Page 71 of The Baron Takes a Bet
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 alwaysgoingto 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.”
