Page 43 of A Duke Changes Everything
She couldn’t blame him for hating the burden of what his brother allowed to founder. Sympathy for the man kindled on a bone-deep level. It wasn’t his fault the estate had been ignored. She yearned to show him some part of Enderley that deserved saving.
“There are things that aren’t on the list.”
“What else? Another rotting room? A wall on the verge of collapse?”
“Down here.” She descended the stairs and stopped at a small circular window set into the stones.
He joined her, sharing the same step so that their bodies were pressed side by side. Hunching his shoulders, he peered through the old bubble-dotted glass.
“Do you remember the tower? It’s the oldest standing piece of Enderley’s history.” Mina studied his profile and noticed his mouth tighten. “Some things here don’t need to be repaired. But they’re part of what makes the estate special.” Mina leaned in to peer over his shoulder.
He turned so abruptly, she slammed her back against the wall to avoid a collision. “I want it pulled down.”
“But—”
“Burn the wooden structure inside and have the stones removed from the estate. Every one of them.” The ice in his voice matched the glacial blue of his eye. There was no warmth left between them. Not a shred of the man who’d saved her, kissed her, smiled and laughed with her. “Do it, Miss Thorne. I never want to see that tower again.”
Chapter Eleven
Mina rubbed at her sleepy eyes and tried to focus on finishing off the morning’s correspondence. The previous duke’s creditors were losing patience, and bills kept arriving for debts he owed dozens of London businesses. She paid those she could and delayed those she couldn’t, but overdue accounts were the last topic she wished to broach with Nicholas this morning.
The duke.She mustn’t think of him familiarly.
Never mind that she knew how it felt to be wrapped in his arms and had spent a sleepless night thinking of the soft, heated press of his mouth. He’d kissed her to offer comfort. Nothing more.
She did not need the complication of anything more. Even if she wanted it.
A knock at her office door caused her muddled thoughts to scatter, and a moment later Wilder stepped through.
She swallowed down her disappointment.
“Mrs. Scribb says you didn’t take your breakfast this morning.” He carried a small tray bearing a cup of tea and a slice of Mrs. Darley’s glazed orange cake.
Mina hadn’t slept well and had no appetite, but she smiled at the old butler, grateful for his thoughtfulness. “Thank you, Wilder.”
“The duke only took tea this morning too. Something ailing the pair of you?”
“I’m not ill. Just busy.” Mina fought the heat she sensed crawling up her cheeks.
The older man nudged up one brow. “Emma tells me you suffered a mishap on the parapet walk yesterday. I trust you weren’t injured.”
“It was nothing. Though I suspect the duke is now convinced of the need for immediate repairs.” Mina’s heartbeat sped at the memory of her near fall. The too potent thought of Nicholas came, his hands reaching for her, his arms lending warmth and safety. Then a less pleasant memory. His face contorted in anger. His shouts echoing in the stairwell and his demand that she tear down the old tower.
“The ballroom is an excellent place to start,” Wilder said. “I’m sure the master will soon see the merit of restoring Enderley as it should be.”
“Tell me about the tower.” The man Mina wanted to ask wouldn’t wish to speak of it, and she had no desire to stoke his anger. But surely Wilder would know. He’d been at Enderley longer than all of them.
The butler’s forehead buckled in a frown. His pale cheeks took on a bit of color. “Surely your father told you its history.”
“Why would the duke wish to have it demolished?”
“Demolished?” The old butler was shocked by the news. His lips fell open and he drew in a sharp breath before composing himself. “Dilapidationhasset in. The structure is unsafe. Perhaps removal would be for the best.”
“I thought our goal was to get the duke to appreciate the estate’s history, not destroy it.” Mina let out a sigh of frustration. Her plan to highlight Enderley’s assets and show Nicholas its merits had gotten off to a disastrous start. “Is there anything he’ll like here?”
“He’s a man of business who appreciates turning a profit, I imagine. I understand he’s quite keen on investing in enterprises such as the railroad. Might the Wilcox farm interest him?”
The Wilcoxes maintained the most successful of the many tenant farms on the estate, and thanks to Mina’s cousin, Colin, and his inventions, it was by far the most efficient.
