Wheel of Fortune VII

Hal talks to Pam, his pscyhatrist stepmother about the situation with Kester and Harry..... and She says that it was a case of sibling rivalry. Kester looked to his Uncle John as a father figure, but he felt he was never able to live up to John's strength and toughness and that Harry was a similar tough strong young man. The two boys competed for John's approval. Kester envied Harry having 4 sons in a few years of marriage.... but Harry was dissatisfied with his silly but kindly wife... and found his sons a burden. Harry also worried about John.. that he was dissatisfied with him for marrying a girl with no brains or personality, and for winding up living on a small estate in Penhale when he could have done better for himself financially. When Bella died, Harry slept around, while Kester remained faithful to Anna. BUt Pam says that probably Kester felt inadequate sexually, when compared to his womanising cousin. She points out to Hal that Harry did his best for his sons, though he was not finding it easy...and that it was easier for Kester to be a fun uncle..... Hal decides that he has to try and work out some way of saving Oxmoon and that will make up for the problems that were caused by Harry and Kester's feud. Oxmoon is an ordinary manor house, but Kester's collection of objets d'art had made it special for a few years. Harry had approached the National Trust to see if they would take over the house and make it a showplace again... and it could become self supporting. However the Trust had said that the house would need renovation and they would only take control of it, if Harry could supply money for the restoration. Hal decides that he is somehow going to raise the money, and that will be an act of atonement on his father's behalf. However his idea is, to market Kester's collection of novels, and make money out that. Pam tells him that unfortunately, the novels dont exist any more. They had never been published, but Kester kept on trying - and when Kester died, Harry was worried that there might be something in the novels that would give a clue as to Kester's frame of mind before he died.. and it might implicate Harry in his death. So he burned the novels. Hal is devastated.