Page 20 of The Mad Marchams

“See?” She raised her eyebrows. “Easy.”

“Except it isn’t, because somehow I’ll also have to support the rest of the family.”

“Why?” she asked and looked genuinely perplexed.

“Because that’s the way it’s always been done. If one gets everything because of the stupid rule of primogeniture, one is morally obliged to support everyone who didn’t get a fair cut.”

“That is stupid. I mean, how many family members are we talking about here?”

Colin mentally reviewed his sprawling family tree. “About forty or so? And then there are retired employees who still live on the various estates—we can’t forget them, and everyone still employed at the various properties. And…” He clutched at his head. “It just gets worse the longer I think about it.”

“You can’t be the only person stuck in this predicament,” Mabel said. “What does everyone else do?”

“Throw in the towel?” Colin suggested as he rose to his feet. “Run off to America with an enticing Californian called Mabel and live on the beach for the rest of their lives?”

Her gaze became thoughtful. “I suppose you might if you were a quitter.”

He blinked at her. “Hey, I thought you were on my side.”

“I am, and for some reason, I just can’t imagine you ever abandoning all this.”

Colin sat beside her again. “Your kind but entirely misplaced good opinion of me is noted, appreciated, and ignored.”

She smiled at him. “You told me you’d changed—that you had to come home to face the music. Was that a lie?”

“No.” He held her gaze. “I’ve definitely changed. But I guess part of me thought I could come back here, talk to the solicitors, and tie everything up in a neat parcel with a bow. But it doesn’t work like that. I can’t sell the place. I can’t even sell off its assets or any land without basically taking myself to court.”

“That’s hard,” Mabel agreed.

“I was hoping, if I could do any of that, then I’d make sure my father was taken care of for the rest of his life and that was all that mattered.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “But now I’m stuck here worrying about the whole damned mess.”

She took his hand. “Okay, now that you’ve said your piece and let it all out, what are you going to do to save the estate?”

Colin opened and closed his mouth about three times before summoning the ability to speak.

“Did you not hear a word I just said, Mabel? Where the hell am I supposed to even start?”

Mabel smiled encouragingly at Colin. “That’s a really good question. If it were me, I’d probably round up the family and tell them the truth about the state of things.”

“Then they’ll all hate me,” Colin complained.

“They’ve got to hear it from someone, and they’re going to hate you anyway when things start to change.”

“True.” He nodded. “Might as well piss them all off right away so they don’t get their hopes up.”

“I think it will be a shock to learn how bad things are, but I bet they’ll all feel better knowing,” Mabel said encouragingly.

“Not necessarily. You’ve met my grandmother,” Colin reminded her. “She’s not going to like this at all.” He stood up. “Let’s go and walk in the rose garden while we talk this through. Much less chance of being overheard.”

The rose garden was about the same dimensions as Mabel’s apartment block in San Jose and way prettier. The scent of roses washed over her as they walked along a gravel path between the beds. She paused occasionally to smell a particularly alluring bloom as Colin tried to remember the name of each variety. At the end of the garden, Mabel got her first good look at the rear of the house, which was much less uniform than the front.

Colin pointed out each addition to the medieval priory that had been handed over to a grateful member of the Marcham family after the dissolution of the monasteries.

“Of course, the last person to have the money to do any significant building was my great grandfather who married an American railway heiress. Thank the lord she had a somewhat practical turn of mind and added heating, the occasional bathroom, and a decent conservatory on the sunny side of the house.”

Mabel glanced over at him. He’d undone the top button of his checked shirt and looked slightly less panic-stricken than he had in the library. Coming outside and talking about the good points of the amazing house had cheered him up.

“She replaced the roof as well. Not personally, obviously, but it needs redoing again.” Colin sighed. “I can’t even imagine how much that’s going to cost, but it’s a priority along with the Victorian plumbing.”