A Question of Impropriety. Michelle StylesЧитать онлайн книгу.
when I came into an estate, but instead would nurture it. The land responds to care and attention.’
‘Then you plan on doing the repairs to the east cottages?’ Diana asked, unable to disguise the scepticism in her voice. The answer was far too pat and too easy. Care and attention indeed. Sir Cuthbert had never given a jot about his tenants. ‘A number of the miners and their families rent rooms there. I quizzed Sir Cuthbert about the repairs, but despite his assurances, nothing was done.’
‘Repairs cost money.’
‘Having unlivable hovels costs even more in the long run—the landowner has a duty towards his tenants.’
‘Quite so.’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘And I am here to see my buildings. Please judge me on my own merits, Miss Clare.’
‘And have you? Have you seen what needs to be done—the holes in the roofs and the smoking chimneys?’ Diana asked quickly before her courage failed. She had seen the conditions that the people lived in. Concern for other people and their welfare had been her salvation. She knew that.
‘I have never shirked my responsibilities, Miss Clare.’ He held up his hand, preventing her from saying anything more. ‘Sir Cuthbert was not overly concerned with his estate and his manager was incompetent. We can agree on that. It is in far worse shape than he led me to believe. Give me time to put things right and I am certain you will be pleasantly pleased with the situation.’
‘Are you saying that you would not have taken the estate if you had known?’ Diana shifted the basket to her other hip. A shiver ran down her back. She was not sure why the thought alarmed her.
‘I always enjoy a challenge, Miss Clare. It saves me from getting bored.’
‘And boredom is undesirable?’
‘You are only leading a half-life, if you have a safe existence.’ His eyes flashed steel. ‘In order to live, you need to take risks.’
‘Ah, does that mean you will be leaving soon?’
‘I believe that Ladywell Park offers me enough challenges for the present.’ Lord Coltonby stopped by an apple tree. He picked two apples off the branch hanging over the road, and offered one to her. Diana took the fruit with trembling fingers and held it while he took a large bite of his. ‘I dislike predicting the future. It can change in an instant.’
Diana rapidly placed the apple in her basket, resisting the temptation. ‘Sir Cuthbert always hated being here after he had had a taste of London. The attractions of the city can exert a strong pull.’
‘Sir Cuthbert and I are not alike.’ He took another large bite of his apple. ‘My primary interest is racing, Miss Clare, the breeding and the running of horses. It is how I earn my crust of bread. Northumberland grass is sweet. The air is clean. The purses and plates are rich because the local landowners have the coin from coal. It is a simple equation.’
‘Everyone in the village will be glad that something is being made of Ladywell Park. It was once a prosperous estate.’
‘It will be again. Better than before. I intend to build a new house overlooking the Tyne. I have had plans for such a house drawn for a very long time.’ Brett finished his apple and tossed away the core. ‘I made a vow once.’
‘Which is why you wish my brother to sell you the land?’ Diana inclined her head. The reason for Lord Coltonby’s attention was now clear. He thought she could exert some influence over Simon. She should have guessed. The knowledge made her both relieved and vaguely disappointed. ‘I am very sorry, Lord Coltonby, but I have no say over what my brother does.’
His eyes widened slightly. ‘How did you know I was going to ask you?’
‘It stands to reason. Simon was in a frightful temper when he returned home last night.’
‘I would consider it a great personal favour if you would at least speak to him.’ He paused. ‘We shared a landing at Cambridge and it was not successful. I fear he holds my youthful indiscretions against me.’
‘My brother keeps his personal feelings out of business.’
‘Does he?’ Lord Coltonby’s lips twisted upwards. ‘I wonder if that is a good thing, or not.’
‘He never consults me on such things.’ Diana tightened her grip on the basket. The conversation was meandering down an unexpected path and she had no wish to repeat the High Street incident. ‘Now tell me, is the grass really that much sweeter than Warwickshire? Does the location give you that much advantage? Everyone in Ladywell will want to know.’
‘Much.’ His eyes grew grave. ‘Racing horses is my passion. When I race, I race to win. And I want to be where the biggest purses are.’
‘I will remember that.’ She gave an uneasy laugh. ‘I doubt we will have the occasion to race or even to pit our wits against each other.’
‘You never know. You might enjoy it.’ The words poured out of him, smooth as velvet. She could almost feel them stroking her skin. ‘Are you issuing challenges now, Miss Clare?’
‘No.’ Diana forced her chin to rise and refused to let him see her discomfort. He was trying to unsettle her, that was all. She tried to ignore how silent the track had become and how the sounds of the children playing were now quite distant. ‘If nothing else, London taught me caution. I found it hard to credit how many inappropriate suggestions were put to me before Algernon was cold in the ground. Good day to you, Lord Coltonby.’
She took several steps and then felt his hand on her elbow, preventing her from leaving. His breath fanned her cheek, warming it. Diana kept her body still and concentrated on a stone in the road. ‘Let me go.’
‘I can only apologise for the crassness of Songbird’s brethren, but you mistook my meaning.’ His voice became clipped, his eyes chilled. ‘I would never use such a stratagem to force a woman to do anything that she did not want to do. You have nothing to fear from me, Miss Clare, with or without your spinster’s cap.’
She knew the combination of her current gown and cap made her look bilious and forty. Even Simon had remarked on its ugliness. She had been pleased with this before, but suddenly she wanted Lord Coltonby to look at her in a different way. A faint tremor went through her. It was as if she had opened Pandora’s box and all thoughts and desires she had tried to suppress or hide rushed out in one fell swoop. Maybe she was wanton after all. Maybe all this attraction was coming from her. Maybe her cap no longer protected her. Maybe it never had. No, it had to. It was just further back on her head than she would wish.
Diana jerked the ribbons of her cap hard. The right-hand ribbon and half the cap came away in her hand. Her insides turned over and the stain of humiliation flooded on to her cheeks as she saw the gleam in his eyes.
‘It still does not suit you. Heed my advice, Miss Clare—get rid of the cap. Better yet, burn it. A truly determined suitor would take no notice in any case. It only gives the illusion of protection.’
The man was insupportable. How dare he say such things! Her cap was important. It kept her safe. It showed the world that she was a lady, that she was not in the market for a husband. She would have to repair the cap immediately. ‘Illusion of protection?’
‘I once knew a man who swore that a certain rabbit’s foot would keep him from illness and ruinous debts. He paid a tremendous amount for it. He even cajoled me into returning to a nest of thieves and cut-throats to retrieve it after he had been injured in a fight and could not leave his bed. I tried once and was beaten back, but the pleas of the man only increased as he begged me to help him. Bagshott had suggested caution and to forget it, but I opted for the bold approach and retrieved the item. I had promised, you see.’
‘And what happened to the man after…?’
‘My brother died of typhoid with the rabbit’s foot clutched tightly between his fingers. And he was in the process of removing to the Continent to escape his creditors.’
‘I