Lord Everly and Squire Alfred strode along the path to the stables in their black bowler hats and mud spattered riding breeches.

'Why, it's been some years now since I've had the pleasure of a March hunt in Norfolk,' Lord Everly began.
'An invigorating experience. Good for the soul, eh Alfie?'.

Squire Alfred's ruddy complexion glowed in the chilly March sun. He seemed preoccupied.

'Oh...yes..yes indeed,' Squire Alfred muttered.

'Alfie, is anything wrong?,' Lord Everly asked politely.
'You do appear like a man who is distinctly out of sorts. Have you made any profit on your estate returns this year? Did you have problems with the estate tenants?. Tenants can be such a bothersome lot at times, eh Alfie...still ..of course we need their puny contributions to assist in the running of the estate'.

Sir Alfred paused momentarily making another attempt to light his midday pipe.

'Lord Everly,' Sir Alfred said,' do you have any succession issues at your estate in Worthampt? Your son is in residence there with his family, I take it? Briarly Hall is having a degree of difficulty in that department.
What with my only daughter,Lady Mathilde, foolishly trying to save the world for her fair sex and Lord Airdale, my only male heir, still sowing his wild oats, well into middle age, Briarly Hall may have to pass to some distant, irksome relative.

Lady Betsy is distraught regarding the whole sorry affair. Why, Lord Everly, you and I had no more wild oats to sow by middle age.....it was well and truly spent, by then and scattered far and wide'.

The two men guffawed loudly as they continued walking side by side.

'Alfie, it's preposterous, surely you would never seriously consider turning over Briarly Hall, the family seat for generations, to some ill-begotten stranger?.'

'Would not be my choice...yet the matter must be resolved'. Alfie continued

'What about ...you know.......do you know if Lord Airdale may have sired any....sons out of wedlock..bastards?.'

Alfred continued, 'Indeed, the odds of that eventuality are high, considering he is now in middle age. Nevertheless the matter still needs to be resolved satisfactorily. Are you aware of any such in your locale, who may have inherited on such a pretext?'

'M-mm , can't say as I know of any of my immediate acquaintance, Alfie...why an old neighbour, Squire Reginald, before he passed away bequeathed his entire estate to a Marquis Philip of dubious aristocratic origin. Philip, though now in his dotage, is surrounded by a bevy of grand children. There were whisperings of lunacy and other imponderables in the line, you know, that sort of banter.
Exact details are shrouded in the mists of time.'

Lord Everly paused for a moment and stroked his goatee.

'Alfie, old boy, don't forget the world is changing fast. Take a look around.The aristocracy are a dying breed, clinging on to a sinking ship, if you ask my opinion. Who is going to sail in that ship for much longer?.'

Alfred listened intently, buoyed up by the prospect of somehow finding a potential solution. A broad smile broke out on his face.

'Good Heavens, Lord Everly,' Squire Alfred continued,' you are a breath of fresh air, devoid of stuffy, anachronistic ideas. Why indeed should we cling on to an idea that is clearly dying?.
Perhaps Lady Mathilde and her generation are on the right track. No more silly notions about needle point and playing pianoforte while patiently waiting for a knight in shining armour to come along to be her lawful wedded husband.
Lord Everly you are such a funny fellow, with an eye to the future.
You must come join us for supper soon at Briarly Hall and help change Lady Betsy's outmoded notions about heirs and heirlooms'.

Alfred slapped Everly good-humouredly between the shoulder blades and the two men stopped momentarily in the morning room. Butler Eames served them generous shots of vintage brandy.

'Ah-a what a good pick-me-up Alfie, just what's needed to heat the blood.

It's a vexed question, nevertheless,' Lord Everly continued.
Our son, Viscount William, resides presently at his wife's estate, due to the absence of a male heir there. Being an only child, she will, probably, ultimately inherit. William has, you might say, fallen on his feet.

Can be inconvenient at times, especially when he has duties to attend at Worthampt.

But on the other hand, who knows what claimant may emerge out of the shadows? The law on succession may still throw up some difficulty around inheritance by a female heir. Bloody English inheritance law, be damned.'

Lord Everly hastened to rejoin his equerry. Sir Alfred returned to his study with a renewed sense of purpose.