For one enjoyable moment, Miss Taylor looked stunned. Mars smiled.
Then, her lips went from being parted in surprise to turned down in disgust. “What will the rest of the village do if they need goat’s milk? Have you thought of that?”
Did he have to?
“They can come to me for milk,” he answered. The solution seemed simple enough. Yes, Ewan lived closer to Maidenshop than he did, but he could have the milk delivered to the village if it wasthatimportant.
“Or you could leave Ewan with some goats?”
Was she being deliberately provocative? “I could.”
Her expression said he should.
“Very well,” he said to her unvoiced criticism. “I will give Ewan a goat or two.”
“That would be an excellent solution.”
“Yes, matron,” he answered under his breath, riled by her constant assumption of his selfishness.
Fire flashed in her green eyes, a sign that she’d heard him. He didn’t care. Instead, he turned his attention to Tommy and Hodner returning to the house. “There is more?”
“Yes, my lord,” Hodner said, ducking inside.
He had no doubt Mrs. Warbler had other motives than wanting to play chaperone. And he had an idea what her game was. He was all too aware of the measures the Matrons of Maidenshop had taken to shame one of the Three Bucks, their name for him, Balfour, and Thurlowe, into offering for Miss Taylor years ago. Thurlowe and Balfour were now out of the game since they were married. However, if the crafty old ladies thought they were going to corner him into marrying Miss Taylor, they were wrong. He could easily outfox them. He’d spent years successfully dodging matchmaking mamas.
His servants came out of the house with their arms loaded with valises and bandboxes. Mars would wager only one valise belonged to the maid.
Mrs. Warbler and Jane followed them out this time. The maid shut the door. “Well, my lord,” Mrs. Warbler said, pulling on her gloves. “Are we ready?”
“Absolutely. This way, Mrs. Warbler,” he said and offered his arm.
She accepted it, a bit of a blush coming to her cheeks. He knew that most of the village was watching. She thought she was going to ride in the coach. She was wrong.
He escorted her to the pony cart that was piled with luggage. There was just the right amount of room for the ladies and Tommy. He opened the door. “In you go.”
Mrs. Warbler balked. “I assumed I would be riding with you, my lord.”
Mars pretended a puzzled look. “Why would my new housekeeper ride like a favored guest?” he asked, before leaning close and reminding her, “We must be true to the charade.”
A tight smile crossed her face. She glanced around, then countered, “We don’t have to be completely accurate.”
“I’m afraid we must.”
Seeing he wasn’t going to budge, she climbed into the pony cart with a huff and eased around the trunk. Jane followed. Tommy had already climbed in over the side.
“Hurry to the house,” Mars ordered. “I know Mrs. Warbler will want to settle in so that she can start her duties.”
“Yes, my lord.” With a crack of the small whip he carried, Tommy set the pony off at a fast clip. So fast, Mrs. Warbler had to grab the side of the cart with one hand to keep her balance.
Mars watched them go and then he returned to Miss Taylor. “Are you ready?” He picked up her valise.
“I can take that, my lord,” Hodner quickly offered.
Mars waved him away. He guided Miss Taylor to the waiting coach. There was still a crowd watching. He could see the questions in their eyes and the way their necks craned so as not to miss a detail. He had no doubt they would be the talk of Maidenshop for days to come.
It was fine. He was well-liked and his stature in the village was even higher than the Duke of Winderton’s. They would talk but he was one of them and they would protect him, as he protected them over the years. Especially from Dervil.
He heard a girl ask, “Why is Miss Taylor going with my lord?”
