Mr. Layton shook his head. It was the only idea Scott had scrounged up in the days he’d been at Thimbleby, and Mr. Layton was dismissing it out of hand.
“This area is too isolated to lure someone looking for a country home to establish a footing in Society. Your tenants would have no neighbors and would not be within easy distance of any place where they might mingle amongst the gentry with any degree of ease. Houghton Manor and my home, Pledwick, are among your nearest neighbors, and neither estate can be reached in a single day.”
Scott hadn’t realized that Mr. Layton had needed to travel more than one day. If not for Mater, Scott would never have presumed to ask that of this gentleman he hardly knew.
“Your principal property appears to be struggling as well.” Mr. Layton tapped the larger ledger.
Scott sighed. “My uncle, who had the keeping of the estate before me, neglected nearly everything there. Only half of our tenant farmers remain, and they aren’t likely to stay long. The main house itself needs even more work than Thimbleby. It’s habitable and safe; I don’t expect it will crumble anytime soon. But there are so very many things that need to be seen to, things that will grow worse without effort. And those efforts would require money.”
“Did Walter leave you debts as well?”
He’d called Uncle Sarvol by his given name. “Did you know my uncle?”
Mr. Layton nodded. “The late Earl of Lampton was my best friend in all the world. I spent time at Lampton Park and became somewhat familiar with all the people in the area who were near our age, including your uncle.”
“And my father?”
Another nod. “For brothers, those two were as different as night and day.”
“They were.”
Mr. Layton flipped to the next section of the ledger, where Scott recorded the debts he’d inherited. He slowly looked over it, at one point muttering, “Walter, what have you done?”
Scott knew it was bad. He’d known for two years. But watching as someone else realized it was painful. “The next section is where I manage the inheritance I received from my father. It’s what I’ve been living on for two years.”
Mr. Layton moved to that portion of the depressing ledger. He flipped between the sections a few times and referenced theThimbleby ledger as well. After what felt like an eternity, he looked at Scott. “Have you told anyone how bad things really are?”
“Not entirely.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “A few people know that money is tight. I don’t want anyone to worry.”
“Don’t you think they’ll worry anyway when, in two months, no one knows where you went?”
“What do you mean?”
“Scott, you will be out of money in two months. Your creditors might very well be out for blood.”
Two months.“I thought I had at least six.”
“I would wager that was before you arrived at Thimbleby.”
Scott dropped his head into his hands, exhausted and worried and feeling increasingly defeated. “I don’t want to go to debtors’ prison for something my uncle did. I’ve tried so hard to fix it. I feel like he dropped me into a hole I can’t dig out of.”
“If you think Julia would stand by while you rotted in debtor’s prison, you do not know her as well as I thought you did.”
Julia was Mater’s name. “I know she would help me in any way she could, but . . .” He sighed, trying to push back against the weight of discouragement.
“But you would feel guilty for burdening her with this?” Mr. Layton guessed.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“I, too, have struggled with letting people help me when I need it,” Mr. Layton said. “I know how difficult that can be. But you are going to make more mistakes and poorer decisions if you are operating from a place of fear and defeat. Put the idea of debtors’ prison out of your mind, Scott. It won’t come to that. Trust me that it won’t.”
“Mater shouldn’t have to use her widow’s jointure to rescue me.”
Mr. Layton shook his head. “That is not at all the strategy I mean to suggest. You and I are going to take whatever time is needed to determine how to minimize operations at Sarvol House, to close up every bit of it that can be without causing trouble later, and to reduce your staff to the barest it can be without unfairly burdening those who remain.”
“Gillian suggested that as well,” Scott said.
“Whoever Gillian is, I would suggest you continue listening to her.”