there is.’ Kate wondered fleetingly what he would say if she simply blurted out the outrageous proposition she had for him, and was so amused by the idea that it calmed her. ‘If you would care to take a seat, Lord Elmswood…’
‘I really wish you wouldn’t call me that.’
‘It’s your name now.’
‘No, it’s not. I don’t plan on making use of any of it—the lands, the title, or indeed the house, which my father seems to have allowed to go to rack and ruin.’
‘Yes, that is one of the topics I wish to discuss with you.’
‘Only one? I have a list of my own, you know, and a limited amount of time.’
‘Of that I am perfectly well aware.’ She hadn’t meant to snap, but her nerves were stretched to breaking point. ‘Please, if you will sit down I will explain everything.’
Kate indicated the seat on the opposite side of the desk from her own and to her utter relief he did as she’d asked. The legs of the chair had been shortened by some shrewd previous estate manager, intent on ensuring that he loomed over whoever sat opposite, but Daniel Fairfax was very tall and her own stature so diminutive that when she sat down she was still looking up at him.
She straightened her back. He stretched his long legs out in front of him. His hair was cut very close to his head, as if he had taken a razor to it, showing off a slight widow’s peak. His face was tanned to the point of swarthiness, strong-featured, with sharp cheekbones and jaw, a nose bordering on the assertive. Despite the fullness of his lips it was a very masculine face, and one that bore testament to a life lived in a very different climate. The grooves which ran from his nose to his mouth, the fan of lines at the corners of his slate-grey eyes, spoke of a life lived at a pace that made hers seem positively sedentary.
Those eyes were now focused intently on her. She resisted the impulse to check her hair for any escaped locks.
‘How long had my father been living as a virtual recluse?’ he asked. ‘From what I’ve seen of the house, he seems to have been living in two rooms, with only his manservant and a couple of kitchen staff to look after him.’
‘His withdrawal from society was gradual. It was only in the last two years or so that he became almost completely cut off from the world.’
‘Making it easy for you to take over your father’s duties without his realising?’
‘We did not hoodwink him,’ Kate retorted angrily. ‘Once a month Papa submitted the books to Lord Elmswood, via his valet, and if your father required to consult him on any matter he sent Papa a written note. The authority remains formally invested in my father. To be perfectly frank, I don’t think your father cared who actually did the donkey work and—without wishing to offend you, Lord Elmswood—’
‘You offend me every time you use that title. I wish you’d call me Daniel.’
‘Daniel.’ It felt strange saying his name…intimate. ‘It wasn’t only that he was uninterested in the detail, he seemed indifferent to the fact that only the bare minimum was being done. I’m afraid that you’ve inherited an estate in dire need of modernisation.’
He dug his hand into his coat pocket to retrieve a small, brightly coloured precious stone, which he began compulsively to turn over and over in his hand. ‘I made it perfectly clear the last time that I was home that I wished to relinquish my claim to Elmswood.’
‘Relinquish! You mean you wanted your father to disinherit you?’ Kate exclaimed, shocked to the core to hear the place she loved so passionately dismissed so summarily.
Daniel smiled thinly. ‘Don’t worry. As ever, he completely disregarded my wishes.’
‘But—but can you really mean you want nothing to do with Elmswood—ever?’
‘Never. Though that does not mean I am pleased to see the place so run down. I could barely locate the door into the walled garden.’
‘I know, and that is a subject close to my heart, believe me,’ Kate said, diverted. ‘It’s been a dream of mine for years to be able to restore Elmswood Manor and the gardens to their former glory.’
‘To say nothing of modernising the farms? It’s a strange ambition for a female to have.’
‘I have inherited my father’s love of Elmswood.’
‘Is Mr Wilson likely to recover? Forgive me for being blunt, but…’
‘I would much rather you were. I’m extremely aware that time is of the essence to you. Papa is frail, and, while not in any immediate danger, his days of estate management are well and truly over.’
‘Does he have everything he needs to make him comfortable? You said there is something I can do for him? What was it?’
It was the perfect opening. Kate’s throat was dry, her heart thumping in her chest, but she might not get another opportunity. She owed it to Papa as much as herself to take it. And of course to Elmswood itself.
‘My father is concerned about what will happen to us now that he is not fit to continue serving you.’
‘I’m not sure what you mean?’
‘I mean, where will we live and how will we survive? Our house is tied to your estate, as indeed is our income, save for a small legacy your father left in his will. Our circumstances would be severely straitened were you to appoint another estate manager. I don’t mind for my own sake, but Papa…’
‘There’s no need for that. You are currently acting as de facto estate manager. I see no reason for that situation to change. I will formalise the arrangement before I leave—you have my word. I came here with the intention of investing complete authority in your father to allow me to resume my foreign travels. Circumstances have changed, but now I shall invest my authority in you instead. You are clearly trustworthy—better still, you obviously cherish this place. I consider you a very safe pair of hands.’
Daniel smiled, looking as much relieved as pleased.
‘There, I hope that puts your mind at rest. So, let us turn our minds to what I need to do in order—’
‘I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid it won’t work.’
His smile faded. ‘You don’t want the position?’
‘I’m extremely flattered that you should offer it to me, and I can say, hand on heart, that I would do my very best to ensure that you would never have any cause to regret placing your faith in me. Believe me,’ Kate said earnestly, ‘if I thought for a moment it would work in practice I’d leap at the chance. It’s not that I can’t do the job—the accounts prove that—but the reality is I’m a female of modest background, and you would not be here to underpin my authority, or indeed be available to make important financial decisions. Though it pains me to admit it, that is a fatal combination. It would be doomed to failure.’
‘But what is the alternative? I don’t want to employ a stranger and throw you and your father out onto the street, and even though I don’t give a damn about this place, I don’t want to let it go any further down the road to rack and ruin.’
‘You
