Sheffield

CHAPTER 15

It took him three days of hard riding to make Ireland. That last morning at Sheffield Grant had informed him of the Whitehouse's plan to occupy his family estate.

He could see no one as he approached. Passing the house proper he turned towards the stable. A stable hand greeted him in the yard and took his horse as he bound towards the house. He found his Father in the library staring into the fire, a glass of whiskey in his hand. At the sound of Ewan, the older Donal startled but upon recognition a large smile flooded his face and he quickly stood to embrace his son. "Ewan my boy. Oh! Ewan, let me have a look at you." The elder Donal pushed him to arms length and studied Ewan for several moments. "Oh! Where are my manners, let me get you a drink. Sit, sit you must have had a long ride."

The two men took a hefty accounting of the whiskey as Ewan recounted his time in England, omitting any mention of the Bennings. When it was done, he sat the whiskey glass down and looked earnestly at his Father, "What can be done?" The elder Donal laughed dryly, his cheeks rosy from whiskey and the warmth of the fire, he smiled sorrowfully at his son, "The estate was always your Mother's. We both knew it was willed to your Uncle upon her death. We just thought I would die first." He laughed again and took a long draught from his glass, "No help for it. No use to look so glum. Tell me of your sorrel filly." Ewan was taken aback by the request, "My what?" The elder Donal looked down his nose at his son, "Don't play games with your old man, tell me of your spirited filly. You did not take me for a dafty when you wrote me did you? You would never waste good paper on a gent's behalf." Ewan snorted and sat back in his chair, "She played me a fool, bucked me off hard and ran through the fence." The elder lifted the decanter, refilled Ewan's glass and slid it towards him, "Well now, so long as she is not a mule there is always something as can be done." Ewan laughed dryly as he lifted the glass towards his lips stopping short as a thought came into his mind, "Something to be done?" He stood abruptly and began pacing the room as his Father watched in perplexed silence.

"Da, I think you are right. I think there may be a way to save the estate from my Uncle." "Save the estate, my boy, were we not just talking of a woman or have I drank too much?" Ewan waved his hand at his Father, "No, no remember Miss Burke I wrote of? Well the gossip was that he thought of settling the estate on me should the match be made." The elder Donal sat back in his chair, "Aye? But I thought the Miss Burke did not suit you?" Ewan kept pacing, "Does it matter? If Uncle settled the estate on me I would marry a cow." "Aye and you with no taste for milk so what happiness would a cow bring you?" This queer observation halted Ewan's progress and he turned to face his Father in confusion. "Good God boy what I am saying is what good could a marriage to Miss Burke bring you?" "The estate," answered Ewan.

The elder Donal took a deep breath, "A pile of stone and a few fields for a lifetime of happiness seems a poor trade." Ewan looked at his Father dumbfounded, "This is our home." The elder Donal laughed, "I have always believed that it is the people, not the place, that make a home." Ewan shook his head, "Is that so? And what are you to do when this place is no longer your home?" "Ah, I have already settled it. I have commissioned the stock to Mr. Donahogue and I am to have a living with him as well, race trainer. So, you see son, all is well." Ewan's anger blossomed, "Well? You call that well? No, I cannot stand idle while you sell your heart's blood and become little more than a servant to Donahogue." "Pa!," the elder Donal waved a hand towards his son, "I have not had the heart of this place since I lost your Mother. I welcome the quitting of it." "Da! Are you mad? And Ma could hear you speak." The elder Donal cut in, "Aye, and she cannot. That is why there is no great loss." "You speak nonsense. No, I will turn this to rights." "And I have raised a fool," said the elder Donal. Ewan was deaf to his Father, "I will leave for London on the morrow. I will speak with Miss Burke and my Uncle and put this all to rights or I will not come back." His Father's brows rose sharply, "So I am to lose a son as well?" Ewan fell to a knee in front of his Father and took his hands, "I will make this right." The elder Donal shook his head in despair as Ewan left the room to make his preparations.

~

Miss Burke fluttered up to Janet as soon as she entered the elaborate ballroom. "Oh! Miss Grant are you not the essence of beauty, the food of poets? Have I not thrown the most magnificent ball for you?" Miss Burke wound Janet's arm through her own and guided her around the room. "Oh! Miss Burke it is glorious and much too, well, much." Miss Burke laughed coyly and patted Janet's arm, "Nothing is too much for my most essential of friends. Why I see us as almost sisters and I would do no less for a sister had I to have one but, alas, I do not and so I must dote on my closest of friends." Janet smiled warmly at the woman as Miss Burke pulled her into a corner, "You will never believe who has taken an interest in me?" "I can only believe it to be Mr. Donal," said Janet with a wry smile of her own. Miss Burke was wholly surprised, "Mr. Donal?" "Mr. Whitehouse told me he was back in London and that he met with his Uncle and with you. I believe we should be planning your wedding soon I should hope?" Miss Burke choked out words without thought as her spirits had been dampened by this turn of conversation, "Oh! God no."

Janet was wholly discomforted in Miss Burke's reaction to what she perceived the most delightful of news. Seeing the discomfort Miss Burke collected herself quickly, "Oh! Not to say that Mr. Donal did not seek me out in an attempt to renew his promise to me, he did. But my dear Miss Grant, could I, a very well bred and respectable lady consent to such an ill match even should he have swayed my feelings? I released him, what would be thought of me should I take back up with him?" Janet was without words for several moments, "But, I thought it is what you wanted. I mean I thought you loved him." Miss Burke waved Janet's words away, "It does not matter what I feel, it only matters how I act and it was impossible for me to renew any connection with Mr. Donal after such ill treatment." "But the ill treatment was at the hands of Miss Benning and not Mr. Donal was it not?" queried Janet.

"Oh! Miss Grant, are you to ruin the felicity of my news by insisting on discussing that horrid creature?" Janet slowly shook her head and Miss Burke erupted in a large grin, "Very well I will tell you if you insist, the Viscount of Burke. Can you believe? We were introduced some weeks ago but I thought he had no interest and then earlier this very evening he approached me and asked to have two dances. Two. Oh! Miss Grant isn't that just capital." Miss Burke pulled Janet in a slow circle around the room towards the buffet taking a line visible to all in attendance.

"Look, there he is beside your very own Mr. Whitehouse." Janet followed her gaze to the small group of men and noticed Charles staring intently at something. Her eyes followed his line of sight and found a ravishing blond in a pale blue dress which was fit so tight and low as almost to be scandalous. She batted her eyes over her fan towards Charles who looked, with hungry eyes, at the display. Janet was removed from her observations as Miss Burke commanded her attention again, "Do you know Miss Grant he has fifty thousand pounds and three houses? Three,one in Town, one in the country and one in Paris. Oh! Paris, what a marvel that would be. Can you not see me strolling down the streets of Paris? Oh but here he comes." The two women had stopped to the side of the buffet. Miss Burke dropped Janet's arm as the Viscount and Charles approached. The women made their bows, took the men's hands and were led onto the dance floor, Miss Burke beaming and Janet staring up at her betrothed beaming at a pale blue dress two couples to the left.