"There are… indeed other properties, but only a few plots of land have been sold, and those weren't handled by me. These lands are all fertile fields, and many people want to buy them. The transactions were handled directly by my father and the butler.
A few plots of land were sold to several respectable people in Philadelphia, and a few plots were bought by our family. countess Rogers, please rest assured, if there is really a problem here, I will definitely persuade my father to cancel this transaction, at least the one our family made." Biddle said sincerely to Diana.
Charles stared at Biddle's face for a while, feeling that he wasn't lying. The expression on his face even had a hint of wanting to pull out his heart to assure Diana.
It seems Biddle really didn't know about the butler embezzling family property. However, Biddle' expression was too strange; even if he wanted to prove he would help, he didn't need to be as sappy as a lover making promises. Connecting this with Biddle' reluctance to leave the castle last time, Charles guessed that Biddle was probably secretly in love with the girl in his arms.
The thought of a twenty-year-old adult man secretly loving a fourteen or fifteen-year-old underage girl sent a shiver down Charles's spine.
"Biddle, I think there must be a problem here. At the very least, that butler once threw countess Rogers out. If I hadn't happened to see her, she wouldn't even know where to go right now." Charles said in a deep voice.
Hearing Charles's reply, the girl Diana in his arms started crying even louder.
"Such a thing actually happened!" Biddle's face was filled with shock and anger.
However, he had been sent by his family to manage industries for several years, and had seen more things, so he immediately realized that if the butler really had a problem, it must be somewhat related to his own family. Although emotionally he clearly leaned towards countess Rogers, rationally he had to consider all the pros and cons.
But he was still under twenty, and more easily swayed by emotion, so he even suggested:
"Charles, can you help countess Rogers? Anyway, the castle hasn't been sold yet. Why don't we go to the castle with countess Rogers? With us as witnesses, the butler shouldn't dare to act recklessly again. If he dares to do anything, we can just send him to jail."
Charles was a bit troubled now. Biddle clearly didn't know about the butler's affairs and had already chosen to side with Rogers, but he didn't know whether the Biddle family was involved. The fact was, he and the Biddle family were commercial and political allies, and Biddle was merely the link in that alliance.
"No! Councilor Godfrey, please don't send me to the castle. If possible, I hope I can stay here with you for a few days." Rogers, upon hearing Biddle's suggestion, quickly looked up and expressed her thoughts to Charles.
Her pitiful expression made Charles immediately agree without hesitation:
"Alright, you can stay here as long as you like."
"Ah!" Biddle let out a short gasp of surprise.
After Charles glared at him disapprovingly, he cleared his throat and relaxed his expression, saying:
"Councilor Godfrey, your place is a bit simple. I think it would be better for countess Rogers to stay at my house."
He then turned to Dianaand said:
"Esteemed countess Rogers, you've been to our home…"
"No! Mr. Biddle, I think staying here with Councilor Godfrey is very good. It feels very much like home here." Diana immediately turned her head to refuse.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief. After seeing Biddle' repeated unusual behavior, he was absolutely certain of this young Biddle family member's intentions. He had definitely taken a liking to this underage countess Rogers and was trying every possible way to curry favor with her, hoping to win the favor of the Diana.
The thought of Biddle having designs on such a young girl filled Charles with anger. These damned colonists, not even sparing a fifteen-year-old girl, were truly shameless. Such a lovely girl, while facing the danger of being robbed by wicked servants, also had to guard against an adult man's improper intentions.
Charles suddenly made up his mind: for "justice and fairness," he would help this girl properly. Also, to protect this girl, he would absolutely not allow middle-aged men like Biddle to lay a hand on her.
Once he reclaimed the castle, he would apply to the court to become Diana's guardian. Even if he couldn't reclaim the castle, he would at least ensure Diana's personal safety, even if it meant conflicting with the Biddle family's cooperation.
"Biddle, I will take care of Diana. However, if you truly care about Diana, discuss it with your father to see if he was deceived by the Count's butler, and help testify in court in the future so that Rogers can win back the castle." Charles replied to Biddle indifferently.
Biddle immediately sensed the displeasure in Charles's words, knowing that it was indeed inappropriate to say that staying here was uncomfortable in front of the host. And he also felt very unhappy seeing Charles holding Diana; two friends who were once very good suddenly found each other disagreeable.
After giving Diana another deep look, Biddle finally chose to back down.
"Alright! Charles, we are good friends, you must take good care of countess Diana. I…" Biddle's face suddenly showed a hint of discouragement. "Anyway, you must take good care of her, otherwise I won't forgive you. As for the Count and the castle, I will discuss it with my father."
After speaking, he didn't say anything more to Diana, simply put on his hat, and hurried out.
The poor young man, he had indeed been secretly in love with Diana all along. Developing feelings for a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl was actually very normal in America at this time.
The average marriage age across society was generally low; girls from the upper class were usually engaged by fifteen, and if they weren't married by sixteen, they were certainly considered to have poor looks or character.
A genuine english noblewoman like Diana was absolutely the most attractive in America. Moreover, she was not yet fifteen and not engaged, naturally attracting a large number of admirers.
Previously, among the suitors, Biddle was not a particularly strong contender because he was not a noble and didn't share much common ground with traditional english nobility like the Count's family.
But he genuinely liked Diana very much. Now, he finally saw an opportunity to show Rogers his devotion, but unexpectedly, the girl was already in Charles' arms.
Compared to the noble youths of the past, Charles' status was clearly something Biddle couldn't easily shake. The former nobles had no real power in America; their power was in England, which didn't affect him much as a scion of a prominent Philadelphia family. The key was that the Count's family itself disliked new families like his.
Now, Charles not only possessed British noble status (though only a minor noble, it already allowed him to stand alongside Rogers), but he was also a man of considerable personal strength, with the social standing of a Continental Congress Representative, fixed assets of one hundred thousand acres of land in Pittsburgh, and even substantial cash assets.
All of this made Biddle lose confidence in defeating Charles and winning Diana's love. So, after an internal struggle, he ultimately chose to back down.
This left Charles, who had originally expected Biddle to do something, dumbfounded.
What did that mean? Was it a commission between love rivals? He had no interest in the girl at all; he just couldn't bear to see an underage girl being violated by an adult man! Charles thought, feeling depressed.
He completely forgot that Biddle and he were both not yet twenty years old.
While Charles was still feeling depressed about Biddle' reaction, the girl in his arms stirred uncomfortably.
Charles looked down and saw that Diana' face was flushed, and she was shyly moving her body slightly, trying to get out of his embrace.
"Hahaha!" Charles let out a hearty laugh, immediately releasing his hands from around Diana's small waist.
"Don't worry, Diana, Biddle has left, and I am fully prepared to help with your situation. You can also rest assured and stay at my house; I will find someone to handle everything for you."
"Really?" Diana said, hugging herself, surprised and delighted.
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Charles said, smiling as he playfully tapped the girl's nose.
Seeing the girl's frightened expression, Charles truly couldn't believe she was naturally like this. What kind of fright had she endured to become this way?
"Diana! Didn't you say you were originally with your father in Boston? The British nobles in Boston should have already retreated with General Howe by now. How did you end up here instead? Where is your father?"