Chapter 8: The Art of Persuasion (rewrited)

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"Butler Sean, trust me, I'm not exactly thrilled about this either," Barron sighed, rubbing his temples as if he were already carrying the weight of the entire aristocracy on his back. "If I had another option, I'd take it in a heartbeat. But desperate times call for... well, reckless investment strategies."

Butler Sean remained unconvinced. He was the human equivalent of a particularly judgmental grandfather clock—silent, unmoving, but full of disapproval.

"My lord," he said gravely, "Chatsworth Manor has weathered many storms. We have always found a way."

"Exactly! And this time, that way is me, armed with a hundred thousand pounds and a vague memory of the stock market!" Barron grinned, clapping Sean on the shoulder. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Sean did not look reassured. If anything, he now looked like a man seriously considering early retirement.

Still, Barron needed to move forward. The first step? Understanding the family trust fund. And that meant dealing with the ever-intimidating Julia Moore.

Julia Moore sat across from Barron in the grand study, her expression as warm and inviting as an unpaid tax bill.

"Lord Barron," she began, in the tone of a woman who had survived many foolish requests in her lifetime, "I must be clear. If you are seeking funds to pay your inheritance tax, I will support that. If you wish to sell assets to cover losses, I will support that. But if you are asking for money to gamble on the market, I'm afraid the answer is no."

Barron blinked. He had expected some resistance, but this was more like trying to convince a stone wall to have a little faith.

"Come on, Ms. Moore," he said, attempting his most charming smile. "I'm not just throwing money around. I have a plan!"

Julia's expression remained unchanged. "Oh? And how does this plan differ from the one that got the family into this mess?"

"Well, for starters," Barron said, "I'm not my father."

"That remains to be seen," she countered.

Ouch.

Barron exhaled, leaning back in his chair. "Alright, let's be reasonable. Surely, as the manager of the family trust, your role is to assist the heir—aka me. So why the hard stance?"

Julia crossed her arms. "Because my role is to protect the family assets, not enable untested financial schemes. I made the mistake of not pushing back harder against your father's investment decisions. I will not repeat that mistake with you."

Barron leaned forward. "So you think I'm reckless?"

"I think," Julia said evenly, "that I have no intention of funding an experiment to prove otherwise."

Barron sighed dramatically, throwing his hands up. "So that's it? No trust in me at all?"

"It's not about trust, Your Excellency. It's about responsibility." Julia stood up, smoothing out her skirt. "If you want control over the family trust, then secure your inheritance. Until then, my answer remains the same."

And with that, she turned on her heel and left.

Barron sat there, staring at the door. "Well," he muttered to himself, "that went about as well as trying to charm a tax collector."

Butler Sean, who had been watching the exchange with the silent patience of a man who had seen many heirs make questionable decisions, cleared his throat.

"You do realize, Master Barron, that Miss Moore has good reason to be cautious?"

"Yes, yes," Barron waved him off. "She's got her whole tragic backstory, I get it."

Julia Moore—full name Yulia Shakhovskoy Moore, because why settle for a simple name when you can have a noble Russian legacy—was the descendant of Tsarist aristocrats who had fled Russia after the October Revolution. Her family had once been wealthy, but by the time her mother's generation rolled around, they were about as aristocratic as a particularly refined loaf of bread.

Her connection to the Cavendish family came from her father, a lawyer who had been close to Barron's grandfather. After his untimely death, the Cavendish family had helped fund Yulia's education, which was how she had ended up as the manager of the family trust fund.

In short, she had every reason to be loyal to the Cavendish family. But unfortunately, her loyalty didn't extend to blindly handing Barron a blank check.

"Alright," Barron admitted, drumming his fingers on the desk. "So getting trust fund money is a no-go. That leaves me with my measly hundred grand."

Sean nodded solemnly. "Unless you complete the inheritance process quickly and officially take control of all family assets, that is correct."

Barron exhaled. "Fantastic. Just what I needed—more paperwork."

At this rate, his biggest investment wouldn't be in stocks or oil but in finding a way to charm Julia Moore into believing in him.

And that, he thought grimly, might be even harder than beating the market.