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Chapter 14

“You haven’t answered my question! – I want to know how much money my swindling swine of an half-brother has stolen off me – with your help I hasten to add!” William gave Wolfram a hard stare, leaning towards him, both hands on the table

“I- I um, er sir, to my knowledge, I er-“

“Out with it man!”

“About £20,000”

“About?”

“£19, 894, 7s 9d, to be precise!”

“What have I got left?”

“Apart from the house – very little, the stables, horses – paintings and furniture – of course, I wasn’t able to liquidise your wife’s assets, so Sir jasper wasn’t able to borrow against them - they don’t come to her until she is 25”

William brightened slightly at this, he’d forgotten about Buffy’s inheritance.

“And that will be?”

“In the region of £5,000, sir”

“Well that’s something. Tell me, who is Jasper’s biggest debt to?”

“That would be to Lord Athelborough on the Burleigh Estate – you, ahem, I mean Sir Jasper owes him £8,000 – he expects to get the deeds to half the house before the end of the month”

“Well he’ll just have to expect, he can’t have what he’s not entitled to – he didn’t own half of this house in the first place – and if Lord Athelborough was under that impression, then he’s sadly mistaken – I cannot and will not allow my half-brother to undermine me and what’s mine, he’s responsible for his debts, not me.

Who else does he owe?”

“Several sir…besides the butcher and the vintner”

Pass his address on to them, again I have not been here, I will not pay for things I have not had!”

“What address?”

“Find out – I should imagine you can begin at Drusilla’s uncle homestead”

Outside, William could hear horses hooves on the cobbles. A few minutes later, one of the footmen appeared with a letter on a silver salver for William.

Taking it, William read that he was to be commended for bravery in battle, and had saved hundreds of soldiers lives with his battle strategy. This good news bought with it the promise of a medal and a payment of £10,000! William could have almost wept with joy – he dashed to his wife’s bedchamber to tell them of his good news.

“My husband – you had such a look of despair when you left this morning after breakfast – indeed I feared for your sanity as such a melancholia became you and-“

“Hush my darling, I have great news, we are not ruined after all! I am to receive a medal, with this medal comes a payment of £10,000, and with your inheritance in a few months, we will be able to continue to live here”

“It was in doubt?” Buffy asked surprised

“You do not know the half of what my wicked step-brother has been up to my love, but none of that matters now, just so long as I have you and my children, and your good health and can give you a decent roof over our heads…”

*********************


“What is your intensions sir?” Ethan asked Sir Jasper.

Sir Jasper didn’t like to be questioned, he didn’t like to be questioned by ANYBODY let alone this weasely little runt like Drusilla’s uncle, whom he thought of as less than a servant.

“About what?”

“Well, your creditors will soon catch up with you if you stay here – and the place isn’t big enough, especially not now, given the circumstances”

Sir Jasper put down his mug of wine and frowned

“What are you on about, hmm? What circumstances?”

“Given that my niece is with-child – don’t tell me she hasn’t told you yet? I can’t have a baby in this house, I need it for my own business and guh – errk! Le-go, leggo- you’re chok-ing me!” Scrabbling with his fingers at the hand that was cutting off his air-supply, Ethan’s feet were barely touching the floor, Sir Jasper’s big meaty hand crushing at his scrawny windpipe. There was a muffled thump from the next room, and then the sound of breaking glass. Jasper dropped Ethan like a rag doll and went to investigate.

Ethan fell on the floor, he had spots before his eyes, he was heaving and choking for breath, coughing and spluttering. He rubbed his bruised neck, and he could hear in the next room

“You clumsy BITCH! – We could have sold that!”

Drusilla shrieked at the back-hander Jasper lashed across her face

“Angel – Angel – you HIT me!”

“I’ll do more than hit you, you whore – how DARE you get pregnant!”

“But I thought you’d be pleased! – When we are married we can be a proper family, and –“

“Let’s get one thing straight, I have not got ANY intention to marry you, I never have had, and I never will – you think I’d want a poor excuse of whore like YOU to be my bride, huh? – I mean, look at the state of you!”

Instead of reducing her to tears, Drusilla seemed to have a red mist come before her eyes, and she leapt at Sir Jasper, knocking them both to the floor, where upon she ‘came-to’ after several minutes, she was sitting on Sir Jasper’s back, repeatedly banging his head on the floor in the broken glass, his long greasy locks entwined through her fingers…

She climbed off him, and kicked him hard in the face, but got no reaction
Wondering what to do next, she went into the other room to see her uncle shakily taking a drink

“You can both leave – I will not have that man under my roof-“

“He can rot…why did you tell him uncle – why? I wanted to tell him when *I* was ready!”

Ethan eyed her bruised cheek and said,

“Huh, and do you think that the news would have been better received at any other time, do you?

They both heard a groaning from the other room

“Say nothing uncle, but I promise he won’t stay”

“Make sure he doesn’t”

Ethan made a mental note to take to bed his sharpest blade with him, just in case.

******************


Drusilla sat on a chair keeping a careful eye on Sir Jasper.

When it was clear he was coming round, she went over to him and said gently

“Come on my love – my Angel to bed!” Not knowing where the hell he was, sir Jasper staggered to his feet. His face and whole head hurt like hell, and he mumbled something.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, nearly there………open the door and --- GET OUT AND STAY OUT!” With one almighty shove, Drusilla shoved the still drunken hulk out of the door, where he promptly fell over – he was out cold. She bolted the door and shifted the heavy table across it. She felt a pain in her stomach, and heaved for a calming breath – at least she could sleep now.

She moved to the other back room, poked the dying embers of the fire, and lay down on an over-stuffed couch. She pulled a thick soft rug over herself and fell into a fitful sleep.

She woke to a clattering and hearing a dog barking outside, she could hear Jasper cursing and swearing, but luckily he made no move to knock at the door.

Ethan looked out of the small window and saw Jasper stumbling about in the yard, saw him fall over and not get up. Well at least his niece kept her promise, and didn’t let the drunken sot stay the night.

Seeing her on the sofa, Ethan did feel a twinge of pity for the poor girl, it was just like so called ‘gentry’ to make free and then blame the girl for getting pregnant

“Dru…DRU”

“Uh –oh, uncle – I didn’t let-“

“It’s okay, I know. Go to my room – you can have a sleep in my bed, go on, I’ll bring you a dish of milk later”

“Thankyou uncle!” Drusilla went to Ethan’s room. Ethan knew that the farm hand, a monster sized man would be here any minute, and although a gentle giant, it would be enough him being around the place to stop Sir Jasper from starting any ‘funny business’.





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