“The old Earl had five bastards in the workhouse, which embarrassed my husband no end, being the vicar. So the first thing he did when the old Earl died was arrange for the mamas and the children into a more gentile place for them to live. He managed to have the eldest boy apprenticed to the cooper. And the oldest girl was old enough to service, so she is starting to work in the kitchen. We will have to see what the other three can do when they get older.”

The dowager Baroness Alaston gave the countess Kirkby a sympathetic glance. “You didn’t have to worry about my late husband.” She shifted her big belly. “The new one is kicking me again. I think it will be a daughter again. My son never kicked like my daughter. She kicks so much. And my belly is huge this time. It is such a trial to stand up!”

“Don’t you think you should put away your blacks? It has been seven months. And can anyone believe you really expect anyone to believe you really mourn him.”

The Baroness bristled . “Your grandfather was such a good nice man. I truly did love him. He rescued me from a horrible fate. And the men who came around when he wasn’t even buried yet made me disgusted. They just wanted to grab his money to spend on whores and leave me in a Scottish castle somewhere. My son deserves better “

The countess rolled her eyes. “Why you had to marry him…”

“It was him or Dentry. And he knew how to make me very happy.” She grinned a lascivious smile. “Very happy “

The countess nodded. “Dentry would have been worse. It would have been better if someone else could have saved you.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I don’t think so! He was kind and attentive and he let me do experiments in electricity. One day soon people will do amazing things with it! Already I have bells attached with it. He was so thoughtful.”

”He made all kinds of intelligent trusts for you. They have protected you from men while giving you a great deal of freedom “

The baroness gave a rueful smile. “Mr. DeSilva added a great deal to my husband’s wealth, which made the vultures that much more pressing until they were appraised of the terms.”

The countess sighed. “The earldom is deeply in debt. If we could we would be delighted to be just a country vicar and his wife. But he is going to have to give up the vicarage which he loves to be a deeply indebted earl, which he hates.”

“Can’t he do both?”

The countess shook her head. “His parishioners won’t let him. They responded badly when they realized he was going to be their landlord.”

”It would cause problems “

The countess sat up straighter. The baroness recognized that was going to be the difficult part of the visit. The countess gulped. “The position of vicar is in your son’s gift…”

”He is four”

The countess nodded “Which means that you will be doing the appointing…

”Mr. DeSilva had the actual power of appointment.”

”Mr. DeSilva is a Jew. He would appoint anyone you ask. Besides which he respects your good sense. “ The countess giggled. “And my sister wouldn’t let him appoint anyone you disapprove of. She rules over him too much.”

“So I take it your husband has a candidate?”

The countess nodded. “He has a friend from college, reverend Winston, who has a miserable curacy. 45 pounds per annum . He is a good man in the mold of my husband. He would be an excellent candidate. I think you would like him. He likes scientific studies as well, but his interest is in geology.”

The baroness smiled. “If he has your husband’s approval, he has mine as well. I will write your sister today and Mr. DeSilva tomorrow. “ They both laughed. “You realize Mr. DeSilva doesn’t do anything without researching it first. It will be a while before we get an answer. But if he is everything you say, the living is Mr. Winston’s