‘Those items being your life’s work?’
‘It’s the ethos behind them. Your father’s ethos.’ Mrs Fitch’s gaze slid, as usual, to the letter on his desk. ‘Everything that Mr Sewell and I have strived to maintain since his passing, as he asked us to do. If she has her way, she’ll drag us all down to her level.’
‘I see,’ Leo answered softly, keeping his voice deliberately calm. ‘And what level would that be exactly?’
There was another pause. ‘That’s not for me to say, my lord.’
‘Ahem.’ Sewell coughed. ‘I believe that what Mrs Fitch is trying to say is that we feel it is our duty to speak out when we see your father’s legacy being threatened, whether that be in regard to the estate or the management of the household. The new cottages and cattle were bad enough, but the rest of these changes…’ He hung his head, as if he couldn’t bear to go on. ‘We’re sorry that it’s come to this, my lord, but we cannot in good conscience stand back and say nothing. We’ve discussed it and we would rather resign.’
‘You would?’ Leo sat up straighter. ‘Both of you?’
‘I’m afraid so, my lord.’
‘Very well.’
‘I’m sorry?’ Sewell looked startled.
‘I said, very well.’ Leo pushed himself to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back. ‘If you both feel so strongly about the situation then I accept your resignations.’
‘But, my lord, surely you can see what a mistake—’
‘What I can see are two people who believe that my father is still the marquess.’ Leo looked between them. ‘I can understand the confusion. You worked with him for a long time and youboth did excellent jobs. However, the estate is now mine and I shall run it as I see fit. Therefore, I accept your resignations and thank you for all your hard work over the years. Sewell, you may of course keep your house, and Mrs Fitch, a cottage will be provided for you on the estate. On top of that, you will also both receive an annual stipend.’
‘This is monstrous!’ Mrs Fitch’s face resembled an overripe tomato in danger of bursting at any moment. ‘If that’s your decision then I shan’t stay here a day longer. I shall go to my sister’s house until my cottage is ready.’
‘If that’s what you wish. Sewell?’
‘I…’ The steward exchanged an uncertain look with the housekeeper. ‘I shall also go, my lord.’
‘Then I thank you both again and wish you the best for the future. Good evening.’
He stood there, waiting until they’d both departed before heaving a long sigh, one that he felt as if he’d been holding in for months. A fortnight ago, if someone had told him he was about to lose both his steward and housekeeper in one evening, he might have experienced some degree of alarm, but now he felt as if a giant boulder had just been lifted from his shoulders. Relief swept through him like a cool breeze. And the best part of it was that they’d made the decision to go themselves, excusing him from any sense of obligation and leaving him free to be himself, his own man, more than just a dutiful son. He glanced briefly at the letter on his desk and then placed his ledger on top of it.
Yes, that was much better.
Florence hurried across the hall, following the sound of a cue hitting a ball into the billiards room. After what Jane had just told her, she’d run straight out of her bedroom in search of Leo,dressed for dinner in a simple blue muslin evening gown, but with her hair still unbound, half-brushed and hanging loose over her shoulders. She didn’t care. She needed to speak with him as soon as possible.
‘Is it true?’ She burst into the room and stopped breathlessly in the doorway. ‘You’ve dismissed Sewell and Mrs Fitch?’
‘News travels fast.’ He looked up and smiled. ‘Although not entirely accurately. They resigned.’
‘What?’ She gasped. ‘Was it because of my meeting with her? Because I tried to be polite—’
‘I’m sure you were perfectly reasonable.’ He laid his cue on the table and walked towards her. ‘If you’d asked her to move a single chair in the drawing room, she would have found fault. Sewell too. They both wanted to manage the house and estate as my father did or not do it at all, so they gave me an ultimatum. It might have been a bluff, but I found that I didn’t wish to find out. I accepted their resignations at once.’
‘Leo…’ she didn’t break his gaze ‘…are you telling me that we have no steward and no housekeeper for a house with a hundred rooms and an estate of thirty thousand acres?’
‘That’s pretty much the long and short of it, yes.’
‘How can you be so calm about that?’
‘I don’t know, but I am.’ He lifted a hand to her head, sliding his fingers around a tendril of hair. ‘It feels like a fresh start.’
She swallowed as the backs of his fingers skimmed her cheekbone. It felt like such an intimate gesture, definitely more than just making the best of things, although she wondered if he was simply in shock from losing his two most important members of staff… ‘You know, she said something very strange, about how your father warned her about this situation, although I got the feeling she meant me specifically. Do you know what she meant?’
A flicker of some emotion passed over his face, though so quickly she thought she might have imagined it. ‘She was often quoting my father. I shouldn’t worry about it.’
‘Oh…’ She pressed her brows together, struck with the distinct impression there was something else he wasn’t telling her, something he didn’t want to tell her. ‘What will happen to them?’
