Staring out across the fading green of the autumnal countryside with unseeing eyes, Noah stood rigidly at the window behind his desk in his study at Kincade Hall. Though the early afternoon sun shone warmly through the glistening glass, he felt none of its warmth. Chilled to his very soul, his handsome features frozen in an inexpressive mask, he turned back to the room to face Ronald Perkins, his father’s attorney. The lawyer was seated in the leather wing chair on the opposite side of the massive, scarred oak desk, his papers spread out before him in studied disarray.

“Then it’s gone… There’s no chance of saving it…” His tone was bitter as his gaze seemed to come alive, flashing silvered fire at the lawyer.

The rotund barrister was nervous and sweating, his hands unsteady as he removed his wire-rimmed glasses and dabbed at his broad brow with a wrinkled white handkerchief. “Uh…yes, m’lord. I’m afraid so. The house and grounds have already been sold to meet a portion of your father’s debts.”

Noah’s jaw tensed in anger as he stalked forward to plant his hands firmly on the desktop, leaning forward menacingly. “Were you aware that these conditions existed before my father’s demise?”

Lord Noah Kincade was an intimidating man in the best of times, but here, confronted with the loss of his beloved home and the majority of his family fortune, the power of his outraged personality was near to overwhelming. Ronald, a cowardly soul, knew a moment of true physical fear as he stared helplessly up at the demanding nobleman.

“I did,” he answered honestly, knowing that it would not do to lie to Noah.

“You knew…” Noah’s eyes went blank for a moment as he considered this news. This man had known that his father was squandering the family’s resources at the gaming tables and yet made no move to stop him. “And yet you did nothing?”

“Sir.” Perkins cleared his throat and straightened uncomfortably in the chair. Not willing to tolerate any attacks on his professional character, he summoned all his inner fortitude to answer. “I was employed by your father. It was not my job to criticize him.”

“Could you not have advised me so I could have prevented this from happening?” Noah asked heatedly.

“Lord Kincade,” he began in righteous indignation, “your father paid me well for the job I did. Any time I ventured to offer advice to His Lordship concerning the state of his finances, I was firmly reminded of my expendability. Your father hired me because I was discreet. It was a quality he valued most highly in those he kept in his employ.”

The anger suddenly seemed to drain out of Noah as his broad shoulders slumped. When he looked up at the lawyer again, his face was haggard and pale, and he appeared far older than his twenty-six years. Dragging a hand through his thick, dark hair in a gesture of weary defeat, Noah nodded slowly as he dropped into his chair.

“Then it’s settled. It’s gone…”

“The house and grounds, yes. That transaction was completed two days ago. I am in the process now of finalizing the sale of the town house in London,” Perkins reported with as much professional dignity as he could muster. “You and Matthew are not totally devoid of funds, as you know, for you both still retain your independent trusts from your mother’s estate.”

Noah quickly calculated in his mind just how far their trusts would go in maintaining their current lifestyle, and he grew even more overwhelmed. His mother’s family had been comfortable, but their holdings had not come anywhere near the fortunes of the Kincades.

“I have one other bit of information here that may prove uplifting,” he offered tenuously.

“Oh?” One dark brow lifted slightly in angry disbelief as Noah regarded the lawyer cynically.

The knowledge that he’d lost his home was devastating to him and he found it most difficult to imagine anything that could possibly be interpreted as uplifting in this whole sordid affair. He was financially ruined, and all of his future prospects were in a shambles. Not so long ago, Noah was heir to the vast Kincade shipping fortune and one of the most sought after of bachelors about the ton. But when the rumors of the Kincade family’s cataclysmic losses had begun, Noah’s “friends” had become acquaintances, shunning him and retracting invitations issued months before. Even Lady Andrea Broadmoor, his light-o’-love for some months, had cut him loose upon hearing the gossip, and her desertion, in particular, was one lesson he would never forget. He clenched his fists in utter frustration at his own helplessness. As things stood now, Perkins’s uplifting information was the only hope he had, and he knew he couldn’t allow himself the luxury to trust in that for any real help.

“Yes…the ships…”

“Kincade Shipping…” For just an instant, his spirits rose at the thought that their prosperous shipping firm might still be intact, untouched by their father’s excesses. If so, he knew he still held a modicum of control over his life.

Perkins hastened on, “The company itself is lost.”

Noah’s last hope was dashed and bitter emotions welled up inside of him. He held himself in rigid control, refusing to betray any weakness or despair before the attorney’s watchful gaze.

“Go on,” he urged icily.

“There are two ships, however, that you and Matthew do retain joint title to.” He shuffled through his papers until he found the one he was looking for. “The Lorelei was your father’s pride and joy. He made special provisions in all of his dealings that it would not be included in any settlement against him.”

Noah nodded at the knowledge that they owned at least one fleet ship.

“And the Sea Pride,” Perkins concluded. “She’s an older merchant ship, but still serviceable.”

“I see,” was his only reply. In his discomfiture, he suddenly was eager for the barrister to be gone, and he asked sharply, “Is there anything else you have to tell me?”

Again the lawyer nervously cleared his throat. “Yes…” he hesitated, “and this is the most difficult for me to relay…”

“I don’t see how anything you could have to say to me now could possibly be any worse than what you’ve already told me,” Noah remarked sarcastically, striving to stay master of his riotous emotions.

Perkins gave a curt nod and blurted out hastily, “It seems the new owners of Kincade Hall want to take possession right away. Their request is that you vacate the premises by the end of the week.”

For a second Noah almost lost what little control he had on himself, but his stubborn, unrelenting Kincade pride wouldn’t let him. He would reveal to no one the misery that rocked him over the loss of his family estates, not now and not in the future.

Noah accepted, agonizingly, the reality of his situation. With that acknowledgment came a plan of action. The power of wealth had just been painfully demonstrated to him. Before, he had always taken his vaulted position for granted, but no longer. Vowing silently to himself, he swore that he would recoup all of their father’s losses. He would redeem the Kincade name among his peers and reestablish the family so firmly that future generations would be immune to such tragedy.

He knew it was not something that would happen overnight, but Kincade Hall would not remain in the hands of strangers for long. It had been in the family for generations. He would buy it back just as soon as he could raise the funds, and he was going to raise the funds. Nothing would deter him. Nothing.

“Perkins, I thank you for your help in these matters.” His voice was steady, his manner icily calm as he rose. It was a signal to the barrister that his audience with Noah was at an end.

“Oh…fine, my lord…” He gathered his papers together and hurriedly stuffed them into his portfolio. “If I have any more news, I’ll be in touch.”