She didn’t reply, but she stood a bit straighter and began to point out with precision, and no small amount of pride, the assets he had inherited. She neither glossed over problems nor lamented them excessively. She pointed out that the rotting stalls that needed attention, but lacking horses to fill them, other needs were far more pressing, or so she said.
A woman’s point of view, Rob thought. A man would hold the stable in higher esteem. He didn’t argue with her.
She spoke eloquently and at length until her description of plows, tools, feed, and seed flowed out of him as quickly as her words entered his ears. He had no interest in such details. The woman herself, however, commanded his attention. If he were honest, she filled his senses, making thought difficult.
It didn’t matter, by the time they rode out to the fields so she could show him the state of the planting and her plans for the season, he had been convinced of her competence. No matter what Eli found or recommended on the subject, Rob had his steward. He could hire her and go back to London with a clear conscience and to hell with what people thought of him hiring a woman.
*
You know theplace best.
Sir Robert’s approval shouldn’t matter, but it did. When she saw him inspecting the siding on her barn, a surge of resentment threatened to boil over.
Then she confronted him about the ledgers and all but accused him of implying that she wasn’t what she seemed. As soon as the words shot out of her mouth, she expected a barrage of overbearing male nonsense, if not outright insults. He surprised her by affirming the accuracy of her numbers, and the offer to show him Willowbrook slipped out before she could think.
He asked enough intelligent questions to keep her talking and maintained a respectful attitude until she forgot he was the enemy, the man who would take Willowbrook from her, the man who could put her out in a trice. She suspected he had no real interest in the place, but she couldn’t fathom what the man was about.
He followed her all the way back to the manor and ignored her hints about work calling her away.Surely, he doesn’t expect an invitation for tea!
She glanced down at her work-roughened hands. For an insane moment, she envisioned herself rushing upstairs to change into a suitable gown for entertaining a gentleman in her parlor.
When they paused at the front steps, however, she quickly realized his interest was in his newly acquired property, not in her lamentably lacking social graces. He had removed his hat as they walked up from the stable, and now he tapped it against his thighs while his clever green eyes scanned the façade, pausing over each window.
For a moment, the sun illuminated red-gold highlights among the auburn hair that curled over his collar, overpowering her attention.He needs a trim,she thought absently, watching the movement of his hat against his—
“I see chinks in the chimney mortar. Have you had them examined?”
Dear God! Did he catch me ogling his thighs?She felt her cheeks burn, jerked her face away.
“We’ve not had drafts,” she choked out. “If that is what you mean.”
“Miss Whitaker, I suspect you take more care of the agricultural assets than this house.”
Lucy embraced the irritation that flooded in, driving out her embarrassment. “Your tenants and the work of the estate, Sir Robert, are my primary concern and take my time and attention. The roof doesn’t leak, and the chimneys don’t smoke. Beyond that, I have neither time nor energy to care!”
He glared at the door as if he wanted to see through it.
“Do you wish to come in to inspect the fading wallpaper and fraying carpets?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Do you believe your potential buyers care more about the state of the house than the productivity of the fields?” she demanded.
He squinted at her as if she had grown horns.
“Don’t be absurd. I don’t give a damn about the carpets. When I sell this place—and I will—the new owner can do what he wants.”
“Of course. This place means nothing to you but coin.” She bristled at the reminder.
His frown darkened in response. “I hope you don’t harbor some cork-brained notion that the sight of the place has given me an irresistible urge to settle down in cozy domesticity. I didn’t ask for this place, and I will not become mired in Ashmead by it. As I made clear, Miss Whitaker, my life is elsewhere.”
“Are you implying I have some sort of designs on your person, Sir Robert? That is insulting!” Lucy prayed her voice didn’t quiver under the pressure of emotion.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Miss Whitaker,” he said, his voice rising. He looked her up and down scornfully. “I don’t generally harbor inappropriate attraction to my land steward.”
She shuddered under the force of a sigh, struggling for control. “I implied no such thing, sir. I merely wish to know your intentions.”
“They are as I said, ma’am. I plan to dispose of Willowbrook as swiftly as may be. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I will ride out and take a look at the limestone ridge. That is where the boys saw the surveyor, is it not?”
