Page 4 of Scandal at Greystone Manor

‘That is meant to be my dowry.’

‘But, Jane, you are never going to marry, are you?’

Only a brother would be so blunt. It hurt, but she didn’t show it. ‘Maybe not, but I have other plans for my inheritance.’

‘More important than rescuing your only brother from the River Tick?’

She sighed heavily. She had a dream of opening an orphanage for some of the children of men lost in the recent war. The idea had come about when she had been in London the year before. She had seen some ragged, barefoot children running about the streets begging and when she spoke to one of them, to the dismay of her mother who had accompanied her, she was told a tale which made her heart bleed for him. His father had been killed in a battle in far-off Portugal, his mother had been forced into service where children were not welcome and because she was obliged to live in, she had to give up the tenancy of their two tiny rooms. He slept in doorways or under the trees in the park. ‘I do well enough,’ he told her, holding out his hand for money.

How many more were there like that? she had asked herself, how many children were there without homes, without adequate clothing and enough to eat? ‘Surely the government should do something about them,’ she had said to her mother, as they left the child clutching a sixpence. ‘Their fathers fought for king and country and that is how they are rewarded. It’s a disgrace.’

‘I do not see what we can do about it.’

‘We can speak to Sir Mortimer for a start.’ Sir Mortimer Belton was their local Member of Parliament. ‘If the problem is put to him, he might bring it up in Parliament. We could make a fuss, bring it to the public’s attention. Raise a subscription to provide the children with homes.’

‘Oh, dear,’ her mother had said. ‘That sounds like a crusade.’

And a crusade it had become, but trying to make the government move was like tickling a tortoise. Jane had decided that she must set an example—not on a grand scale, she could not afford that, but she could do something locally. A small boarding school for about a dozen orphans of soldiers in their own vicinity was what she had in mind. It might encourage others to do the same in their own localities. The five thousand pounds she had would not be enough and she had enlisted the help of the Rector, the Reverend Mr Henry Caulder and his wife, to raise funds. They had decided that the best way to do it was to find philanthropic sponsors. To encourage them, she would put her own money into the venture, she had told them. If she gave her inheritance to Teddy, it would put an end to her plans before they had even begun to take shape.

‘Can you not ask Lord Bolsover for more time, so that we can think of something?’ she queried.

‘You don’t know his lordship, or you wouldn’t even suggest it.’

‘If he is such an unpleasant man, why do you associate with him?’

‘He is in the group I play with.’

‘Teddy, you are a fool and I do not wonder that Papa is angry with you.’

‘Do you think you can bring him round? He always listens to you. I will be for ever in your debt.’

She laughed. ‘You are in enough debt without adding me to your list, Teddy, but I’ll see what I can do with Papa. Not tonight, though. Give him time to calm down. How long will you stay?’

‘I cannot show my face back in London until at least Bolsover is satisfied.’

‘But what about your position at Halliday’s?’

‘What position?’

Even the almost-unshockable Jane was taken aback by that. ‘Oh, Teddy, don’t say you have been dismissed? No wonder Papa is furious.’

‘He don’t know about that. Daren’t tell him. If you can’t help me, I will have to go abroad, the Indies or India or something.’

‘That will break Mama’s heart. And the disgrace will be hard to live down. And there’s Isabel’s wedding in a month’s time. What do you think Mark will say about a scandal like that hanging over the nuptials? Go away, Teddy, go and make yourself useful somewhere and let me think.’

He stood up and left her. Her thinking led her nowhere, except to the realisation that she would have to forfeit her inheritance. The thought of all those orphan children continuing to suffer because of her brother’s selfishness was more than she could bear. She had always been tolerant of Teddy’s foibles, but this time he had really angered her. If it were not for her mother’s distress and her sister’s wedding, she would let him stew.

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