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hallucinating.
    He tightened his hold on her hand. ‘‘I can see your disbelief, but what I’m telling you is true. Even Lanshire Hall will be lost. I’ve borrowed against it, and there’s no possibility of repayment. Those who hold outstanding notes against me will come calling soon after my death. It won’t take long for them to discover there isn’t enough to cover what I owe.’’
    ‘‘But how is that possible?’’
    His brows furrowed above his rheumy eyes; he shook his head. ‘‘Foolish investments and even more foolish wagers. I had hoped to recoup my investment losses at the gaming tables. I didn’t succeed.’’
    He broke into a raspy cough. Turning to the bedside table, Charlotte poured him a glass of water. ‘‘Here. Let me help you.’’ After slipping her arm behind his back, she lifted the glass to his lips. ‘‘You must concentrate your efforts upon regaining your strength. You need not fret about Mother and me. We will find some way to manage.’’
    He pushed away the glass and settled back against the pillows. ‘‘The best thing would be for both of you to take young Morgan and throw yourselves upon the mercy of Lord and Lady Chesterfield. They have an obligation to take you in. After all, Lady Chesterfield is your mother’s half sister.’’
    Charlotte grimaced. The thought of living with Lord and Lady Chesterfield at Briarwood was enough to cause beads of perspiration to form along her forehead. She retrieved an embroidered handkerchief from the pocket of her dark blue skirt. Since keeping to the grounds of Lanshire Hall, she’d begun to dress in her most basic attire, the plain clothing she’d worn while performing her duties at Marshall Field and Company when she had lived in Chicago. Even the narrowly folded satin rows of trim seemed somehow overindulgent.
    ‘‘Oh, Father, I don’t think—’’
    He held up his hand to silence her. ‘‘It is your only choice. You have every right to rail against me. I know your mother will do so when she hears this ugly piece of news.’’
    Charlotte lifted his hand to her lips and kissed the paper-thin skin. ‘‘The past is behind us. Neither of us can change it, so we must look to the future. I fear you have given up on life.’’
    ‘‘Not at all, my dear. Life has given up on me. If I live beyond the week, we will both be surprised. You may speak to the doctor. He will confirm what I’ve said.’’
    A single tear slid down his cheek, and Charlotte hastened to wipe it with her handkerchief.
    ‘‘I’ve let you down where young Morgan is concerned. That wasn’t my plan, you know. I had hoped to rear him as my heir, to leave this estate to him and allow him every advantage. Instead, he will be destined to a life of poverty. Your uncle Henry will likely force the boy to work in the stables. You must not permit that to occur.’’
    Charlotte shook her head. ‘‘You need not worry on that account, Father. When the time comes, I believe I’ll find another alternative for Morgan and me. And Mother, too, if she’ll hear of it.’’
    ‘‘What alternative have you thought of that I’ve overlooked? Do you have some wealthy suitor you’ve not told me about?’’
    ‘‘No. But if things turn out to be as dire as you indicate, I will arrange passage and return to America. I would rather earn my own way than be reliant upon our reluctant relatives for handouts. We both know how that sort of arrangement turns out.’’ She shook her head. ‘‘In America Morgan will have the same chance as the next man to succeed in life. He won’t have that opportunity if we remain in England.’’
    ‘‘That’s true enough, yet I worry that your mother wouldn’t adapt to the American way of life. She’ll be forlorn if she’s forced to give up at least the pretense of nobility. There are wealthy men who would be delighted to marry you. Of course, you’d be required to never divulge that Morgan is your son.’’
    Charlotte wouldn’t