Free The American Earl by Joan Wolf Page A

problems.  He doesn’t want to remain in England, and I don’t want to leave Stoverton.  If he appoints me as his agent, then he can go home with the confidence that he has entrusted Stoverton to the best person possible.”
    There was a strange look on Sir Matthew’s face. “Did you mention this idea to his lordship?”
    “I did.”
    “And what did he say?”
    “He said he’d think about it.”
    Sir Matthew closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.  He opened his eyes and looked at me.  “It’s impossible, lass.  If his lordship doesn’t know it now, he soon will.  You cannot be the agent for Stoverton.”
    I stared at him in astonishment. “Why not? No one knows more about the house and property than I do. I’m the perfect person for the job.”
    “You cannot do it, lass, because you’re eighteen years old and the daughter of an earl.  You’re not a child any more, you’re a young lady.  The life you’ve been living cannot continue.  You must marry a man of your own class and have your own home and family.” 
    I stared at him in horror.  “But I don’t want to get married.  If I got married I would have to move away from Stoverton.”
    Sir Matthew leaned toward me.  “Julia.” He never called me Julia.  “You know I care for you.  You’re the daughter I never had.  But you cannot give all your love to a building!”
    To my horror I felt tears sting my eyes. “You really want me to go away? You wouldn’t miss me?”
    “I would miss you terribly. I meant it when I said I love you like a daughter. But all fathers have to let their daughters go eventually. It wouldn’t be a sign of love if I tried to hang onto you. It would be selfishness. I have to recommend what I think is best for you, and I think the best thing would be to find a man you like and marry him.”
    I swallowed.  “I see.”
    “Think about what I’ve said, lass. I know it isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s advice that comes from my heart.”
    I managed a shadowy smile, stood up and said, “I think I had better be getting along home now.”
    He nodded slowly and watched as I tried not to run out of the office.
    * * * *
    What Sir Matthew said upset me profoundly.  It wasn’t that I didn’t know that girls were expected to marry.  It was just that I had never thought that expectation would apply to me.  My mother had rarely taken me with her when she made calls on our neighbors, or attended the few local gatherings she deigned worthy of her presence.  I had always thought it was because she was ashamed of me but I didn’t know what I could do to make her like me.  
    In the past, when I thought about my future, I assumed that my brother Philip would marry and I would stay on at Stoverton while he and his wife lived mostly in London.  I knew Philip would be perfectly happy to have me take care of his house and property.   I wouldn’t even have minded being a substitute parent to his children, as long as I could remain here, on this land that had belonged to my family for all these centuries. 
    You can’t live all alone in this huge house, Evan had said. 
    I took Isabella to the stable and wouldn’t let Toby unsaddle or groom her. I dawdled for as long as I could, putting some oil on her hooves so they wouldn’t dry out and brushing her tail until Toby told me it would start to fall out if I didn’t stop.
    As I made my way to the house I realized what the unfamiliar feeling in my chest was.  Fear.  My life wasn’t in my own hands anymore, it was in the hands of this American, who had inherited land and a title he neither understood nor respected. 
    Stoverton was my land.  I was the one who would love it and cherish it and keep alive the tradition of one of the greatest families in the history of England. 
    It was almost time for dinner when I reached the house and I went upstairs to my bedroom to put on one of the five dresses that hung in my wardrobe. There was a tall mirror in the corner of