There was a universally acknowledged truth: a man in possession of a considerable fortune must be in want of a wife.
This truth was so deeply ingrained that whenever such a bachelor arrived in a new place, no matter how little the neighboring families knew of his character or intentions, they still regarded him as the rightful property of one of their daughters.
Georgiana had no daughters, but that did not stop her from investigating the fortunes of Henry Petty and Casimir Pierre Perrier.
Even excluding the 200,000 acres of land William Petty had acquired illegally in Ireland, the marquis's family still possessed at least one "palace" with three hundred rooms, sixty-two farms, three villages, and factories scattered across London, Liverpool, Manchester, and elsewhere, along with shares in canal companies and shops, depots, and warehouses of every size. If the marchioness thought it necessary, she could open a real estate company, or a department store open only to herself.
Casimir Pierre Perrier, meanwhile, ran a bank. He handled the banking affairs of the Anzin Coal Mine and owned land in the area himself.
Managing estates like these was nothing like managing a home with only one apartment and a few servants.
If Leoncourt chose to remain on his farm in Normandy and continue dreaming of becoming an American farmer, then Alice would not have to be treated like a lamb dragged to the livestock market.
Men like them did not need to marry a wife to manage their households, nor did they need their wives to share part of their business burdens, as textile mill owners did.
She could live happily every day, free of all worries.
If she could ignore those hidden dangers.
Georgiana now missed dog sledding, missed Butterbeer, missed the sensation of running freely across the wilderness,