by Alice Kirks
He set down his father’s hand for a moment and busied himself with fixing the sheets that were in disarray around his body. He pulled them all up so that they were comfortably under his armpits, and then sat down on the other side of the bed opposite Miles. When he did sit down, he heard Miles begin to talk to Lord Philip.
“Father,” Miles whispered to him, “I know that there is no way you can hear me, but I wanted to say something anyway.” Miles gripped his father’s hand a little tighter. “Thank you for providing us with the life we have. Thank you for showing us your love and attention all of our lives, and for making us into the men we are today. I know that we had our disagreements, but none of that matters now. Thank you for all you’ve done for us.” Miles kissed his father’s hand, lay it down on the bed, and looked over to Geoffrey.
Geoffrey assumed that was Miles’ signal for him to say goodbye to his father. Geoffrey felt his eyes welling up with tears, and looked away from his brother. He allowed himself a moment to breathe and let the feelings of the moment wash over him. Then, he wiped his eyes and looked up at his father.
When he did, he noticed that Miles, for once, was looking at him with concern and care on his face. It seemed that for the time being there was no animosity between the two brothers over who would be receiving what after Lord Philip died; there was just an understanding that they were both feeling the same thing.
Geoffrey took a deep breath and began. “Father, I hope you already know how much we appreciate all you’ve done for us. You are a great man who worked hard all his life to instill in us a sense of hard work, determination and understanding that nothing in life worth having comes easily.” Geoffrey grasped his father’s hand and used his handkerchief to wipe away some of the spittle that was coming out of Lord Philip’s mouth. “You taught us that family comes above all else, and that we should cherish every moment that life allows us for we never know which one will be our last.” As Geoffrey reached his last word, his voice broke and he could not continue.
He was overcome with emotion, and began crying as he laid his head against his father’s chest. He knew that it was terribly unmanly to do so, but he could not help it. When he finally raised his head, he saw that Miles had tears streaming down his face as well. He did not feel as foolish for weeping as he had a few moments before. He collected himself enough to finally say, “I love you, Father,” to Lord Philip, who still lay unmoving and breathing shallow on the bed before them.
But just as Geoffrey finished speaking, both men heard their father give one last rasping cough and say in a very quiet, hoarse voice, “My sons... here.” Once the words were out of his mouth, the breath stopped in Lord Philip’s chest and he was gone from the world. Each boy took a moment to themselves to silently bid their father farewell. Just as the sun was fully coming out from beyond the hills to begin a new day, Lord Philip Nott’s life had come to an end.
Chapter 11
The next few days were nothing but a blur to Geoffrey. He could clearly remember trying to plan his father’s funeral, people coming in and out of the house, the staff preparing the estate for the gathering, his brother taking to his room most of the time, and putting some food in his mouth here and there. Everything else, however, Geoffrey could not recall. It seemed that his mind was in a haze of grief and he wasn’t able to pull himself out of it for quite some time.
On the day of the funeral, Geoffrey and the gathered guests assembled in the great hall to pay their respects to Lord Philip. Many people from the community had come to bid farewell to a man who they all thought was fair and kind. Geoffrey took a quick moment to greet the Stanhopes when they came to give their condolences, but did not have the mental fortitude to say anything beyond the usual pleasantries. He was so distraught that he didn’t even notice that Lady Bridget seemed to be especially concerned about his state.
After Geoffrey had given the eulogy and the guests had eaten, people started to depart. It was not until then that Geoffrey realised that his brother was not among the assembled party. When he made this realisation, Geoffrey stormed up to his room and threw open the door. Miles lay on the bed, tossing a cricket ball in the air, and seemed undisturbed by his brother’s sudden arrival.
“I wondered when you’d realise I was missing,” Miles said simply. He continued tossing the ball above his face and catching it right before it knocked him on the nose.
“What could have possessed you to avoid your father’s funeral?” Geoffrey asked, incensed. “You and I were both there when he passed, and I was led to believe that in spite of the problems we’ve had in our past, we’d put them aside for this tragedy.”
Miles began to laugh, which only irritated Geoffrey more. “You thought that I would put aside over twenty years of sibling rivalry, and much more, because the man who was chiefly responsible for creating our conflict was dead?” Miles allowed himself another chuckle. “Perish the thought! I am not such a villain that I would torment our father on his death bed, but do not entertain the idea even for a moment that I might be mending fences with you, dear brother.”
At the sound of Miles’ mocking tone and the continued rage Geoffrey was feeling towards him, Geoffrey grabbed the ball that Miles had been tossing in mid-air and whipped it at a meaningless lamp that sat on Miles’ desk. It shattered gloriously, and Miles shot up in bed at the sound.
When he saw what had happened, Miles turned to his brother and gave him a wicked smile. “It seems my plan to enrage you is working. What else would you like me to do to make things worse, brother? Shall I run naked around the estate that will soon belong entirely to you? Shall I run amok in the village and make plenty of work for the new magistrate? Shall I make myself comfortable in the house that has been my home my whole life so much so that you may not remove me from it when it becomes yours?”
Geoffrey saw that now was not the time to have any further discussion with Miles. He stormed from his brother’s room, and desperately wanted to take a few moments to collect himself in his own room. Unfortunately, as Miles was not downstairs, that left only Geoffrey to deal with the funeral guests in addition to tending to his own feelings. Not only was he enraged because of his brother’s insensitivity and absence from their father’s funeral, but he was also beginning to feel the weight of the choice his father had made about his life. Geoffrey felt as though he had finally been tossed into the box that he’d been avoiding for so long and that the walls were beginning to close in on him. He knew there was no escaping his responsibilities, but that didn’t make him dread them any less.
Geoffrey took a deep breath and went back to the great hall to be with the guests. However, as he rounded the final corner, his father’s representative, Mr. Bingham, caught his attention. “Lord Geoffrey, I do apologise for interrupting you, especially on such a heavy day,” Mr. Bingham began, “but I wondered if I might borrow you for a few moments to go over your father’s wishes. Is your brother about so that he might join us?”
Geoffrey felt his right eyebrow begin to twitch at the mention of his brother. “He and I spoke this morning, and he does not wish to be present when the will is read,” Geoffrey decided maliciously. If his brother couldn’t be bothered to show up for their father’s funeral, then he did not need to be present for the reading of the will.
Mr. Bingham gave Geoffrey a curt nod. “Shall we adjourn to your father’s study, then?” Geoffrey nodded, and the two men set off down the hall.
When they were comfortably seated in the study, Mr. Bingham pulled out Lord Philip’s will. “Would you like to read it, or shall I?” Mr. Bingham asked.
“Please go ahead,” Geoffrey urged him, trying not to allow his annoyance about his brother’s actions spill over into their conversation.
“Right then,” Mr. Bingham began. “This is the last will and testament of Lord Philip Chester Nott the Second. This will is bound by the...” Mr. Bingham began to go into all of the specifics of the will that Geoffrey had already heard a million times before when his father had h
im look it over.
“Shall we skip to the part that chiefly concerns me and my brother, Mr. Bingham?” Geoffrey asked him, trying to be as patient as he could.
Mr. Bingham looked up at Geoffrey, and although he looked momentarily surprised, he then understood and went on ahead to the important part. “I hereby leave the entirety of my estate to my eldest son, Geoffrey Fitzwilliam Nott. I also bestow upon him the title and position of magistrate and all of the duties and responsibilities that come along with it.”
Geoffrey felt the box that he had been thrown into being closed fully for the last time, and with it came a feeling of defeat. He was now exactly where he knew he would always end up, but had always secretly hoped there would be some way out of it. “Thank you, Mr. Bingham,” Geoffrey said with as much gratefulness as he could muster.
Mr. Bingham nodded politely to him, but added, “We are not finished yet, Lord Geoffrey, I am sorry.” Geoffrey looked at Mr. Bingham quizzically, but gestured for him to continue. “There is also another estate I have kept and planned to bestow upon Lord Miles Sampson Nott. However, I leave the decision of that estate’s control in the hands of Lord Geoffrey Fitzwilliam Nott.” Mr. Bingham looked at Geoffrey expectantly. “This means that your father has other land that he was planning to give to your brother, but it is up to you to decide if he receives it. What would you like to do?”
Geoffrey did not need to consider anything, and very quickly responded, “I shall combine both estates. Lord Miles is not yet responsible enough to be the master of his own estate.” Geoffrey knew that his anger was clouding his decision, but he didn’t care. His brother had sounded so sincere and genuine when he had been talking with his father as he died. And now, for him to have so utterly and completely changed was appalling to Geoffrey.
He truthfully did not believe that his brother was mature enough to run a household, but he knew that his decision would divide the brothers forever. But, now that the words were out of his mouth, Geoffrey was just going to have to deal with it.
Mr. Bingham gave Lord Geoffrey a nod and a small smile, but Geoffrey could tell that he was stunned with his decision. Mr. Bingham collected up the papers, shook Geoffrey’s hand and promised him he would have all the necessary paperwork drawn up for him as soon as possible. Geoffrey, satisfied with the outcome of the will, thanked him and watched as the small, bespectacled man left the room. It offered Geoffrey the opportunity to have the moment to himself that he had been craving for so long. Yet, as soon as he was alone, Geoffrey got up to leave the room. He couldn’t be alone with his thoughts, and so he returned to be with his guests as they departed.
Chapter 12
A week later Geoffrey stood in the drive, awaiting the arrival of the Stanhope family. Their carriage was slowly making its way up from the road, and Geoffrey was grateful to have an excuse to get outside. He had been cooped up in his father’s study (which, he supposed, was now his own, but it was far too early to call it that) for the majority of the last week; going over all of the unfinished business Lord Philip had been a part of when he had passed away, looking into the finer details of the will and ensuring everything that Lord Philip had wanted completed after his death was seen to.
Now, as the carriage pulled up right in front of him, Geoffrey felt a bit of lightness coming back into his chest after a week of nothing but heaviness. He and Miles had not seen each other once the entire week, and so Geoffrey was beginning to get desperate for someone other than the staff or Mr. Bingham to talk to. The promise of conversing with Lady Bridget was especially enticing.
When Lord Alymer opened the door and let his daughters out, Geoffrey found himself once again quite taken with Lady Bridget. She looked even more breathtaking than she had the last time he had seen her; or, perhaps, this time he was just more grateful and so that was clouding his opinion of her.
She wore a simple blue gown with a matching bonnet and spencer, and yet Geoffrey thought that when she was dressed less elegantly she looked the most beautiful. Lady Deborah also looked lovely in her simple white gown, but it truly was Bridget who was keeping Geoffrey’s attention.
“Good afternoon, Lord Geoffrey,” Lord Alymer greeted him pleasantly. “I am grateful that we were able to speak with you at the funeral; thank you so much for taking the time out of that dreadful day to converse with us. Your loss is unimaginable.”
Geoffrey nodded appreciatively and shook Lord Alymer’s hand. “You support through this time has meant so much, Lord Alymer. I am very pleased that my father had such a pleasant final evening with all of us.” Geoffrey noticed that Bridget’s eyes were looking misty, and so decided to pursue the subject no further. “Shall we go inside? It is rather nippy out here.”
The Stanhopes all nodded in agreement, and as they went inside Geoffrey noticed that Lady Deborah seemed to be looking around for something. “Will Lord Miles be joining us today?” Lady Deborah asked.
Geoffrey had to stop himself from rolling his eyes and sighing. “Unfortunately not,” Geoffrey said with faked politeness. “Lord Miles is keeping to himself in this intense time of grief.” Geoffrey was lying through his teeth, as it seemed Miles was doing exactly the opposite. Miles had friends over for long periods of time each day, and the young men were certainly never quiet.
Geoffrey was already fed up with his brother, and now to add this on top of everything else was almost too much. He hoped that Miles’ absence would dissuade Deborah from pursuing Miles. Lady Deborah was far too lovely to be a suitable match for Miles. She deserved someone far better.
When they reached the sitting room Geoffrey nearly took them inside, but then had an idea. He hadn’t liked sitting in the big, empty room since his father had died, for it always felt as though it was missing him. Instead, he took his guests down the hall to the library where they had all convened the other night. He noticed that when Lady Bridget realised where they were going, a small smile crept across her face.
Once they were all comfortably seated with Lord Alymer in one of the larger, plusher chairs, Geoffrey in a good wooden chair with a comfortable cushion for a seat and Bridget and Deborah together on the bigger couch, Lord Alymer launched into the real reason why they were there.
“Well, Lord Geoffrey, I suppose that amidst all of this grief, some congratulations are in order, are they not?” Lord Alymer said joyfully. The servants brought drinks in for the guests and the older gentleman raised his, with the others following suit. “Here is to your new position, your acquisition of this fine estate that was generously bestowed upon you by a great man, and to you recovering our stolen silver tankards!” The guests did cheers and then each took a drink. While they were drinking, Geoffrey thought on how the silver had been ‘recovered’.
A few days prior the gamekeeper, Mr. James Fenwych, of the Nott Estate had been out for his early morning patrol of the grounds. Parts of the grounds of the estate were obscured by some woods, and Mr. Fenwych always made going through the woods a part of his duties. On this particular patrol, Mr. Fenwych had walked as far as the public path that lay right at the edge of the woods.
He had noticed something odd looking on the path; at first thinking nothing of it, however, as it could have easily been some foliage. But as he got closer, he realised that it was a sack with something in it. When he opened it, he discovered it contained the silver that had been stolen from the Stanhopes.
Upon being told where and when the silver had been discovered, Geoffrey was very disappointed. The discovery had been made too close to the family estate, and though there was no suspicion of the Notts being involved with the robbery, Geoffrey always liked to be extra cautious. He made a mental note to call on Henry later, which he had been meaning to do ever since the tankards had been discovered.
The matter was made even more urgent because of the fact that the jewels that had been hidden inside of the tankards had not been discovered. And unfortunately, even though Geoffrey was involved with the theft, because he had passed the goods off to his cousin
to take care of that night he had no inclination as to where the jewels were.
“It brought me the utmost joy to have those special items recovered for you, Lord Alymer,” Geoffrey said.
