“I did say it’s the largest holding at Maycliffe,” Richard murmured, bringing the wagon to a halt. The Burnhams had been farming the land there for several generations and over time had built quite a nice house, with four bedrooms, a sitting room, and an office. They’d once employed a maid, but she’d been let go when the family had fallen on hard times before the elder Mr. Burnham’s death.

“I’ve never gone visiting with my cousins,” Iris said self-consciously.

Richard hopped down and then offered her his hand. “Why do you sound so unsure all of a sudden?”

“I suppose I’m realizing how little I know.” She motioned to the house. “I had assumed all tenant farmers lived in little cottages.”

“Most do. But some are quite prosperous. One does not need to own the land to do well.”

“But one does need to own the land to be considered a gentleman. Or at least have been born into a landowning family.”

“True,” he acceded. Even a yeoman farmer would not be considered gentry. One needed larger holdings for that.

“Sir Richard!” came a shout.

Richard grinned as he saw a young boy running toward him. “Tommy!” he called out. He tousled the boy’s hair when he bounced into place in front of him. “What has your mother been feeding you? I believe you’ve grown a foot since our last meeting.”

Tommy Burnham beamed. “John’s got me working in the fields. Mum says it’s the sunshine. I must be a weed.”

Richard laughed, then introduced Iris, who earned Tommy’s everlasting devotion by treating him like an adult and offering her hand for a shake.

“Is John in the house?” Richard asked, reaching into the wagon for the correct box.

“With Mum,” Tommy replied, with a jerk of his head toward the house. “We’re taking a break to eat.”

“Is this the one?” Richard murmured to Iris. At her nod, he lifted the box out and motioned for her to begin walking toward the house. “You’ve other men working with you in the fields, though, don’t you?” he asked Tommy.

“Oh, yes.” Tommy looked at him as if he were daft to even consider that they might not. “We couldn’t do it ourselves. Don’t even need me, really, but John says I’ve got to do my part.”

“Your brother is a wise man,” Richard said.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “So he says.”

Iris let out a little laugh.

“Watch out for her,” Richard said with a tick of his head toward Iris. “Like you, she’s got far too many siblings, and she’s learned to be quick.”

“Not quick,” Iris corrected. “Devious.”

“Even worse.”

“He is the oldest,” she told Tommy meaningfully. “What he achieved with brute force, we’ve had to manage with our wits.”

“She’s got you there, Sir Richard,” Tommy chortled.

“She always does.”