“I’m not sure what you mean,” Kitty replied, not quite meeting his eyes.
“You have been very…” he paused as if searching for a word, “proper today. Do I owe you an apology? For the cricket match?”
“I loved the cricket match,” she admitted before turning away and setting off down the garden path.
Oliver scrambled to catch up and then matched her stride for stride. “Please tell me what I’ve done.”
The earnestness in his voice gave Kitty the courage to explain. “There are rumours about you,” she admitted. “About the financial situation of your estate.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Kitty reached the far corner of the garden and turned to continue up the side. “Is there any truth to them?”
“I suppose that depends on exactly what you’ve heard, but there may be some truth,” Oliver acknowledged. Kitty’s stomach fell. She’d been hoping he would deny everything. “However,” Oliver continued, “I hope you’ll allow me to explain.”
Kitty slowed her pace back to a stroll. “Please do.”
“When the crops failed during the rains last year, most of my tenants could not pay their full rent.” Kitty nodded for him to continue. That had been a common story throughout England the previous year. “Then, late into the fall, flour prices rose tounaffordable levels.”
“What happened?” Kitty prodded him to continue.
“Nat and I decided to do something about the flour shortage. We paid to import foreign grain and then arranged with a trustworthy merchant to sell it at a loss so that nobody in the parish would go hungry over the winter.”
“The merchant agreed to lose money?” Kitty asked, somewhat incredulously. She did not look down on the merchants the way some did. Her own great-grandfather had been a successful wool merchant before setting up his son as a country gentleman. But merchants did not agree to intentionally poor business arrangements.
Oliver placed a hand on her arm, encouraging her to come to a stop. “The merchant agreed to only make a reasonable amount of profit, rather than price gouge like so many others. Nat and I absorbed the losses.”
“Not Mr. Warner?” Kitty did not know Oliver’s younger brother-in-law well, but he struck her as a kind soul. And spreading the losses among three estates sounded more manageable than among two.
“Warner Grange is still recovering from the mismanagement of its previous master, Grant’s grandfather. Such a loss could have been crippling.”
Mr. Warner would find it crippling, but Oliver would not. Interesting. “How long will it take you to recoup your losses?” Kitty finally asked.
“The estate will need three to four normal years to fully recover, but it is not at risk of financial ruin,” Oliver explained.
Kitty felt both relief and gratitude at the news that any financial troubles Oliver might face came from an act of charity. She reachedout and gave his hand a squeeze before letting it go. “You are a good man, Oliver Linfield.”
“Thank you.” He offered his elbow again, and they returned to their stroll. After they passed Polly, sitting on her bench, he spoke. “Tell me, what was the most interesting rumor you heard?”
Kitty thought of the most ridiculous gossip she’d heard. “Apparently, you have extensive gambling debts and are begging creditors for a reprieve.”
“Hardly.” He let out a deep laugh. “I regularly lose piles of farthings to Tim and our brothers-in-law. All of which end up in the parish charity box. But that is the extent of my gambling losses.” Oliver quickly explained their weekly night of drinks and cards before asking, “Any other colorful gossip about me?”
After considering for a moment, Kitty told him of Mrs. Craughton’s accusation. “Apparently you are claiming to renovate Blackthorne Park as an excuse to keep people away so that nobody notices your bare walls and missing furniture.”
“That would be devious of me,” Oliver’s chuckle sounded strained. “But your mother’s friends will be disappointed to know that every painting and chair in Blackthorne Park is exactly where it should be.”
“Are you not renovating at all, then?” Kitty swore it was Lady Diana who had mentioned the renovations. Perhaps her mother had been mistaken?
They walked in silence for a long enough span that Kitty wondered if she’d offended him. Finally, he explained, “My mother is renovating rooms in a rarely used wing of the house. She intends them for her own use.” There was a tightness in his voice that made her suspect there was more to the story.
Before she could think better of it, Kitty asked, “Why?”
Chapter Eleven
KittyandOliverwalkedmost of the way across the far side of the garden before he finally replied to her question. “I still sleep in the bedchamber I have occupied since leaving the nursery.” He let out a deep breath before continuing. “My mother believes it is time for me to take over the master’s chambers, and is removing herself as an excuse by vacating the mistress’s rooms she’s occupied my entire life.”
Several conversations suddenly clicked into place. In the circulating library in Whickfield, Oliver had said, “Blackthorne Park tenants,” rather than “my tenants.” His choice of words had been part of the reason she’d assumed him to be his brother. Just a few minutes earlier, he’d said that “the estate would recover.”
