The Reluctant Earl Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t belong to us; he was Welbourne’s heir and he belonged to the earl.  We were to keep away.”
    Jarvis shut his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again they were bright with unshed tears.  “My father was livid.  He actually drove to Welbourne and demanded entrance to the house.”  The lines in his face seemed to deepen.  “Welbourne had his footmen forcibly take my father back to his carriage and he gave orders to the coachman to leave.”  Jarvis’s mouth set in a grim line.  “My father came home a broken man.  He never got over losing Annabelle, and then, to lose her child as well.  He took to his bed and died three months later.  I never believed people could die of a broken heart, but my father surely did.”
    Liam said softly, “A tale of great sorrow, Mr. Jarvis.”
    “Yes, it is.  It started when my father decided to marry my sister into the nobility.  He was a brilliant man, my father, and incredibly successful, yet he was never accepted into the highest level of English society.  In that closed little world, as I’m sure you have noticed,” and here his eyes moved from Liam to Coke, both of them successful, middle class men, “in that world, virtues such as intelligence, moral fiber, education, talent, all of those splendid qualities, count for nothing without birth. 
    He paused, clearly trying to collect his temper.  “Well … my father doted on Annabelle, his only daughter.  She was a beautiful girl and he wanted her to have a title.  She deserved a title, he thought.  So poor little Annabelle, at the age of eighteen, was married to the Earl of Wellbourne, a man twelve years older than she.”
    “The marriage settlement must have been significant,” Mr. Coke said drily.
    “It was.  Welbourne was deeply in debt and my father paid off all his creditors.  My father also added enough money for the earl to bring his estates up to snuff so he would have a decent income for the rest of his life.  The Earl of Welbourne did very well out of Annabelle.”
    Jarvis’ voice was deeply bitter.
    “I assume the bequest to Lord Woodbridge was included in the marriage settlement,” Mr. Coke said.
    “Yes.  My father insisted upon it.  Annabelle and Welbourne’s eldest son was to receive the sum of one hundred thousand pounds, plus the interest it accrued while it was invested.  I have invested it in the five percents, so it has increased in value quite nicely.”
    Liam stared in astonishment.  One hundred thousand pounds! That was a fortune .
    Jarvis was continuing, “Welbourne didn’t like it, but my father had been so generous he couldn’t protest.  Compared to the money he was getting, it was a pittance.”
    Liam blinked at the thought of one hundred thousand pounds – plus interest - being called a pittance.
    “Our solicitor drew up the paperwork for the trust and made sure it was worded in such a way that it could not be broken.” 
    Coke said, “Eighteen is not the age of legal majority.  Lord Woodbridge cannot legally have charge of his money until he turns twenty-one.  Was there a trustee named to administer the money until he comes of age?”
    “Yes.  My father named me.”
    Thanks be to God it wasn’t Welbourne, Liam thought.
    “My position as trustee of the inheritance does not make me Simon’s guardian, of course.  His guardian will still be his father.  But this inheritance gives me a legal reason to enter Simon’s life, and I intend to take advantage of it.”
    “That would be grand,” Liam said.  “The boy needs someone to stand up to Lord Welbourne.”
    Jarvis sat for a moment in silence, his eyes on Liam.  “Would you say that Welbourne was a more distant father than usual among the nobility, Mr. O’Rourke?”
    Liam smiled wryly.  “I’m not exactly an expert on the English nobility, Mr. Jarvis, but I would say the earl has gone out of his way to reject Simon.  It’s more than just the lack of time a busy father has for his