nice, but who can’t afford the fine china from places like Wedgwood and Spode.”
As with everything else, Davenport drank it in, but he didn’t comment until they left to ride back to the estate office. “You continue to impress me, Lady Alys. If you hadn’t been born a female, you could have succeeded at anything you chose. Strickland is very lucky to have you.”
Alys glowed at the compliment. It was good to be considered talented rather than merely eccentric.
Back at the estate office, she settled wearily behind the desk and waited for the next round of questions. To her surprise, her employer asked, “Has the sheep washing been done yet this year?”
She shook her head. “The spring washing is scheduled for day after tomorrow.”
An amused gleam came into Davenport’s eyes. “Splendid. As a boy, I always wanted to participate in a sheep washing, but I was too small. Time has cured that.”
“You really want to wash sheep?” Alys said, startled. It was a messy, time-consuming chore, not the sort of thing anyone did voluntarily.
The gleam deepened. “Would you deny me one of my boyhood ambitions?”
“It’s your choice, of course, but an amateur could slow the process down,” she said doubtfully. “Besides . . .”
“Yes?” he prompted as her voice trailed off.
“Wrestling sheep in a river is not exactly conducive to dignity.”
He gave her a sardonic look. “While I will listen to you on matters agricultural, I’m not interested in your opinions about my dignity or lack thereof.”
She flushed, knowing she had stepped over the line permitted for an employee.
The awkward silence was broken by the arrival of Meredith, golden hair gleaming in the late afternoon sun and a look of misleading innocence on her angelic face. “Lady Alys, I wanted to ask you . . .” She stopped, looking at Davenport with a pretty expression of hesitation. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”
Alys rolled her eyes, knowing where Merry’s playacting was aimed. The girl had probably been watching the estate office all afternoon, waiting for an opportune moment to trip in and meet the new master of Strickland.
Davenport reacted as any normal male would, rising with warm admiration on his long face and a twinkle in his eye. Clearly he realized that Meredith’s entrance was no accident, but that didn’t prevent him from enjoying the sight of the visitor. Merry was delightful in blue-sprigged white muslin, her golden curls tumbling around her shoulders with just the right touch of modest abandon.
Alys made the introductions. “Mr. Davenport, this is my ward, Miss Meredith Spenser. Merry, I’m sure that you know who this is.”
Her acid tone was not lost on Merry, who tossed her guardian a roguish glance before turning to Davenport. “What a pleasant surprise!” she said with a flutter of lashes.
Eyelashes that had been carefully darkened, Alys noted. Blast Meredith for flitting in like a houri! Though most gentlemen could be counted on to see the girl for the innocent she really was, Davenport’s reputation was enough to put fear in the heart of any guardian. At times like this Alys regretted taking on the responsibilities of a parent.
While Alys worried, Davenport and Merry were furthering their acquaintance. After a few moments of badinage, Meredith turned to Alys as if struck by a new thought. “Lady Alys, do you think Mr. Davenport might be persuaded to take his potluck with us tonight? Mrs. Haver is roasting a nice joint, more than enough for company.”
So that was Merry’s main purpose in this little charade! Not just to meet Davenport, but to inveigle him over for dinner.
In the face of Alys’s glower, Davenport hesitated. “I’m sorry, Miss Spenser, but your guardian has been in my company all day. It hardly seems fair to inflict me on her this evening as well.”
Meredith said, “She won’t mind, will you, Alys?” accompanying her statement with a speaking look.
Cornered, Alys said, “We dine en famille, Mr. Davenport. A bachelor might find it rather hectic.”
Merry turned to him and said coaxingly, “I shall endeavor to keep my younger brothers quiet. Do say you will come.”
Unable to refuse again without seeming churlish, he said, “It will be my pleasure, Miss Spenser.”
After suitable expressions of delight, Merry took her leave and departed. Davenport resumed his seat and gave Alys a companionable grin. “Have you ever considered buying her a chastity belt?”
“I certainly have!” Alys blurted out without thinking. At Davenport’s laughter she said in a doomed attempt at dignity, “That is a most improper thing to say.”
“I warned you, no missishness. I may assist you into a sidesaddle, but I have every intention of being my normal vulgar self the rest of the time.” His voice turned ironic. “She’s a taking little minx, and she looks a good deal less ‘minor’ than your words had led me to expect.”
“She’s nineteen, Mr. Davenport, and has seen little of the world.” Alys toyed with a Venetian glass paperweight. “Please remember that.”
His humor evaporated. “I shall endeavor not to debauch her this evening. If it’s any comfort, I find virgins boring.”
Alys tensed, wondering if the words were intended as an indirect insult toward her. “Merry is a bright, lively girl, and very sensible except for her flirtatiousness. She was only practicing her wiles on you because she meets so few new people.”
“Nonetheless, if you want an experienced rake’s advice, find her a husband, and soon,” he said dryly.
Alys glanced down at her hands, tensely linked on the desk. He had a talent for touching on sensitive issues. She’d invested considerable thought in the question of a husband for Merry. “I’d like to, but the choices are limited. All the eligible men in the neighborhood are mad for her, but they are either callow lads, or widowers looking for mothers for their children. She deserves better than that.” Alys sighed. “Actually, I think she would make quite a splash in London if she could make her come-out there.”
“The girl is definitely a diamond of the first water,” Davenport agreed, “but does she have the birth and fortune to match her face?”
“That’s the rub,” Alys admitted. “She’ll have a respectable portion, but it’s not a great fortune, and her father was a London merchant. She has no family connections that could introduce her to the ton.”
“She may be better off doing her husband hunting here. London can be a dangerous place for the innocent.” Dismissing the topic of Merry, he asked, “Whatever persuaded you to take charge of three young people? The girl represents one set of problems, and the boys will be just as much trouble in different ways. It would be a heavy burden for anyone, and you aren’t even a relative.”
It was none of his business, of course, but his question seemed to come from genuine interest rather than idle curiosity. She propped one elbow on the desk and rested her chin on her hand as she considered her reply. “The obvious answer is that there was no one else
