Rose blushed as she curtsied, then scurried to leave the room.
They ate in silence, savoring the rich chicken stew.
“Today, when I visited with Mr. Fortesque, the vicar, I asked about villagers coming to the castle to set things to right after being empty for so long. He said he would put the word out to his parishioners. He thought we would get some maids of all work and some laborers coming here tomorrow. I’d like to get the other outbuildings set to rights if that is agreeable to you, Cassie,” Lakehurst said as he finished his stew and pushed the bowl away.
“Yes. Thank you for thinking of those matters. I’d like the dairy to be one of the priorities so we can have fresh milk, cream, and butter if there is a dairymaid available,” Cassie said before eating her last bit of bread.
“How long do you intend to stay here?” Gwinnie asked, startled.
Cassie laughed around the bread in her mouth. She held her serviette to her mouth for a moment as she swallowed. “Only a few weeks,” she admitted. She grew serious. “But I want the castle property to function as it once did. Being left alone with only a caretaker couple who did nothing to upkeep the property was not good! I can see deterioration that shouldn’t be! This is my son’s inheritance. If I need to, I will lease it out until he reaches his majority to have someone living here and keeping it safe.”
“I think it could pay for itself in estate goods,” Lakehurst said.
“We did while my husband was alive. I don’t think Edmund understood that.”
“Most likely not,” Lakehurst said. He stood. “Shall we return to the library?”
The ladies agreed. Cassie requested brandy to be brought to them in that room.
“I found a stack of receipts stuffed into the back of one of the drawers we should compare against the ledger books you have been studying Cassie.”
“I also found some newer receipts stuffed between old account books,” said Gwinnie.
“Bring them to the table where I have been going through the ledgers.—Lakehurst, if you would be so kind as to pull up another chair, I think we can sit here comfortably,” Cassie said. She pulled the most recent ledger to her. “This ledger starts in January, so let’s look at the receipts for this timeframe,” she suggested.
They read off the items and the amounts spent. Cassie checked off their entries and noted the amount on the receipt in a column next to the amount listed. When they finished, every receipt they matched was for less than the amount in the account book. There were also entries in the account book for which they didn’t have receipts, like Carlyle’s wages.
Lakehurst leaned back in his chair when they were done. “They have been systematically embezzling funds. And they have been smart about it. The amounts range from 20 to 100 guineas and fluctuate based on the season.”
“Amazing,” Gwinnie said. She rose. “I know it is not late; however, I am tired. I’m going upstairs to my room.”
Cassie and Lakehurst wished her a good night.
Lakehurst refilled their brandy glasses, and they returned to reviewing the documents, the only sound in the room the scratching of their quills on paper.
Lakehurst finally laid his quill down and finished his brandy.
“I like working with you like this,” he said. “You’re a restful woman to work alongside, not chattering about this or that.”
She smiled as she laid her quill down and turned toward him. “Thank you. I could say the same of you—not the woman part,” she jokingly clarified and he laughed with her. “The restful part. It is just nice to know someone is near, even if we don’t say a word.”
“That is precisely what I meant.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. He looked down at his hands clasped between his legs, then back up at her.
“I can’t imagine not having you in my life.”
“Please—No.”
“No, what?”
“Don’t think there might be a future for us. I’ve quite decided. I will not marry again.”
“Why do you say that?”
She turned her head to the side, away from his piercing gaze as she considered how to answer him. It had been well known in society that the Marquess of Darkford had possessed a passionate nature. His passions ran high for many things and many people.
Just not for her.
She’d come to believe there was something in her nature that depressed strong feelings for her. There was something fundamentally missing in her. And she thought it went both ways. She wasn’t sure if she was capable of strong feelings for a man any more than a man could have strong feelings for her.
