Chemistry of Magic: Unexpected Magic Book Five (Unexpected Magic #5)(57)
She stopped to tuck her hair into its pins and dust the straw off her hem before she hurried to the parlor to greet their very first guests.
“You honor our humble home,” she exclaimed as she entered.
Bridey was sitting on the ancient walnut sofa while Pascoe studied an old portrait. Emilia was relieved that Mrs. Wiggs and her crew had restored the parlor to cleanliness, if not fashion.
“Your letter expressed rather urgent concern,” Bridey said, offering her a cup. “And we were worried about both of you.”
Emilia settled on the sofa beside her and took the tea. “Thank you for helping Dare understand that I’m not a vaporish sort of female. He hasn’t quite grasped all we’re telling him, but he’s willing to listen.”
She turned to Pascoe. “He is in the workshop, distilling spring water, and asked if you would join him there.”
Pascoe was a distinguished gentleman, garbed in the height of fashion for this call. His lips curled wryly at her request. “You make me feel right at home. That is exactly what one of my nephews would request.”
“I’ll have Aster trace Dare’s family tree. Perhaps there’s an Ives branch on it somewhere,” Emilia acknowledged. “But I need for him to understand why it would be disastrous if a railroad was built across the property.”
There, she’d said it. She didn’t want Dare’s family to starve, but the moss might help all mankind. She had no alternative.
“I’m sure Dare will explain that remark,” Pascoe said with a laugh.
“But the railroad is one of the reasons we’re here,” Bridey added worriedly.
“I’ll find Dare. You speak with Emilia. We’ll see which of us has a glass thrown at our heads,” Pascoe said dryly, bowing to Emilia before exiting.
“Glass?” Emilia asked, studying her teacup. “I rather like this tea set, and I’m not much inclined toward tantrums.”
“That’s why I thought I’d be safe here.” Bridey removed her gloves and reached for a cucumber sandwich. “Pascoe has many correspondents and has made inquiries into the railroad situation.”
“Oh dear.” Emilia took a teacake. “Perhaps sugar will sweeten my disposition and prevent cup flinging.”
“You’ll need more than a teacake. The railroad association Mr. Weathersby is helping to finance has already started laying rail. They claim to have signed deeds from all the property owners along the route. Pascoe wants Dare to look at the survey maps, but the track appears to run through our tenants’ field and your house.”
Emilia felt as if she were wilting into the sofa’s floral fabric. “They can’t,” she whispered. “My father would never have allowed it.”
Gently, Bridey asked, “Are you sure Dare wouldn’t? He has the right to sell your property that is not entailed, and since you’re not male, there is no entail.”
Chapter 17
“Sign deeds? I bloody well did not sell our land to a rival, no more than you did,” Dare shouted, flinging his spectacles to the table.
“I had to ask.” Pascoe leaned over the worktable to examine the beakers. “I don’t suppose you’ve discovered gold in the water? It will take a fortune or two to fight a wealthy merchants association. We’ll have to hire armed guards to keep their ruffians off our property.”
“Give me a legal deed to your corner parcel, and I’ll have my group start building before the Harrogate lot can even dream of claiming our ground.” Angrily, Dare strode up and down the workshop. “I can’t believe the audacity!”
Pascoe shrugged. “Both our properties lay vacant for years. They had every right to assume no one would notice, much less object. As Sommersville said, once a right of way is established, it’s nearly impossible to recover.”
“Well, it’s not established. There is no road or path through this house or your field. They have no rights at all.” Dare wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, but his lungs didn’t have the capacity any longer. He considered punching a wall but he feared the building would fall on their heads.
“I’ve written Erran to look into it. But if it comes to an actual lawsuit, we have to be prepared to empty our purses.” Pascoe shoved his hands in his coat pockets and pulled out the lining to show they were empty.
“And there’s every possibility that Weathersby has a judge or two already in his pocket,” Dare said bitterly. “Life’s too damned short for this.”
Pascoe nodded sympathetically. “True. So let’s fire the first gun and see what happens. Write your consortium. Tell them I need a fair price to pay my tenant to buy his own field elsewhere. And I want shares in return for my cooperation. And a good wall to keep the cattle from crossing the tracks.”
Dare wiped his hands on a rag and offered one to shake. “Thank you. You’ll see we deal fairly with landowners. The abbey could have its own train station out there someday, once passenger travel is safe. It would be a boon to your wife’s school and infirmary.”
“I considered that. Plus, I decided it best not to upset the two of you by refusing my land and forcing you to use yours. Marital strife won’t win us the support Bridey needs from Emilia’s family. The physicians working with the hospital in Harrogate are likely to start protesting Bridey’s unconventional school, and we need powerful people behind us.”