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Leo growled, stepping forward. “What did you just say? Who?”

Bash’s face hardened. “No. This is just as much your fault.” He jabbed a finger at Leo. “If you could have just kept your cock in your breeches instead of whipping it out so you two could have your little cock-measuring contest in your shop.”

Leo’s jaw ticked. “He was being disrespectful. He has no claim over Miss Dawson, Sebastian.”

“Neither do you.”

“And that is the difference,” Leo said firmly. “I understand that. And His Grace doesn’t. Do not pin this on me, Sebastian. You brought him to my shop, and I am well aware you were instigating.”

Sebastian threw up his arms. “I wanted him to get his head out of his arse! I wanted him to bloody realize what he had with Theo. What better way than with a little jealousy?” His glare turned back on Theo. “I wanted him to stop with this shagging contract nonsense and realize he should marry you. And guess what! It worked! And you ruined everything!”

“He was always going to go back to London, Bash,” Theo said, the faint words thick with guilt. “He was always going to leave.”

His nostrils flared. “And you could have kept him here.” His glossy green eyes turned back to Leo. “I hate the both of you.”

The pain shining in his welling stare nearly broke her. Because Bash wasn’t just speaking of the Duke leaving any longer. His heartbreak and longing for Leo were written all over his face.

He spun on his heel and stormed out of the barn. They both stood frozen for a beat. Then Leo seemed to snap out of it and hurried after Bash, Theo a step behind him. But they were too late. Bash was already kicking his mount, spurring his steed into a gallop. He raced off toward the castle, Theo’s shoulders and spirits sinking more and more the smaller and smaller his figure became.

They stared off into the distance in silence. A heavy, suffocating silence.

Finally, Leo sighed. “Well, I feel like fucking shite now.”

Theo chuckled, but it came out more like a sob. Leo’s gaze shot to hers, and she waved him off. “I’ll be fine.” Would she? She sighed. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. This is an utter mess.”

She’d always known the bubble was going to burst. She hadn’t been prepared for how bad the wreckage would be when it did.

38

Theo

Your Grace,

I am writing to inform you of our progress in diversifying the estate.

We have secured a small flock to begin our sheep-farming efforts. The Yates family has agreed to take on its management, as their holding suffered the greatest damage in the fire. It will take some time before the venture yields any sizeable income, but it should provide the estate with a reliable source of revenue and greater security going forward. I have been exploring other options that may lead to improved yields as well. I will report back on my findings once I’ve completed more research.

The quarrying operations are progressing well. We are but a few months from the first sites being ready for extraction, and the deposits being uncovered appear quite substantial. While it is too early to give a firm estimate, the returns to the estate promise to be considerable once the stone is extracted and sold.

There are several other promising sites on the estate worth considering, which may prove equally productive. If Your Grace wishes, we could reinvest a portion of the profits into expanding the operation to include these sites as well. As we’ve previously discussed, by retaining the operation of the quarries ourselves, the returns to the estate could prove considerably greater, though this would require a larger investment at the outset.

I would be grateful for Your Grace's direction as to whether you wish us to pursue the additional sites.

Dawson

Unanswered

Your Grace,

I wanted to report on the research I’ve completed on improving the estate’s agricultural yields. There has been considerable interest of late in the use of bone manure, particularly in the cultivation of turnips, where it is said to hasten their growth and considerably increase the yield.

Even more promising than that, though, is the effect bone manure may have on poorer clay soils. In some estates, fields once considered scarcely worth cultivating have been brought into productive pasture through the application of bone manure. I believe it may be worth trialing upon some of our poorer fields, in addition to our current plots.

If successful, we might improve the yield of land already under cultivation while bringing some of the less productive acreage into useful pasture.

Please advise if you’d like me to move forward with this endeavor. And I would be grateful if you provided direction on my last letter at your earliest convenience.

Dawson