Quiet Gentleman Part III SPoilers

Drusilla's family are renting a house on the Stanyon estate, but have gone away to visit some of the Lake poets who are their friends. She goes to the house one day, to check that all is well and then visits one of the servants on her way back to the castle. SHe comes across Gervase, having had a bad fall from his horse, lying on the ground. It looks as if someone had put a cord across the path, causing the horse to stumble and throw him. She looks after him and gets him back to the castle but is increasingly worried that someone is trying to kill the earl. Gervase is also suspicious but tells her and Ulverston to put out a story that his horse stumbled into a rabbit hole and he had a bad fall. He keeps a wary distance from his brother. When he recovers he finds that Martin has got a new valet, an odd rough looking man who uses thieves cant, and wonders why. Martin goes out shooting and disappears, and when he comes back, he tells a strange tale of having been kidnapped by someone who then let him go and he found out on his way back to Stanyon, that the police were looking for him. He tells Gervase that his so called Valet is actually a retired Bow Street runner, whom he hired because he was worried about his own and his brothers safety. Gervase realises that someone has been trying to make mischief between the 2 of them, and he confronts Theo, telling him that he believes it is he who has been doing this, contriving accidents that look like they have been caused by Martin... and that he beleives that Theo had developed an obsession with Stanyon... and wanted it for himself. If Gervase were killed and Martin were blamed for it, he would inherit the estate. Gervase adds that he does not bear malice against his cousin, he feels that he was in a very difficult positon. He grew up at Stanyon and loved it, but it was not his estate.. and old Lord St Erth did not think of giving him one of his smaller estates for his own... Martin is horrified when he hears this.. but Gervase says that he will only remember Theo as his cousin of whom he was fond and who looked after his interests for a long time. Gervase suggests that THeodore could go to the West Indies to look after an estate there, but the estate belongs to Martin. Martin agrees, unhappily, saying that they dont want a scandal and that if Theo leaves Stanyon but stays in England there will be talk. In the meantime, Gervase has proposed to Drusilla. Her father is not too happy because he disapproves of Earls, however Drusilla's mother is more practical and feels that the couple love each other and that her daughter is doing very well for herself to catch an earl.. so they agree to the marriage.