The Avalanche of Paper

The consequences of success arrived at Oriel Estate in heavy canvas sacks.

Literally.

Three mornings after Ernest's inspection trip to Harrowfield, a horse-drawn royal postal carriage rattled through the estate gates carrying two bulky mailbags stuffed almost to bursting. A second carriage followed twenty minutes later, and by noon, Ernest's private secretary had abandoned all pretense of fitting the incoming correspondence into the normal filing cabinets.

Letters, petitions, and legal briefs covered the long mahogany table outside his study.