"It does, doesn't it? Or something a bit higher than a baritone but not quite a tenor," he says with a laugh.

"Really the thing that makes it is land, and I know there was that sort of class in America, even if they didn't call themselves barons or marquis. All the aristocracy, nobility or not, has land attached to their names. Our home was in Cumberland, and I haven't the slightest idea how long the Sharpes have owned it. Long enough to have a hereditary title, anyway." He shrugs. "My family was actually destitute, though. My father ran us into the ground."

As he talks, he pours hot water into Eric's mug. "He spent his money on anything but improving our position. He was a very cruel man. Thoroughly disappointed in having a son like me. Too soft, by his measure."