“That was obvious,” Reese muttered. “Do you have someone handle the management of your estate for you?”
“Yes.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “My man of business.”
“You might want to consider hiring a new one then,” she said, “because I’m underwhelmed.”
“Underwhelmed,” the Earl repeated. “I don’t believe I have heard that word before. Is it something you Americans invented?”
“Yankee ingenuity,” she said.
“Yankee arrogance, I would say.”
“Americans don’t have a monopoly on arrogance.” Reese kept her face forward. “At least we’re not generally as full of ourselves as you Brits . . . you English are. What is it you people call it? High in the instep.”
“You think me high in the instep?” the Earl asked, surprised.
“I think noblesse oblige is taught to you nobles from the cradle, as is a complete disregard of we lower creatures,” Reese said.
“You?” He darted a glance at her with a dark chuckle. “A lower creature?”
“Oh,please.” She shifted in her seat to glare at him. “Like you didn’t bring Ellen to me in the garden yesterday to give me a set-down with that horrid look of yours. If she hadn’t been there, I’d have slapped you.”
He arched a brow. “Do you think you could have laid a hand on me?”
“I absolutely would have marked you.” Reese smirked and faced forward again.
He gave a soft grunt but said nothing more, and they rode in silence.
When the breeze shifted and a whiff of the village hit them both, she bit back a smile. Now he would see what his neglect had created.
“What is that foul stench?” The Earl looked around, his face scrunched with distaste.
“Yourtenant village, my lord,” she said.
They had reached the curve, and the first cottage came into view.
He pulled the horse to a stop. “We will go no further.”
“Then you can get off here. The rest of us have work to do.” Reese waved to the groom to take the Earl’s place. “Off you go. As Ellen says, ‘make haste’.”
Gareth scowled but cracked his whip again. “Every estate has ne’er-do-wells.” His words came out tight and brooked no argument.
“With wealth and status comes an equal share of responsibility to the people in your care.” Her words were equally tight.
“You, a newcomer, dare to judge me and how I choose to manage my people?”
“Your people? Don’t you mean yourslaves?” she spat out.
The Earl’s jaw muscles worked. “Unlike in America, we no longer allow slavery.”
Reese had to bite back her retort, remembering just in time. “I don’t live in a state where slaves are allowed,” she said, her jaw muscles working. “And I am absolutely opposed to it. It’s appalling. No forward-thinking, responsible individual would sanction it.”
People flowed from their houses, but they came up short when they recognized the Earl. He stood and tossed the reins to the groom. He made quite a figure, standing there surveying the village. A few people did quick bows or curtsies, but everyone backed up. He jumped from the wagon.
“What do you know of these people?” Reese stood and prepared to jump down.
The Earl was already there. He put his hands to her waist and lifted her with ease. Her breath caught in surprise. Like Jem had before the picnic, the Earl took his time setting her down.
“There are always people with special needs,” Reese said, flustered. His gaze unnerved her, and she struggled to put her thoughts back in order. “They cannot always carry their own weight, and they need society to help make up the difference. Did you know there’s an elderly woman who used to be a seamstress? She supported herself and her five children after her husband died, but then she went blind and couldn’t sew anymore. She lost her home and was forced to move into this village and lives in abject poverty.” Her words came out faster. “How is that being a proper caretaker? You havesomuch, but you couldn’t be bothered to offer a little help.”
