His mother wanted him to run off with a woman who made his blood burn. He couldn't afford to. Hampton needed its earl to be calm and in control. Many of his peers were not adjusting to the new age and thus were losing everything their families had built over centuries. His mother was too old-fashioned to see the changes sweeping England. Farmland was less valuable, and the tenancies on the estate weren't prospering as they had in the past.
Leo couldn't even begin to count the hours he'd spent working until the last candle burned out in his study. Or the endless meetings he'd arranged with his steward, Mr. Holmesbury, as they tried to salvage what they could of a crumbling way of life. Their way of life. Everything that mattered to him. They could lose it all if he didn't succeed. Grand houses cost far too much, as did the servants they employed.
Running the tip of his finger over the white china plates fringed with a blue flower pattern, he drew in a deep breath. A heavy weight settled over his chest and shoulders, an invisible burden he could not remove, not so long as he continued to love Hampton House and the people who lived within it. They were a part of this place, a part of its history, just as he was.
If any sacrifices could be made, he would fight to keep Hampton just as it was for as long as possible. He had made his plans. He would marry Mildred, use her fortune to sustain Hampton during the transitions taking place in England, and that would be the end of it. Nothing would change his mind. Nothing.
* * *
Wilhelmina, Dowager Countess of Hampton, peered around the door to the dining room, watching her son finish his luncheon in silence. Ever since he'd returned from London a week ago, he'd been glum and predictable in his daily routine. Working from morning till midnight.
Leo took another bite of his lunch before he reached for the stack of letters on the silver tray to his left, a soft sigh escaping as his shoulders drooped. Ladybird sat at his side, tail swiping across the floor in gentle swishes as she waited for crumbs. The dog whined softly and he petted her absently.
He painted a perfectly boring picture of country life, and it deepened the ache in her heart for him. Leo had been a wonderful child, always exploring, always questing for adventures and causing trouble, the way any good lad should. Mina hadn't been deaf to the rumors of his many paramours or the broken hearts he'd left behind him. At least he'd been a man of passion and action.
Now he was … not. This new Leo was not a son she wished to call her own. He was world-weary, his eyes dark with sorrow and his lips perpetually pursed as he let worries and anxieties drown him. How could he not see that only the bold and courageous men would continue on in this new world, where the ancient houses were crumbling and being broken apart?
///
She shuddered. The Ashfords had heard their home would be gutted and the grand staircases, the tapestries, even the marble tiles would be sold off to different bidders. Nothing would be left of the grand house or the family who had lived there nearly as long as the Grahams had lived at Hampton House.
We are soon to be ghosts of a forgotten era. We must change; we must adapt. It was one of the reasons she was so determined to attend the suffragette meeting in the small village close to Hampton House. A good number of ladies were coming down from London to attend in order to escape the harsh reactions their gathering would draw in London. Things had to change; people had to change. Men needed to recognize that women were just as smart and as valuable in society.
Leo could not marry a traditional woman. He needed someone who would stand at his side and face the future without fear. Mina would do just about anything to see him married to a fierce Amazon who would battle at his side.
"My lady?" Mr. Gordon, the butler, whispered as he joined his mistress by the door.
She turned and placed a finger to her lips and pointed to Leo.
"Have all the preparations been made for our guests?"
Gordon's face, usually a study of seriousness, softened with pride, and he puffed his chest a bit. "Of course, my lady. I received a telegram from Mr. Leighton. Miss Ivy is coming down early in her father's motorcar."
Mina moved back a few steps from the door as she clapped her hands together in silent glee. Her plan was coming together perfectly. She'd invited Ivy down to Hampton on the pretext of attending the suffragette meeting together, and she'd convinced the young lady that visiting for the house party would be fun.
"Did Mr. Leighton say if he was able to tamper with the motorcar?"
Gordon frowned a little, concern darkening his expression as he handed her the folded telegram. He had known Miss Ivy as long as Mina had and the idea of putting her at risk seemed to upset him.