"No," he admitted, with half a sigh. He felt guilty about saying so, even to Noble, but it was the truth. This entire ordeal of being head of the household had forced him to focus on all sorts of things he might never have cared about before, and he hated it. He wished, not for the first time, that Noble was older — Noble would have been better at this. Noble was rational, and collected; Noble could be mercenary, if it came down to it. Ford would have much preferred if his only job as a brother was to love his sisters unconditionally. He was good at that.

"It's not their fault," he pointed out, begrudgingly including their mother in that comment. Verity and Grace didn't know anything about the family's situation, and while their mother did, she hadn't ever had the full scope of things. As explicit as Ford was trying to be with her about laying out boundaries on their money, he still didn't think she really understood.