Trent suddenly had a very bad feeling about this conversation. “In a manner of speaking.”
Pendleton gave a negligent wave of his hand. “We’ve had our differences, I know. But at the end of the day, we are family. I find myself in a bit of an unwelcome situation. If my situation became widely known”—he lifted his palms—“it would reflect poorly on me. Maybe even damage my effectiveness in Parliament. My opponents would have something to use against me.” He took another sip of his scotch. “All those bloody reforms you so adore wouldn’t stand a chance without my support.”
“I concur.” On that point, Pendleton was correct. While Trent often thought his reforms didn’t go far enough, those bills wouldn’t exist at all without Pendleton. “What is this about?”
“My estate is deeply in debt. My mother and sister have been overspending for years and it is only recently I’ve managed to tighten the purse strings, but it is too late. If my sister could have managed to marry Kendicott, I wouldn’t be sitting here. But,” his lip curled in disapproval, “she’s managed to muck things up with him. The son of a pig farmer. I should toss her out.”
“How unfortunate.”
Pendleton’s eyes slid over Trent, searching for signs of mockery. Satisfied there were none, he continued.
“I’ve been selling bits and pieces. Items my mother had made from Blue John. Ridiculous little objects she had to have. It’s all worth a fortune, but still, it isn’t enough. I’ve markers all over London, Haddon. Large sums.” He pierced Trent with a hard look. “The duns are already beating at my door. Imagine my embarrassment.”
How mortifying for Pendleton who would see himself above such things.
“The vein of Blue John has finally run its course?” Trent asked. Pendleton’s Blue John was the second largest deposit in England.
“No. The mine is still profitable.” A choked laugh came from Pendleton. He ran his fingers through his close-cropped hair and across his face.
Trent waited, but Pendleton said nothing further concerning the Blue John or the mine.
“I have ambitions, Haddon. Melbourne will not be Prime Minister forever. I cannot afford to become destitute and thrown into debtor’s prison. Nor do I wish to be called a fortune hunter while trying to secure Higgins’s daughter. The girl is skittish enough. And I need Higgins’s support.”
“No, of course not.” Get to the point, Pendleton. Even in his anxiety and begging a favor, the man still managed to be long-winded, as if Trent had nothing better to do but listen to him.
“My markers are being bought up, Haddon. Anonymously. My fear is one person, possibly with political motivation, is behind the collecting of my debt. This individual could seek to use my debt as leverage. Possibly even try to wield power through me, and thus into Parliament. And I’ll have little choice.”
“We all have a choice, Pendleton.”
“How naive you are.” An ugly choked sound came from him. “You’ve no concept of the workings of government. How one hand rubs the back of another.”
Trent was liking this conversation, and Pendleton, less and less.
“Your late wife knew how things worked, for all that she’d been raised in the country. Anne wasn’t shy about running to my father when you were in trouble. An accident at the quarry. You also had nowhere else to turn, as I’m sure you recall.”
Trent’s fingers tightened on his glass. “I do.”
Barely twenty-four, with a small child and another on the way, Trent had only just buried his father and become Baron Haddon. His inheritance had consisted of an estate that was barely solvent and a struggling quarry. Trent’s sister needed a dowry and his younger brother’s tuition at Harrow was a small fortune. He was already in dire financial straits before the accident.
Trent’s father had refused to modernize the lone quarry he owned. Fifty men had died during the cave-in, buried alive beneath an enormous pile of rock, leaving their families destitute. It had been an obligation for Trent to provide for those men’s wives and children. The quarry was also the largest employer in the area for miles. If the quarry didn’t reopen, not only would Trent become impoverished, but so would most of the families in the area. So many lives had depended on him. Anne, against Trent’s wishes, had gone to her great-uncle, Lord Pendleton, who was flush with cash from the Blue John mine his family owned. It was assistance Trent hadn’t wanted to accept, but he’d had little choice.
“So, you see why I’ve come. My father never asked you for repayment for the funds he gave you, but I believe, honorable man you are,” Pendleton narrowed his eyes, “that you insisted you would return the favor one day. In fact, you wouldn’t take the money until he agreed.”
Trent knew very well what had been said; Pendleton need not remind him. The burden of being indebted to Pendleton for so long had weighed heavily on him for years.
“You were so bloody grateful, throwing around such a promise. My father never had need for a favor, but I do.”
The scotch soured in Trent’s stomach despite the fact he now wanted to drink the entire bottle.
“Don’t worry, Haddon. Unlike your agreement with my father, I will make this only a temporary loan. I plan to repay you. Once I secure Clare Higgins and her dowry. I’ve already had my solicitor draw up papers to that effect.”
“That isn’t necessary.” Pendleton was a prig, but he was honorable. It was literally the only thing Trent found likable about the man.
“Already done.” Pendleton’s mouth contorted into a semblance of a smile. “I don’t want to cause you any undue distress. We are family, after all.”
How fucking noble of him. After the completion of this transaction, Trent meant to sever all contact with Pendleton once and for all. “How much?”
Pendleton’s carefully constructed façade cracked for a moment, the fear at his circumstances bleeding through.
“A great deal.”
14
Marissa shifted in her chair, desperate to
