Pressure. For as long as he could remember, John Allan felt nothing but pressure. The Bank of Virginia was constantly breathing down his neck after Ellis & Allen’s failed expansion efforts. And unlike his business partner, John did not have a money in the bank. He’d spent every thing keeping up with society. Uncle William Galt was one of the richest men in the commonwealth, but there was no way John proud to ask the old man for a dime- his proud Scottish ethics made sure of that. 
Growing up. John had heard stories of America’s bounty- that the streets were paved in gold. Unfortunately for him, it was hardly the windfall he’d been promised. 
Of course it wasn’t all bad. He made friends, and colleagues and married the prettiest woman in all of Richmond. But in recent years, that joy of life had drained from Fanny, and doctors from Richmond to New York couldn't cure her melancholia. [1].  Thank heavens for his sister in law. Miss Nancy Valentine cared for her sister and John promised she’d always have a place to live. Miss Nancy recognized his generosity too.  If only Eddy were. 
The kid was an absolute mystery to John, a walking cypher with no key. As Eddy grew in size, so too did his arrogance, defiance, and attitude. Communicating with him was impossible, even when he was given so much.  Damn fool boy didn’t know how good he had it. 
Sometimes John blamed Fanny for Eddy’s spoils. She had been the one to insist they rescue the toddler Edgar after the great actress Eliza Poe passed away, may she rest in peace. And while he had always been apprehensive about taking the child away from his rightful family, in time he grew to love little Eddy, even if Frances dressed him in ridiculous tiny velvet suits and had him dance around for her friends at tea. 
Where John had come from, boys were given duties at this age. In Ayrshire, life wasn’t tea and crumpets- it was hard knocks and grit. And this, he wanted to instill on little Eddy, despite Fanny’s pleas not to leave the child be. 
Meanwhile, John took the child with him as much as he could. On trips to the plantation, they would talk about adoption, but the move to English changed everything. 
At first, he tried taking Eddy with him on business trips in the English countryside, but somewhere between pride and perspicacity, he changed his mind. SO when they got to John’s childhood home in Ayrshire, he left little Eddy with his sister, and other children his age. But when he returned to collect Eddy, he was met by an insolent youth. Tings went rom bad to worse when John had to break the news to the boy that his biological grandfather, David Poe Sr. had died. [6]. So John threw a bone to the boy, by enrolling him in the finest English boarding school he could find. 
The Manor House School [3] in Stoke Newington would allow Eddy to be with  other ex-pats, and visit the Allan’s apartment on weekends. The arrangement even seemed to work, and John thought all was forgiven when Eddy dropped the name Poe and went by Edgar Allan, but when other children learned he was related to a war hero, and personal friend of the Marque de Lafayette, Eddy went back to signing Edgar Allan Poe. This left John to assume the boy wasn’t interested in adoption, and so without another word, he dropped the topic altogether. 
That didn’t mean he didn’t love the boy, which is why he was doing his best to get publish his work, and if that happened maybe he kid would finally see that he wasn’t conspiring against him, but rather looking out for him. 
“Mr. Allan, so good to see you, Sir,” greeted the now former head of the school. 
 “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Clarke.” John placed Edgar’s manuscripts on the heavy mahogany desk to rest. 
 “Thank you for seeing me, and for taking a look at Eddy’s work.”
Clarke smiled at the compliment. “Edgar is a special boy; one of my star pupils. I’m only sorry you had to tow this manuscript here. I’m quite familiar with the boy’s work- a penchant for the gothic he seems to have.” 
“You have no idea,” John confirmed.  “So, do you think Eddy stands a chance with this writin’?” 
Clarke paused to compose the right words. 
“Edgar is superb in his scholarship. Cheerful and brimful of mirth; a great favorite with his schoolmates. I have never had an occasion to speak a harsh word to him, much less to make him do penance. [4]  However, I fear his ambition to excel may be his downfall.”
John’s face fell flat. Despite the tough veneer, Charke’s news hurt him too. 
“I appreciate his talents, but at fourteen years old, I can hardly endorse publication. You see, he is of a very excitable temperament; possessing a great deal of self-esteem, and it would be injurious to allow him to be flattered and talked about as the author of a printed book at his age.” [5]
I knew it, John thought. I told Fanny he needed humbling. She’s fill-in’ his head with bollocks. Right then. Times a wastin’. Its Tough Love for Eddy to save him from further incorrigible spoils. 
---
Across town, Edgar paced around the parlor.
 “You’re going to wear out the carpet,” Frances, Nancy, and Juliet each said separately as they passed by. 
This was It—  All those years of pain, and sorrow, and misfortune poured into ink and parchment.  It had to be worth something. Oh he might seem like a privileged boy on the outside, but late at night when these imps of the perverse crept in, the only way to get them out of his head was onto paper. 
 Now, all Eddy could think about -obsess about really- was what Mister Clarke would do for him. Thud. 
The front door closed with a bang. Eddy dashed to the foyer to greet Pa. Their eyes met, and without a word, John shook his head. Then he quietly placed the manuscript on the table, entered the study, and closed the door behind. 

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