“Of course! You did just as you should!” said the Duke enthusiastically. “Only tell me one thing, Moffat! Is he married, or single?”
“Single, your Grace. He lives with his mother, him being her only one.”
“The Five-acre shall be his bride’s dowry!” said the Duke, rolling up the map, and handing it to the astonished bailiff.
“But, your Grace, he’s got no thought of marriage!” protested Moffat.
“Then I must put one into his head,” said the Duke.
“Your Grace won’t do that, by what Jane Mudgley was telling me,” said Moffat. “Seemingly, there was a wench in Bath he fell head over ears in love with back in the spring, but she went off somewhere unbeknownst, and he doesn’t seem to be able to put her out of his mind. Not but what she didn’t sound to me the kind of wench I’d have chosen for a steady young fellow like Jasper.”
“She is the bride I have chosen for him!” said the Duke, his eyes dancing. “Does his mother dislike it excessively? I imagine she might! Do you think I can persuade her to accept the girl? Perhaps I had best see her before I take Belinda to her,”
“But—but—” stammered Moffat.
“That was why I wanted to find Mudgley!” explained the Duke. “The girl is under my care, and I have promised that I will find him for her. You may take me out to the farm. How did you come into Bath?”
“I rode in, your Grace. But—”