Page 44 of The Widow's Scandalous Gentleman
“I thought it prudent,” Jasper replied, “to offer you something more than market value. This place is not a parcel of land with windows. It is a community. A fragile, defiant one. For how much longer it remains… I cannot say.”
Margaret spoke then, her gaze steady on her brother. “What happened here, Jasper?”
He hesitated. “It was targeted. The Retreat offered artists a place to live, work, and support each other—without the rigid oversight of conventional society. That alone made it dangerous to some. It challenged a structure they’d rather leave unexamined.”
Sebastian’s brow lowered slightly, but he said nothing.
Jasper continued, his voice calm but clipped. “A coordinated attempt was made to destroy it. Legal inquiries. Social defamation. Family pressure. The usual arsenal. Some of it even worked. Our exhibitions were shut down. Commissions rescinded. The Retreat formally suspended.”
Margaret absorbed this without blinking. “And what of you?”
“I tried to help,” Jasper replied. “But it seems my help only added weight to the target. My name brought attention. My presence lent credence to the very suspicions I meant to dispel.” His voice faltered just slightly. “My involvement was… misread.”
“Was it?” Margaret asked, too softly to be rebuke.
Jasper’s jaw shifted. “Not always.”
Sebastian finally set down his tea. “I see now why your letters stopped.”
“You were going to leave this morning,” Margaret said. “Why?”
“Because Thalia—Lady Greaves—believed it was the only way to protect me.”
Sebastian glanced toward the empty teacup that had been Thalia’s. “I’m surprised you allowed her to send you off.”
Jasper gave a hollow laugh. “I didn’t. But I nearly let her.”
Margaret leaned back in her chair. “So. Now we’re here.”
“You are,” Jasper said. “And I find myself unsure whether to be relieved or very, very concerned.”
Sebastian looked at his younger brother for a long moment. “You may be both.”
He reached into his coat and removed a folded document. “Before we left Vexwood, I took the liberty of having our solicitor draft a preliminary acquisition agreement. The Retreat and its surrounding land parcels—assuming the owners are willing—could be purchased within a week or two.”
Jasper blinked. “You intend to go through with it?”
Sebastian gave a single, decisive nod. “The location is sound. The structure holds value. And the purpose—should it continue—may yet be salvaged, if formalised under more… durable protections.”
Margaret added, “And less vulnerable associations.”
“Meaning?” Jasper asked.
“Meaning,” Sebastian said, “that your name will not appear in any official records. Nor will your involvement continue publicly. This matter has already drawn enough ink.”
Silence bloomed again.
Then Jasper said, slowly, “You would make Thalia—Lady Greaves—the manager?”
“That would be up to her,” Sebastian replied. “But it is one possibility.”
Margaret added, “You may have made a mess of things here, Jasper. But you have also shown us something we might not otherwise have seen. That counts for something.”
Jasper looked between them.
“You came to scold me,” he said, “and brought a solution.”
“We came,” Margaret said quietly, “because you are our brother.”
