heir. Yes, I’ve made my decision.”
“May we know what you based it on?” Hugh’s father asked mildly—and rather bravely, Dan thought.
Oddly enough, Lord Myerly didn’t annihilate him, either verbally or with missiles. “Good question,” he allowed. “I have three grandsons. Colin is the eldest. Dan is the son of my eldest daughter. Hugh is…Hugh. I couldn’t make the decision based on age or birth, so I asked each of them what they would do with the land if they got it.” He glared around each of his grandsons. “None of you said anything remotely sensible, let alone practical.”
Dan smiled faintly into his glass. His grandfather was unlikely to recognize a sensible suggestion rammed under his nose.
“But Dan went and found out,” the old gentleman growled. “He talked to people, my old steward and his fiery son. He looked at the land, looked at the books, and nagged me to utter boredom!”
“Not Dan then,” Hugh murmured, and Dan cast him a quick grin.
“Why not Dan?” their grandfather demanded. “Because I quarreled with his mother? Because his father was a mere army captain?”
“Colonel,” Dan said mildly.
His grandfather ignored him, glaring instead from Hugh to Colin. “Well, here’s one in the eye for you, popinjay! And you, Master Ramrod. Dan will get the estate. Everything that is not entailed.” He thrust his glass out. “My heir!” he declared and drank.
Dan’s mouth fell open.
Jenny began to laugh.
“Well, that’s that,” Hugh said, sounding almost relieved.
“Papa, you cannot have considered…!” Tabetha spluttered.
“At least consider a three-way split of the estate, Papa,” Hetty wheedled.
“Three-way split?” her father repeated with contempt. “You never mentioned such a thing before, just how it would benefit Hugh, who apparently has this powerful affection for me! No, I’ve considered and considered well. He speaks his mind, and he cares what happens to the place, not just for how it will boost his standing. It’s done. My will is made and signed, and Dan is my heir. To Dan.”
He drank again. This time, Jenny echoed him. “To Dan!” she said and raised her glass to him before drinking.
“To Dan,” Hugh agreed, with a sigh. “At least now, you can get a new coat.”
“On my expectations?” Dan asked.
“He’s not even taking it seriously!” Tabetha exclaimed.
“I’m stunned,” Dan said frankly. “I’ll take it seriously when I can think again.”
“Oh, don’t pretend,” Colin flung at him. “You’ve been all over my grandfather since you got here, whispering in his ear, turning him against the rest of us…”
“Idiot!” Myerly roared, making everyone, including Colin, jump. It was as well Gun was not present. “Do you imagine I am incapable of independent thought? Or reason? Bah!” He knocked back the rest of his wine and waggled the glass at Waits, who walked over and refilled it before effacing himself.
This seemed to restore his lordship to good humor. “Well, I’ve said my piece and made my toast, and now we all know where we stand. However, seems to me I’m not dying yet after all, so you can go if you wish. On the other hand, you can stay on into next week, just in case I have a relapse. After Wednesday, there will be no more food until my funeral.”
“And by then,” Jenny said innocently, “we shall all be sponging shamelessly off Dan.”
*
Dan lay awake long into the night, his head full of the totally unexpected news. He was his grandfather’s heir. Myerly would be his. Unless the old man changed his mind again, so he should not set his heart on it. Nor should he sit back and wait for it to fall into his lap before he tried to bring about the improvements that would make such a difference to the lives of the people here.
But still, to be master of Myerly. To be able to run his own life instead of being dependent, to give his mother all the choice he wanted for her, to give her a home if she needed one…
It was odd, but until he had come here a week ago, he had never thought of Myerly as home. Coming here had been a chore, a dull chore, seasoned only by resentment on his side and on his grandfather’s. Now, of course, the resentment was all with his aunts and cousins, and he didn’t seem to care.
I will be a landowner. I will be respectable enough for…
For what? he asked himself severely, banishing Juliet’s laughing face from his mind.
But as his brain went over and over possibilities with the land and the