“Why?”
“Because if you don’t, she’ll find you.”
He glanced down at me with disbelief shimmering in those eyes. “You’re joking. She can’t know where everyone is at all times. It’s not possible. Not in a house the size of yours.”
“Oh, but she does.” Maeve barked suddenly and I smiled. “See, even the dogs know it. That was confirmation. Miriam has a real knack for knowing when someone is wandering around the halls.”
Jesse shook his head slowly back and forth, but there was a grin trying to break free on his lips. “I’m going to have nightmares about that now.”
The dogs trotted ahead of us, their tails wagging as we strolled into the gray morning. Last night’s rain had settled into a light drizzle that clung to the grass, the hedges, and the long gravel path stretching away from the castle.
The estate stretched out in all directions, rolling hills fading into fog. As we started across the grounds, I gestured at the fields on our right. “That’s the lower orchard. Beyond it are the farms.”
He looked in the direction I was pointing, peering out from beneath the black hood of his coat. “Are they working farms?”
“Yes, but mostly by tenant farmers.” I slid my hands into my pockets, tucking my chin against the chill in the air. “Some of the land is leased.”
He nodded, his gaze skimming across the landscape like he was memorizing it. “What about the woods?”
“They run all the way to the village.”
“Wow.” He kept stride with me, never pulling ahead even though his longer legs would certainly allow it, but never falling behind either. “This whole place is seriously impressive. The more I see of it, the more I realize how much more it is.”
“More?”
He shrugged. “More than I thought. More than I could ever have thought, actually.”
“I agree,” I murmured. “It really is, but few people are able to truly appreciate the history of it. The magnitude. It’s been here for centuries, you know. We’re only the latest custodians, and long after we’re gone, it’ll still be here, just as it always has.”
Jesse nodded, looking around some more as we walked. There was a soft reverence to his features that I wouldn’t have expected, but seeing it there made me point out things I wouldn’t ordinarily think people would be interested in. I found myself telling him about the trails through the woods, the farms and their tenants, and the old stone bridge that crossed the stream near the lower fields.
Jesse asked questions often, and not idle ones that made me feel like he was simply indulging me, but pointed questions. Questions about the land, the buildings, and the people who lived and worked here.
It was the strangest thing, but he seemed genuinely interested, like he actually wanted toknowthese things instead of simply talking to fill the silence. I didn’t think anyone had ever talked to me about the estate that way, not even my own family.
Eventually, I led him down a path that curved toward a small stone building at the edge of the woods. The rain was picking up slightly and we could both use a break from it. The porch here was our best bet.
“What’s this?” he asked when we reached the outer edges of the building.
“An old house that used to belong to a church,” I said. “The church itself burned down in the seventeen hundreds, but the rectory still stands.”
Jesse ducked slightly as we stepped beneath the sagging rafters of the small porch, the roof creaking softly as rain tapped against it. The dogs settled at our feet, inching closer to the ancient walls like they were grateful for the break too.
Jesse turned toward me as he leaned back against the stone. “Can I ask you something?”
I looked up at him. “Of course.”
“Why did you agree to do this?” Those blues eyes held my own intently, not confrontational, but serious nonetheless. “The arranged marriage. Not the tour of the property.”
I blinked hard, a bit shocked that this particular question hadn’t been another one about the estate. It took me a moment to switch gears, but I took a deep breath, unable to avert my gaze from his.
As the rain started falling harder against the rafters, I realized that this could be a defining moment for him and me, huddled together under the narrow porch roof with only Holly and Maeve as witnesses. It seemed important suddenly to be honest.
“It’s mostly about the money in the contract,” I said after a brief pause, choosing transparency over pride. If this would be a defining moment for us, I wanted it to be about opening lines of communication in a way that would be healthy going forward. “The cut of the Westwood fortune I’m beingsoldfor is enoughto keep the castle in good shape for decades to come, with plenty left over to invest.”
Jesse did a slight double-take at my choice of wording, some of the color draining from his cheeks, but outside of that, he just kept looking from me, to the grounds, and back again. I leaned against one of the weathered beams and watched the rain blur the fields beyond the trees.
“The truth is that my father’s power is mostly in name only,” I explained when he didn’t interrupt or even comment on what I’d said before, obviously waiting for me to continue. “Our wealth has been passed down for hundreds of years, but it mostly consists of land. Investments made by people who lived in a very different world.”
