Today was without a doubt the worst day of Lady Rosemary Nelson’s life. She had thought her worst day occurred last week when she learned of the carriage crash that had taken her parents’ lives. They had been visiting her distant cousin, Charles Nelson, when bandits had run the carriage off the road and into a tree. Up until that point, Rosemary had lived a quiet but respectable life. The Nelson estate was small but housed enough servants to be comfortable and they were housed in surrey. Far enough away from London to be surrounded by countryside, but close enough to journey into London every season. Lord Nelson had a few business enterprises that kept them financially afloat, but by no means rich.

Yes, a quaint little life.

Until her loving and kind parents died, of course.

And yet, that wasn’t even the worst of it.

“But I don’t understand?” Rosemary sobbed into her handkerchief. Her black mourning dress made her tired skin look even paler in contrast to her coppery locks. They were of course tied up into an updo and mostly hidden beneath a black bonnet. Black netting covered her face, so she had to reach under her netting to wipe the tears from her face. “I know my cousin Charles is to inherit the estate, but he can’t just throw me out without any sort of support or means. Can he?”

No more than 4 days after the funeral Charles had turned up with his snooty wife Catherine. They had barely spoken two sentences to her before they announced that she had to leave the Nelson estate. No allowance, no intention of helping her find alternative lodgings. Nothing.

With nowhere to go and hardly a penny to her name, Rosemary managed to convince one of the Nelson coachmen to take her into London. She went straight to Beckett and Youngman’s attorneys and explained her dilemma.

She knew only men inherited, but surely there was a legal obligation for her cousin to give some sort of allowance to her. Even if it was barely enough for her to pay rent in a cottage somewhere.

“Ordinarily I’d say he has no legal right to leave you destitute. In fact, when you came to me this morning with your plight, I began the necessary legal action to retrieve guaranteed funds for you…but…then I received this letter.”

Rosemary sat opposite one of the junior attorneys who looked very sorry for her.

“What letter? Is it from Charles? Has he come to his senses? I-I don’t expect to be kept in the estate b-but I-”

“As a blood relation, you would be entitled to a minimum sum per annum of £300 due to the size of the Nelson estate and its total assets.” The young man gulped and sighed. “However…it would appear…that you are not a blood relation.”

“What?!” Rosemary uncharacteristically squealed. “H-how dare you! I am the daughter of Lord George Nelson and Lady Edwina Nelson! Of course I’m a blood relation!”

“I’m so sorry.” He sighed, and slowly Rosemary lowered her hands to her black covered lap. Somehow his patient yet sad tone robbed her of her ire and replaced it with dread. “This isn’t how you should have found out, but you have to know now to understand why we can’t take any legal action on your behalf. Here.”

The lawyer slid a piece of paper across the mahogany desk, and with shaking hands Rosemary brought the paper up to her green eyes. Even through the netting of her mourning bonnet, she could see exactly what she was looking at. One passage in particular held her gaze.

I, Agatha Heatherby, do wilfully release my child and the rights over my child, Rosemary Heatherby, to her new adoptive parents. It was signed and dated…with the same date as her birthday. She’d been given up for adoption from the day she was born…

“…adopted…I…this can’t be right. My mother would have told me. She would have…”

“I’m sorry.” The attorney sighed, full of sympathy. “Normally when adopting into nobility or gentry, the adoptive parents write the adoptive child into the will. However…it seems Lord and Lady Nelson never got round to it. Their deaths were sudden and unexpected.” He sighed again. “It seems that your cousin found the adoption documents when he went to evaluate the estate. When the will was read, it made no mention of you specifically. It simply referred to “My estate shall befall my first born son, and any of my daughters are to be provided for by the nearest male relative.”

“So? Adopted or not, I’m still Lord Nelson’s daughter.” Rosemary whimpered. This was just too much for a genteel lady to deal with. “He can’t contest I wasn’t raised and treated as his daughter. I can get witness statements to prove that-”

“I’m sorry but that isn’t where Charles is disputing your claim. ‘to be provided for by the nearest male relative’. As you are adopted…Charles is not your nearest male relative. So he is within his legal rights not to provide for you.”

Rosemary closed her eyes and held her hands on her lap together in a ball. She bit her lips and tried so hard to stop crying.

So…today was the worst day of Rosemary’s life. Her parents were dead, they had lied to her all her life, and now her cousin she had scarcely ever heard of was throwing her out onto the streets on a technicality. “As far as the Nelson estate goes, you have no legitimate claim.” Rosemary brought the handkerchief to her mouth, trying to stem her sorrow lest it pour from her trembling lips. “It isn’t all hopeless, however.” Rosemary opened her emerald orbs and didn’t dare to hope.

“What do you mean? If my cousin doesn’t have to care for me, nor wish to provide for me, how is my position anything but hopeless?”

“Because quite rarely…there is a real name on the adoption certificate.”

“A real name?” It wasn’t hope that Rosemary felt. She was mostly in the twixt of numbness and emotionally raw, but something flickered curiously in her gaze.

“Yes. For the birth mother. Agatha Heatherby. The father’s name is missing, but I can try to track down your birth mother for you. I will have to take some sort of payment for this service, however.”

“I have no money…” She sounded so pathetic. It irked her, knowing how far she’d fallen and how helpless she now was.

“I will have to have you sign a credit note. So your family, when I track them down, will have to help you pay the fee back over time.”

“…I have little other choice.”

So even if he did find her birth mother, the first thing she’d have to ask them for is money. A wonderful first impression.

“In the mean time I’ll set you up at the local inn. I will work hard to track your birth family down quickly so the fee will be small.”

“Thank you so much. I appreciate it.” They both stood and whereas the lawyer bowed, Rosemary curtseyed.

It wasn’t long before Rosemary and the one suitcase she had managed to fill before being escorted off the Nelson estate, were ushered into a carriage. The lawyer was good enough to escort her all the way to the Three crowns inn. It wasn’t a decrepit or dingy publican house, but it wasn’t the Nelson estate either. She could tell that other lords and their wives were in residence, so it wasn’t an unseemly place to lodge.

The room she was taken up to was small and had only the basic commodities. It’s still a darn sight better than the streets.

“I will write to you with any and all developments, and visit you once I have significant news. I warn you however, I’m putting the funds up for this place myself until we can secure payment. I can only afford a month at the most.” 

“You are so kind sir Beckett.”

“Please, call me Harold.” The young man bowed, and made his way out. “And I shall be very disappointed if I take any longer than a week. In the event we approach three weeks however…I strongly advise you start writing to your friends and family friends to see if any of them can take you in.”

“Of course. Thank you. Good day, Harold.” Harold bowed and left her in the room. she sighed loudly and dropped into a chair. It was by the fireplace, which someone had kindly lit before she entered the room. She stared for hours into the little fireplace, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Today had already called her very origins into question, put her into debt, and her future into the unknown. “Nothing this exciting ever happens to me, nor do I welcome it.”

Note from the Author- 

Hello! Would you like to find out more? Most of the book is available now on my Patreon page, and next year will go to KU. You could read 30 chapters right now and get two updates a week, all for £1.50 a month on my Patreon page. ^_^