A Duke in Danger by Barbara Cartland Page A

two,” the Duke stated.
    “I kept the one I had ridden for years,” Alvina replied, “and poor old Rufus, whom no-one would buy. He must be over seventeen years old.”
    The Duke made no comment because, as he had said so often, what had happened seemed so incredible that now he was just prepared to listen.
    He wanted, however, to find out and see for himself exactly what had happened.
    When they visited the farms he could understand that no-one with even a shred of decency in them would have turned away the Hendersons because they could not pay their rent.
    There had been five generations of Hendersons farming that particular farm, and on other farms it was much the same story.
    He was really appalled at the condition that the farms were in. The roofs had not been repaired for years, and many of the outbuildings had collapsed altogether.
    “Things were good in the war, Your Grace,” one farmer told him, “but soon as it were over, no-one wanted the farmers any longer, and the big harvest of 1815 flooded the market.”
    The Duke was quick to understand that few farmers had saved money, and, being able to visualise anything but rising prices, they had invested everything they had in their land.
    The poor soils they had ploughed in response to the war-time demand became economically unworkable when wheat prices fell disastrously.
    By the time he and Alvina had ridden over only half of the Estate and listened to the despair the farmers expressed, he could sympathise with, although he certainly did not condone it, the fear which had made the last Duke believe he was ruined.
    By the mercy of Providence he could repair much of the damage, but he could not help remembering that he could not replace the men who had been killed in battle and who would never return.
    He had, however, told his own tenant-farmers that he would lend them money to make improvements without interest for three years, and he also promised he would find out when he returned to London what were the best markets available for the crops they grew.
    Their gratitude was pathetic, and as the Duke and Alvina rode away from the fourth farm they had visited, he said to her:
    “I hope that I am not being too optimistic and that there will be purchasers for the wheat, oats, barley, and all the other crops.”
    “What is more important than anything else,” Alvina replied, “is that there should be work for the younger men.”
    The Duke knew this was true.
    As he drove back to London, he saw in the villages through which he passed men who looked unmistakably as if they should be wearing a uniform.
    They were sitting about on the Village Green or lounging outside the Inn, obviously with time on their hands because they were unemployed.
    He thought to his satisfaction that at least he had a great number of vacancies now at the Castle.
    The Head-Gardener was too old and too infirm to do anything active, but Alvina was certain that he would be able to direct any men they employed and would be aware of what would grow best in the Kitchen Garden.
    He would also know where the strawberry-beds, the peas, the beans, and the carrots had been planted in the past.
    The Duke had thought that the first thing he should do was to find and engage an Estate Manager.
    But because Alvina was so involved in this herself, and he knew it would make her happy to re-employ those who had been dismissed, he had thought that could wait until she found it too much for her.
    At the same time, the Estate was a very extensive one.
    The next day they had visited other farms, inspected an Orphanage which had been closed for three years, and called at the Schools, which were empty and neglected.
    There were also several Churches which were either on the verge of falling down or had no incumbent because the reigning Duke was responsible for his stipend.
    When they returned to the Castle late in the afternoon, having had luncheon at a village Inn consisting of fresh bread and cheese washed down