Page 102 of A Torn Allegiance
“You will make them see that the tenants come first, that you will surely have more profitable land if you honor your commitments to them,” he said. “Show them your passion for the land and people.” He chuckled. “And, not to overwhelm or cross your purposes, but show Prince Hayes your love for him as well.”
Her heart leapt.Hayes.“I have a lot to communicate, don’t I?”
“You certainly do, but you shall have no trouble. You’ve never suffered from lack of words.” He started to laugh, and she just shook her head at his tease, but it did lighten her mood and give her a dose of courage.
“I’ll be there. And Hayes will be there. Even though he is unsure of you right now, you stand on the same side of these issues, and that can only do good.”
“I will help him.” She nodded firmly.
Elsie took the duke’s arm, and they made their way into the inn.
When her head started to spin, she realized she’d been holding her breath, and she gasped in some new air.
“Steady.”
“Yes.”
They took but a moment in the entry to adjust to the dim lighting and then moved to the side, out of the way of the drafty door. The main dining area was packed with people.
The duke leaned closer. “Do you know who they are?”
Elsie wasn’t certain in the low light, and it had been many years, but she thought she saw familiar landowners. Her gaze skimmed over the group, and then Lamoreaux’s raised eyebrows and smirk made her cringe. Everly sat nearby with another group she hadn’t seen before. They talked quietly among themselves.
After a moment more, Everly stood at the front of the room. “We are so pleased that every landowner is represented here.” He dipped his head in Elsie’s direction, which caused almost everyone to turn.
She held her chin high and tried to act as though she belonged in such a meeting. Hadn’t she been asking her whole life for moments like this one?
They began the meeting, discussing weather and roads and the upcoming fair, to which all the estates would contribute. Somewhere in the middle of a discussion regarding a new school, Hayes and his brothers stepped into the room, and Elsie saw no one else.
Their gazes caught. Hayes stopped abruptly. Marc ran into his back. Then all three men were staring at her. They were near enough that she could see just how tired Hayes looked. She could see the new paleness on his face, and her heart ached. She’d caused that. Her hand went up to her chest.
“What are you doing here?” Had Hayes actually said the words, mouthed them, or thought them extra loud? She had no way of knowing, but she answered as loudly as if he had spoken.
“I came because I love you.”
Everyone else in the room went still, and now all eyes were looking at her.
She tried to tune them out, but they were there, making it impossible to think clearly, with Hayes so near and staring as if he saw right into her soul, right where her heart beat.
Hayes took two steps in her direction, but then Everly broke the spell. “Back to the topic at hand.”
They continued their landholder discussions, and Elsie tried the best she could to focus, but her attention kept returning to Hayes, who seemed to be having equal difficulty attending to the meeting.
“And now for the next item on the agenda. Sheep,” Everly said.
Elsie immediately turned to him.
“We are all in agreement, I think, that a solution other than crops is needed.”
Everyone nodded, and Elsie couldn’t stop herself. “But one that benefits everyone.”
All eyes turned again to her, but this time she didn’t mind. “One that doesn’t involve a clearance of all our tenants to go fend for themselves.”
A few nodded in response, but more looked confused, undecided, and Everly looked furious. “Really, Lady Elsie, have you come to play landholder? Might we continue?” He turned to the rest of them, and something snapped inside of Elsie, a fury she had never before known. Suddenly, every moment of dismissal, every time she’d been passed over and ignored, every time people had refused to tell her what was going on, all the times she’d wanted to be a part of the conversation and was forbidden, rolled out in front of her and fueled her anger.
“No.”
“No? Excuse me, did you say no?”
