As she stepped over the threshold, she nearly tripped. Tobias wasn’t there.

His secretary, a round-faced gentleman with dark, receding hair and a warm smile, stood from where he sat in a chair beside Tobias’s desk. “Good afternoon, Miss Wingate. Thank you for coming to meet with me. Will you sit for a moment?”

She glanced toward the settee but didn’t want to sit there. Instead, she took another chair on the other side of Tobias’s desk. “I didn’t realize I was coming to see you, Mr. Dyer. Carrin only told me that my presence was required in the study.”

“I see, well, my apologies. It wasn’t my intent to surprise you. With the deadline for his lordship’s marriage in ten days and his lack of a bride, I thought we should discuss the specifics of your inheritance.”

Her what? Fiona stared at him as words utterly failed her.

“Now, the twelfth is a Sunday, so the property will officially transfer to you on the thirteenth. The property does have a steward who was hired by Lady Overton, and you will likely wish to retain him, at least for a while—”

Fiona held up a hand and finally managed to push forth speech. “What inheritance are you speaking of? I am not aware of a property or anything else, for that matter.”

Mr. Dyer’s complexion paled by at least a shade. He shifted in his chair and glanced down at the papers in front of him on the corner of the desk. “Oh. I thought his lordship had informed you of the terms of his father’s will.”

Outrage warred with disappointment inside her. “He has not. I pray you will enlighten me since it seems to involve…me.” She somehow summoned a smile but feared it wasn’t at all pleasant. She clasped her hands so tightly in her lap that her fingers started to go numb.

Dyer hesitated. No doubt he was perplexed as to why his employer hadn’t told her a thing about any of this. He certainly seemed confused.

The secretary coughed. “Well, this is irregular, as I thought his lordship had told you of the situation. His father’s will states that his lordship must wed within three months of the prior earl’s death, and that date is the twelfth of March.”

Now Tobias’s search for a countess and his seeming inability to find one made sense. He wasn’t looking for a wife because he wanted one but because he had to marry. The servants’ chatter that Prudence had overheard also made sense.

“What happens if he doesn’t wed by that date?” Fiona asked.

“If he remains unwed, one of his properties will be transferred to you.”

“How can that be? Aren’t an earl’s properties entailed with the title?”

“It varies, but in this case, the estate in question belonged to Lord Overton’s mother’s family—that is, the current Lord Overton. Upon her marriage to the prior earl, Horethorne became his property.”

Fiona’s mind spun. She was to own an entire estate? That would change everything. She wouldn’t have to worry about Mrs. Tucket or herself, never mind when or whether she should marry. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. It was rare for women to own property. She wondered if her cousin was aware of this and whether he could prevent her from claiming it.