Dangerous in Diamonds - Madeline Hunter [22]
“You really can lease that other part of the property to someone else. We have no use for it,” she finally said.
“There is no cottage on it. The income would never justify the investment of building one.”
There was a house on the entire holding, however. Hers.
“Did you summon me here to tell me that due to the unexpected size of the property, you do not want it wasted on a household of women who can never pay the rent a farming tenant might? Was Mr. Goodale here to set the stage for your announcing a decision that I will not like?”
“I did not summon you.”
“You certainly did not invite me.”
“Was my note too brief? I do not like to write letters at all, so perhaps it was. I have never understood the habit of spending hours, days, writing letters to people of the slightest acquaintance. I’ll wager you only write letters when necessary, since you are not a fool, and even then only because you do not have a secretary like I do.”
“Your note was brief in the extreme, and it summoned me here merely so you could—”
“Again, it was not a summons. Should I ever command you, Mrs. Joyes, you will know it without question.”
She closed her eyes and collected herself. The man was a trial. “You brought me here, only to learn that you are not prepared to honor Becksbridge’s intentions for that property, I think.”
“How well you put it. Goodale was supposed to clarify why, but I think he made a muddle of it. He goes on and on in the most wearisome way, obscuring the facts with his chatter instead of illuminating them.”
“Can you do better than he?”
He propped his elbow on the chair’s arm and rested his chin against his fist. “I can give you the usual dull reasons. In the end, they are all there are. I have duties, Mrs. Joyes. To my station, my title, and to future Castlefords. They involve the estate I received and that I will pass on. I find these duties annoying in their demands, I will not let them rule my life, but I do not take them lightly. Your property is now one of these duties.”
“What of Becksbridge’s intentions?”
“To hell with his intentions. It is mine now and requires the same stewardship I give all my property.”
He was going to put her off that land. She knew it now. The best she might do is negotiate a stay of execution so she had time to find some hovel to which to move.
“You were more sympathetic when you visited us. A different man, actually.”
“Mrs. Joyes, the biggest difference between that day and this, the only difference but the essential difference, was that it was not a Tuesday, and today is.”
She thought that she had prepared herself, but she could not believe how horrible it was to actually face the certainty of this change. Not only her business would be lost—her very means of supporting herself—but also her long-laid plans and desperate hopes for the future.
One such hope, a very private one, entered her mind on a memory, much like a specter, bringing anguished nostalgia. Her composure wobbled in response. She looked down and clenched her teeth so she would not submit to the sudden urge to weep.
“It appears that you permit yourself cruelty on Tuesdays, Your Grace. That is why you reserve all those boring decisions for these days, isn’t it?”
She sensed a reaction in him, but she dared not look up to see it. It altered the air so much that she feared she would see the fires of Satan if she looked in his eyes right then.
It passed. Mostly. She felt him there, however. Watching her.
“All is not lost,” he said. “It is accurate that I am not prepared to honor Becksbridge’s preference today, but I have not ruled out the idea either.”
“You haven’t?” She looked at him, not daring to hope again, searching to see if he teased her for amusement.
He appeared placid. Indifferent. He looked as if he was losing interest and would gaze out the window for diversion soon. “I have not made any decision yet. Before I do, I must learn a few things so I know my decision is based on sound facts. Even if I choose to ignore those facts, I must have them first. We must estimate the