Wycliffe often said that had he known what awaited him that fateful day, he would never have entered the vicarage. Of course, everyone knew he was lying, and since Maximilian Alistair Wentworth Fortescue, Fifth Earl of Wycliffe, never lied, his statement was all the more astounding. But then everyone was astonished by what happened....
It all began simply enough in the early spring of 1816 with an innocent visit to a new property in Sussex that Maximilian had just inherited from his great-uncle. Compared to the Wycliffe seat, it was a small property, but prosperous. Unfortunately, the modest fifteen-bedroom manor house had not seen improvements in many a year, and Maximilian knew it would need refurbishing.
In his usual, methodical fashion, Maximilian began assessing the property immediately, determining what repairs were needed and ordering them. He introduced himself to the staff, the tenants, and, on this bright March day, the third in a planned week-long stay, he set out to pay a call on the vicar.
Maximilian was neither looking forward to the obligation nor dreading it; he was simply performing his duty in his accustomed responsible fashion. His schedule had been painstakingly prepared before he had even left London, and he stuck to it with what some might view as excessive rigidity.
Not Maximilian. He prized order and kept himself running as regularly as the gold engraved watch given to him by his father. With the practiced gesture of habit, Maximilian removed the piece from his fob pocket and noted the time. Calculating one half hour to be sufficient for his visit, he strode up the flagstone path to the vicarage.
