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Since there was no indication he knew of her and my connection, I let the matter drop and stood, making it clear dinner and our meeting had come to an end.
7
ELIZA
Three weeks after I returned to Edinburgh, I received a message from Niven, asking me to contact him when I had a few minutes to talk. Since I was in the midst of a lecture when it came in, I waited until the end of class to ring him.
“Eliza, thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly.”
The tone of his voice was so different from the last time we spoke that I feared he was calling with news that Harper was no longer part of his life.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“It’s about your father.”
I gasped.
“My apologies. He’s fine. What I mean to say is his health is okay.”
“What’s this about, Niv?”
“What I’m about to tell you isn’t good. Are you somewhere you can speak freely?”
My stomach dropped. “In my office.” Since it was connected to the hall where I usually taught, I’d stepped in before placing the call.
“His reason for wanting to sell the cottage has come to light. Your father is heavily in debt, Eliza. Once he learned the property in Alfriston was worth upwards of a million pounds, he saw it as a means to pay some of it off.”
“Did you say some?” I was flabbergasted. “How in the bloody hell did he manage to get himself so far in the red?”
“I’ve discovered he and your mum have been living far beyond their means for a number of years. In the last two, though, his spending has increased significantly.”
“The foreign-secretary position,” I muttered.
“That’s right, not that the position pays enough to get him out of the fix he’s in.”
I understood. It was all about power for my dad. “How long has this been going on?” I asked.
“They’ve lived far beyond their mean for at least thirty. However, eleven years ago his income was no longer enough to cover his expenditures.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped, and my eyes filled with tears. That was when Margaret, Niven’s mother and my aunt, passed away. She must’ve been supporting my parents prior to her death. I was equally mortified and ashamed.
“What I’ve learned is my mother?—”
“Please say no more.” I choked on my tears. “My God, Niv. I am so sorry.”
His voice softened. “This is not in any way your fault, Eliza. You’ve nothing to be sorry for.”
“You needn’t worry. I’ll cover the debts.”
“I can’t allow you to do that. Better said, the solicitor will not.”
My humiliation turned to anger. “What do you mean?”
“Here’s my plan.”
I sat at my desk, head in my hands, as I listened to my cousin’s intentions. First, he’d purchase the cottage in Alfriston for its full market value. That money would be used to pay the debt.
Since I had already relinquished my claim, there’d be nothing in the way of Niven purchasing it, although I didn’t understand why he would if the title decreed my uncle would be required to, in essence, give it to him. “Explain why, Niv.”