Victor used to inquire, “Why are you showing me this, Father?”
Mr. van Kirk would purse his lips. “When I am no longer here, you will inherit the estate, and you must know it well. If you do not, you might run it to the ground. And it is good for Charlotte to understand, too.”
Victor’s eyes would dart toward me and narrow a fraction.
I’d ignore him and concentrate on the sound of horses neighing from afar. I’d known that if someone were to run it to the ground, it would be Victor with his disregard for estate matters. He found them tedious.
Thinking it might be best to take a turn or two around the grounds, I mounted Willow and faced east. But once the other two mounted their horses, Victor motioned for us to follow him in the opposite direction.
I was most perturbed at this sudden ch
