallpaper was a royal blue with a white filigree design, and for a moment he wondered if Holly would like his home.

"Very good sir," Everton said. "Shall I ring for tea?"

"I don't see why not," Gavin said as he led the way to the large office on his right.

It had once been the former residence's library, but Gavin had found that it had best suited his needs as an office. Its tall mahogany bookshelves held more records and bank notes than books and a large oak desk sat in the center of the room.

"This is all yours?" Jasper asked, turning around the room. "And you are not indebted to anyone?"

"I am not," Gavin said, watching the boy with a curious gaze. He folded his arms across his chest and, coming up to his desk, leaned against it as he watched his brother-in-law. "You know, your sister is near furious with me for letting you stay here. I hope I shouldn't have to worry about her anxieties."

Jasper turned to face him and shook his head.

"Holly is dramatic. She assumes I'm going to burn down every place I enter."

"Why is that?"

He shrugged.

"Who knows? I mean, it could be that I once started a fire at the barn at Felton Manor, but I put it out," he said quickly, giving Gavin pause.

"You almost burned down the barn?"

Perhaps Holly was right about her brother. But there was something familiar in him, something Gavin could understand, and he wanted to know more if only to appease his own curiosity about him.

"Almost. And really, it was all Katrina's idea. But I was blamed, as always," he said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone as he looked down. "Holly always thinks I'm the one messing things up and while I have, it doesn't mean I'm always going to mess up. Does that make sense?"

"It does," Gavin said with a nod. "Which is why I'm trusting that you'll take your time here seriously. I'm aware that Eton is not for everyone and if you don't wish to return, I don't see why you must. If you can earn a viable living without learning Latin, I think you should." The drop in Jasper's shoulders told Gavin something he already knew. "But you don't want to earn a living, do you?"

"It's not that I'm opposed to work," the youth said. "But why work when there's so many other things to do?"

"You have no way to support yourself. If Felton Manor isn't where you intend to make your fortune, what else do you have planned?"

Jasper was quiet momentarily, and Gavin thought he saw something flash across his face. Some sort of yearning, but he didn't press. Instead, he simply waited for Jasper to respond.

"I'm not lazy," he said suddenly, looking up. "I know that's what she thinks. But it's not true. It's just that I don't want to be a farmer." Gavin nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I know it's what I was born for. I'm a gentleman's only son and my lot in life was to maintain that farm, but it isn't what I want and the longer I stayed there, the more I grew to hate it. Particularly because Holly was so sure that it was what I was meant to do, what I should be striving for."

"And what is it that you want to do?"

"I want to travel. I want to leave England and go overseas and discover things and whatnot," he said, his tone earnest as his gaze dropped to the plush, ornate carpet beneath their feet. "It's ridiculous, I know, but it's another reason why I've been trying to earn money gambling. I'm good with numbers and it's easy for me. I just don't want to worry about wheat and cows and if the Mannions were going to show up every week and talk about the same old things."

Gavin observed him. He could understand the desire to leave, to go out into the wide world and discover a part of himself that was on the other side of the world and in his heart simultaneously. Yes, Gavin could understand that, and it was somewhat jarring to hear it from someone other than himself.

After a moment longer, he pushed himself up off the desk.

"Then I think you should."

Jasper's head whipped up; shock displayed on his face. He seemed suspicious of Gavin's words.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do."

"But Holly will never agree."

"Agree to what? It's your home, to do with as you wish. In a few short weeks, she won't be able to stop you. Speaking from experience, I know what it means, to want to leave everything behind. That said, I obviously wouldn't want to break your sisters' hearts by having you disappear."

Jasper frowned.

"What do you want me to do then?"

"I want you to come up with a plan. I have some connections that can get you on a dozen or so merchant ships. I know you'd rather just tarry about, but travel across the seas can become tedious and it's always good to keep busy. Not to mention that without your farm, you'll need funds. The sale of Felton Manor won't line your pockets forever. Sooner or later, you'll be required to work."

"But I don't know how to do anything."

"Nonsense. You may not be graduating from Eton but you just said you were good with numbers. In the meantime, figure out how long you wish to be away for, but plan for a short return in at least six months. It'll be easier on Holly to know you intend to come home, at least to visit."

"Are you serious?"

"Very much so. And I hope your penmanship is up to snuff. You'll be writing both Holly and Katrina daily."

Jasper's mouth tightened, and he looked like he was considering something.

"I would still like to sell Felton Manor. I have my debts, you understand."

"Yes, I'm aware."

"As well as a membership that wants paying."

That caught Gavin's attention.

"What membership?"

"To Clemet Club."

"Clemet Club?" Gavin repeated, his brow rising. "Why on earth are you muddling around with that place?"

"After I was kicked out of White's, I went to one of the taverns around that way. I saw a card game going on and managed to get myself into play. It turned out, one of the players was the proprietor to the Clemet Club, Mr. Kilmann himself." Jasper puffed out his chest proudly. "He offered me a year membership, due to how well I was playing."

Gavin stared at the young man. Was he so unaware of those who would take advantage of him?

"Kilmann isn't the sort of man to be trifled with, Jasper. He's dangerous and will likely end you if you aren't able to pay your debts. Why he's offered you a membership to his club when you're already in debt is beyond me—"

"Well, that's it. I told him Felton Manor was as good as sold. I was just waiting on the money to be delivered."

Gavin's mouth nearly dropped.

"Have you gone mad? Lying to a man like Kilmann will get you murdered."

"But you just said I should sell Felton Manor," Jasper said defiantly.

"I did, but I didn't tell a lie about it. Especially not to one of London's most notorious gamblers." Gavin shook his head, increasingly unsure if his original intent to help his brother-in-law was correct. "Listen, I want you to stay here. Don't go out and certainly don't go to the Clemet Club until the sale of Felton Manor is complete. Do you understand?"

"But who's going to buy it?"

"Leave that to me," Gavin said. "In the meantime, just stay put and don't go making waves." Jasper looked like he might want to argue, but then he smartly nodded. "Now all I have to do is somehow convince your sister that this is the best option."

"Good luck. She'll never willingly give up the manor. She's so damn sure that if she can hold onto it, she might be able to turn back time and be happy. But there's no use."

His words caught Gavin off balance.

"What do you mean, be happy?"

"Don't you see it? She's miserable."

"Surely not."

"Well, not since you've been around, I suppose. But before, she was always worried and miserable. I know your uncle set up this whole, proxy marriage thing, but if I were you I'd be furious to be linked to someone who's so tightly wound."

"Your sister isn't tightly wound," Gavin said more annoyed than he intended. "She's strained and working against to wind when it comes to her family," he said pointedly. "But she's smart and resilient and far stronger than you give her credit for."

For a long moment Jasper remained silent. Gavin turned, wondering if he should leave soon when his brother-in-law spoke. "Do you really care about her?"

Gavin turned back to face him.

"I do."

A moment of silence, then.

"Well, I'll be. I guess old John knew what he was doing." Jasper shook his head. "You know, he said something to me once last summer. Something about how Holly would do well to meet you, but I didn't think he was serious. He was always coming up with ideas and writing them in those daft journals of his."

"Journals?"

"Yes, the ones he left you, I gather. He always was so sure that whatever he wrote down in those books was brilliant, but I never believed him." Jasper shrugged, looking around the room. "So, which room is mine?"

Gavin was temporarily distracted, thinking about the journals. But the next moment, he called for Everton and instructed his butler to show Jasper the rest of the house as he left. He needed to return to Bairnsdale Terrace.

So, Uncle John had written about them? Gavin was suddenly consumed with a need to read through all his uncle's journals immediately. He wondered what else his uncle had managed to write down. Maybe he could understand Holly a little better if he could read about her from a friend's point of view.

He also now needed to figure out how he would facilitate the sale of Felton Manor so that Jasper could follow his dream while simultaneously crushing Holly's hope of keeping her family home in her brother's possession.

Ah, the joys of dealing with in-laws.