Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

" T here is someone here to see you, Your Grace."

Jasper, who had been reading in the drawing room, nodded to his butler. "Thank you, Rogers. You may show them in."

Standing, Jasper took a moment to smooth out his shirt. Glancing out the window, he found himself hoping that Arabella had returned from her morning's excursion already. But he knew that was only wishful thinking. She had gone to see a friend today and had told him that she would not be home until much later in the afternoon.

It was the strangest thing. Ever since their conversation when he had told her about his condition, things had changed between them. It was as if a match had been struck, illuminating the unknown darkness around them both. And, with it, Jasper had begun to fall for Arabella in a way he could never have expected.

Now, he found himself wishing to spend every moment with her, his mind filled with thoughts of her when she was not around. There was so much more he wanted to learn about her, so much he wanted to know.

But all of that would have to wait until her return.

Forcing his thoughts back to the present, Jasper prepared to greet his guest. But, when a young, familiar face peered hesitantly around the door, Jasper found himself perplexed.

A moment later, Mr. Rogers introduced the young man. "Mr. Merton, Your Grace."

As the butler departed, Jasper looked Arabella's brother up and down in astonishment. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Thomas glanced nervously around the room. "I – er, is my sister here?" he asked quietly.

"I'm afraid she is out this afternoon. Was she expecting your visit?"

"No." Thomas pressed his lips together, hands clasped tightly before him.

Silence fell over the room. Jasper had no idea what to do. It was obvious that the young man was in distress and clearly uncomfortable. The duke was not even sure whether Thomas' family were aware of his presence here at the estate. Something told him that they were not.

At another time in his life, Jasper might simply have suggested that Thomas come back another time to see his sister. But, as he watched the young man wring his hands, remembering how Thomas' family had eagerly and joyfully accepted him into their lives, Jasper knew that he could not send the young man away empty handed.

"Was there something you had hoped your sister might help you with?" Jasper suggested, breaking the silence.

Nodding, Thomas offered no further explanation.

Thinking quickly, Jasper tried another tactic. "If I remember correctly, you are a great fan of riding, are you not?" he asked nonchalantly.

At this, Thomas frowned slightly. He looked up at Jasper, confused. "I am."

"Seeing as your sister is away – and you have made the trip out to see her – you might as well stay a little while and see our horses. Will you allow me to show you the stables?"

As Thomas' eyes widened eagerly, Jasper knew that the young man was intrigued. "That is, if you can spare the time," he added.

"I – I think that will be all right," Thomas mused, seeming to waver between his excitement and whatever it was that had brought him here in the first place.

Maintaining his casual demeanor, Jasper held out his hand. "I am glad to hear it. Shall we?"

Following a little way behind him, Thomas allowed the duke to lead him out of the house and across the green.

Jasper had very little idea what he was going to do next, but he could see that the young man was upset. It was obvious he wished to speak to someone about something and, if Arabella was not there to help him, then perhaps Thomas would allow someone else to offer counsel. Though why Thomas would trust Jasper enough to do that, Jasper did not know. Still, he felt the need to try.

"There are so many!" Thomas gasped as they stepped into the stables. His anxieties momentarily forgotten, he surged forward, his eyes flicking everywhere in unrestrained curiosity.

"Your sister has seen to it that the horses are well exercised," Jasper mused, staying back, and allowing the young man to greet the animals.

"She must be thrilled," Thomas breathed, reaching out to stroke one horse's nose.

To Jasper's surprise, the young man was exceedingly gentle with the beast, offering the horse his hand to smell before reaching out to patiently stroke its nose, forehead, and then neck. When he spoke next, his voice was a little quieter so as not to spook the animal.

Many young men his age would not treat such a creature with nearly as much consideration. This was another testament to the skill and love with which Emily and Peter had raised their children.

"I have never seen such strong animals. Do you think she is able to handle them?" he asked Jasper, his gaze never leaving the horse before him.

"From what I can see, she is more than capable of handling any of our horses," Jasper replied. "Though I am sure you will wish to see that for yourself one of these days," he added with a smirk. "She still expects you to race her, does she not?"

Thomas laughed, but the sound was small, and his smile faded away almost instantly. He was thinking, no doubt, of the problem that had led him here today.

Taking the opportunity, Jasper came to stand beside the young man, reaching out to stroke the horse's neck. "You and she must be close. I am sure she will be sorry to have missed your visit today."

"She is a good listener," Thomas murmured. Then, with a shaky sigh, he turned to look up at Jasper. "You are certain that she will not be back for some time?"

"I am afraid so. But," Jasper added, carefully parceling out his words – he did not want the boy to feel pressured about anything – "if there is anything you wish to talk about, you may speak with me. Only if you wish to," he added.

Thomas' brow furrowed as he considered this. Jasper found himself surprised at how the movement suddenly aged the young man. Thomas could be no more than fourteen or fifteen years of age. He was on the cusp of manhood, but much of his speech and behavior still belayed his youth.

"It is silly," Thomas said after a moment. He scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly. But, when Jasper said nothing, the youngest Merton continued. "I – I have a habit of getting myself into trouble. I do not think about the consequences of my actions. At least, that is what my mother says. And she is going to be ever so cross with me when she finds out," he added, his voice breaking.

Pitying the boy, Jasper spoke up. "When I was a young man, I had a habit of getting into trouble too," he said. "I was wont to create mischief, you might say."

At this Thomas' eyes grew wide. "You? But you are a duke. My mother says that she has never met a man so gentlemanly or refined."

"Well, I am flattered by her praise," Jasper admitted. "But I was not always very deserving of such kind words. If you were to ask my uncle, he would say that, for a time, he was afraid I would never grow up."

As Thomas continued to look up at him in amazement, Jasper continued. "I was immature. And I learned, like you, that I was acting impulsively instead of thinking through what I said and did. I regret my rash behavior."

Thomas hung his head. "Surely you never did anything so bad as me," he murmured mournfully.

"One time I sold off my uncle's prize horse so that I could pay for a week of carousing in town." Jasper smiled ruefully at the memory. "I thought my uncle was going to kill me when he found out. Right then and there, with his bare hands."

"Now," he added, raising an eyebrow, "whatever you have done cannot be so bad as that, now, can it?"

As Thomas put a hand over his mouth, Jasper spied a hint of a smile on the young man's face. "It is not as bad as that," he admitted with a shy laugh.

Joining in, Jasper's smile widened. "And here I am – a refined gentleman as your mother says. I managed to survive the incident. And the key was to admit my misdeeds and take steps to prevent such behavior in myself in future." Jasper's smile faded, but his sincerity did not. "Do you think that might be something you could do, too?"

Thomas sighed, hanging his head. "Father gave me a small allowance. Mother asked him to. I was to spend it on new clothes. I have not had any for some time. And I had every intention of doing just that," Thomas protested, "but…"

"I know my family is not very wealthy," the young man admitted. Once again, he wore that expression which made him look at least five years older. "People say that father is not good with money. I – I was just trying to help. I thought that, if I could make some money for the family, then mother and father could stop worrying so much."

Jasper waited for Thomas to go on, but the young man seemed to be having difficulty. Guessing at what Thomas might be getting at, Jasper cleared his throat. "Did someone offer you an opportunity to make some money? With the money you already had?"

Thomas glanced up quickly. "How did you know?"

Sighing, Jasper shook his head sadly. "Men have been trying to pull such cons for years, I am afraid."

"He said it was an investment. He said even I could do it," Thomas protested. "He said I would get my money back if the deal went bad."

Jasper had heard it all before. And it would seem as if Thomas had inherited his father's capacity for trusting people far more than they deserved. He could not blame the poor young man. It was obvious that Thomas had been trying to help his family. He was aware of their difficulties and had done the only thing that he could think of to help them out of their situation.

"It is not your fault that the money was lost," he assured Arabella's brother. "How could you have known that he was a conman?"

"I – I don't know," Jasper admitted. "But I should not have taken the chance."

Thinking for a moment, Jasper turned to Thomas. "That is a wise admission," he mused. "And it shows that you are already learning from your mistake. Trust me, many men much older and more experienced than you have also been taken in by others with promises of wealth and success. But not all business and investment is bad," Jasper added, his mind already jumping to the next thought.

"I would hate for you to be afraid of it simply because one man took advantage of your trust," he continued. "So how about you and I make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"I will give you the money that you should have earned from that investment. Half of which you will use to purchase new clothes, as your parents instructed. The other half you will use to invest in one of several ventures that I recommend. Whatever you make from that, you will get to keep."

Thomas stared up at him with an open mouth. "But – why? Why would you do that?"

"Well, from the way I see it, you will be helping me too. I plan on investing in several new ventures as well. Those that I am considering, I will recommend to you. You will hear out the details and tell me what you think of them. One person cannot see all the flaws in a matter. But an outside perspective can often pick up initially missed shortcomings. By choosing to invest in one of these ventures, you will be confirming for me what I, too, should do."

That, and, more importantly, Thomas would hopefully learn a little more about the pitfalls of such business. Indeed, Jasper might enjoy instructing Thomas in such matters. Perhaps some of it would even make its way back to Thomas' father.

This would be the best thing that Jasper could do for Thomas. Instead of merely covering up the young man's mistake, Jasper could use it to instruct him better for the future. After all, he would be the next earl when the time came. It would be up to Thomas to manage his father's estate.

The young man was nodding slowly, still rapt in amazement. "I – thank you," he breathed. "That is…my mother was right." He smiled up at Jasper and the duke could see Thomas' shoulders lift slightly as if a great burden had been stripped from them. "You are a good man, Your Grace. I am glad my sister married you."

Honored by Thomas' sincerity, Jasper nodded. "I am glad too."

Arabella was in a foul mood. She alighted from the carriage, her mind racing and her heart sinking. It only helped a little as she glanced up at the manor, realizing that the place had quickly become as familiar to her as her old home had been. Since when had that happened?

Sighing, Arabella brought her thoughts back to the present. She had been gone for some time and now, as she returned to the duke's estate, she could not help but feel that it had all been for naught.

Arabella had heard that Catherine would be at the luncheon of a mutual friend today and, in an attempt to waylay Catherine and finally discover the motives behind her friend's sudden silence, Arabella had attended the event.

But Catherine had been nowhere to be seen. And, after staying for several hours in the event that her friend might make an appearance, Arabella was finally forced to admit defeat.

It was in this dismal mood that Arabella returned home. But, when she glanced out over the estate and spotted two familiar figures making their way toward the manor, Arabella froze.

For a moment, she did not believe her eyes. Then, as the figures drew nearer, she picked up her skirts and hurried to meet them.

As soon as Thomas was within reach, Arabella threw out her arms and pulled her brother to her. She did not care if it was an indecorous display of affection. She had missed her brother terribly.

"What on earth are you doing here?" she asked him when she pulled back to take a better look at him.

As Thomas glanced back at Jasper, sharing a smile with her husband, Arabella's surprise grew. "I came to speak with you," Thomas informed her, turning back to Arabella. "But His Grace and I had a very helpful conversation."

"Oh?" Arabella flicked a glanced at Jasper. "About what, may I ask?"

Jasper smiled and shook his head. "I am afraid that is to stay between myself and your brother," he teased. "I am sworn to secrecy."

When Thomas laughed, Arabella glanced between the two, amazed and secretly delighted. Since when had her husband and brother grown so close?

"I think it was time I returned home," Thomas informed the duke and duchess. "Thank you again, Your Grace."

"Anytime," Jasper replied with a nod.

"You have no time to spare for your sister?" Arabella protested.

Smirking, Thomas shook his head. "Not today. But I will come and visit soon. His Grace has already invited me. We have business to discuss together."

Even more baffled, Arabella glanced up at her husband once more. "You do?"

Jasper nodded.

Without any protests left, Arabella was forced to say goodbye to her brother. Then, when she and the duke were alone once more, she raised an eyebrow, fixing him with a playfully withering stare.

"Well, now. Would you care to inform me as to what that was all about, Your Grace ?"