The sharp wind in his face carried the smells of dry grasses and earth. It had been too long since he’d galloped over the land, not since his father had passed away. He’d inherited the family estate in Surrey, but hadn’t wished to live there. After his sister married Justin Trelawny and moved to Cornwall, Dominic saw no sense in hanging on to it. He’d sold the property within a year. It surprised him that apart from the deep sorrow he felt at losing his parents, he’d turned his back on the home he’d grown up in with no real anguish. Oddly, Redcliffe Hall already meant more to him, and he wasn’t ready to hand the running of it over to Williams and return to London.
Twenty minutes later, the horse’s coat glistening with sweat, Onyx obliged him by slowing at his command.
“Splendid fellow,” Dominic said in a quiet voice. “Now, shall we return in a more elegant manner?”
They rode back toward the paddock where Lancaster waited. “You know horses, milord,” Lancaster said with an approving lift of his eyebrows.
“Need to when you have to rely on them for your life.” Dominic dismounted, giving Onyx a scratch behind his ears.
“Ah, of course. The war.” Lancaster motioned to the groom to take Onyx back to his stall and curry him.
“I’ll take him off your hands, Squire,” Dominic said.
Lancaster nodded. “Before we settle the matter, shall I take you to my steward?”
They passed the hounds penned in a large enclosure. The dogs raced along the wire, barking. In a small building, Pike sat at his desk, account books set out before him. A short, dark-haired man with a narrow face and pale gray eyes, his purposeful actions as he put away his quill, blotted, and closed the ledger, gave the impression of a careful man. He stood as Lancaster introduced Dominic.
Dominic shook his hand. “Mr. Pike. You worked for my uncle?”
Pike nodded. “For several years, my lord.”
“Can you tell me something about those last years? Did anything trouble him?”
“Not the last months, my lord. I wasn’t there. Something disturbed the earl. But what it was, I have no notion. I’m told the accident changed him. During my tenure, I often found him irrational. I’d been delighted to get such a position, but it proved too troublesome to continue to work for him.”
“Why?”
“He was suspicious of everyone. Accused the staff of robbing him and put them all off.”
“And that business with Jenner,” Lancaster prompted.
Pike nodded. “An argument over some bill, I heard.”
“Jenner?” Dominic asked sharply. “What was it about?”
Pike slid a glance at Lancaster. “I don’t know anything about it. I’d already left his employ.”
“Where is Mr. Jenner now?”
“Dead. Shot himself when he ended up in financial trouble.”
“A sad business,” Dominic said, thinking he must be a relation of Miss Jenner’s.
“As he didn’t engage another steward, your uncle might not have paid his bills.” Pike dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry to be the harbinger of such bad news.”
“Thank you, Mr. Pike.”
So this was why he was unwelcome here. Not his reputation, perhaps, but his uncle. Dominic nodded to Pike and stepped outside into the fresh breeze with Lancaster.
After arrangements were made for Onyx, he asked if Jenner had a daughter by the name of Olivia.
Lancaster nodded. “Sad business. Miss Jenner is now employed by Sir Hubert Lowy’s widow as housekeeper.”
Dominic left Northoaks, driving the phaeton back along the lanes. So, Jenner was Olivia Jenner’s father. That explained her refined manner. She must be competent, to hold such a position. But why would she wish to leave it for a far more taxing one at Redcliffe Hall?
He had to admire her determination. It was hard enough to get ahead in this world, especially if you lived with the shame of your father’s death at his own hand, in this small village.
He drew in the reins to round a sharp bend in the road. He doubted the villagers would warm to him whatever he chose to do. It was unfair, but to change their minds about him could take longer than his patience allowed.
