Page 26 of A Rogue to Resist
She straightened, as if suddenly remembering his presence. “Experience is a thorough teacher, Lord Greythorne. After supervising three similar repairs during my time here, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.”
“And you supervised these repairs personally?”
He couldn’t keep the scepticism from his voice. Most aristocratic ladies he knew considered estate management entirely beneath their notice, preferring to leave such matters to stewards and land agents.
“I did,” she confirmed. “Edmund had little interest in tenant welfare, as long as rents were paid. When repairs became unavoidable, I took responsibility for ensuring they were done properly.”
“Why?” The question escaped before Drake could consider its implications.
Lady Katherine looked momentarily taken aback. “Why did I involve myself?”
“Yes. Most women in your position would have been content to leave such matters to the steward.”
She considered him for a moment, as if deciding how much to reveal.
“Most women in my position would not have found themselves with so little else to occupy their time,” she said finally. “Edmund preferred that I remain at Greythorne while he spent most of his time in London. The estate became my project, I suppose. A way to be useful when I had few other outlets available to me.”
There was a wealth of unspoken history in those carefully measured words.
Drake found himself wondering, not for the first time, what exactly her marriage to his predecessor had entailed. The staff’s evident affection for her, contrasted with their reticence when speaking of Edmund, painted a telling picture.
“Well,” he said, unsure how to respond to her candour, “your ‘project’ clearly benefited the tenants, even if it was born of circumstance rather than choice.”
“Not everything of value comes to us by choice, Lord Greythorne,” she replied, her gaze drifting to the cottage. “Sometimes we must make the best of what fate has assigned us.”
Before Drake could respond to this philosophical observation, Thompson approached with a list of materials needed for the repairs. The conversation turned to practical matters—costs, timelines, and priorities. To Drake’s continued surprise, Lady Katherine remained fully engaged, offering insights about local suppliers and seasonal considerations that even Thompson hadn’t thought to mention.
“The quarry at Thornfield provides better stone, but they’re often backed up with orders by midsummer,” she explained. “If you place your order now, you’ll secure priority for delivery before harvest season.”
Drake found himself taking mental notes, impressed despite his determination to maintain a professional distance. She knew the estate and its surroundings with an intimacy that would take him months, perhaps years, to develop on his own.
By midday, plans for the Collins cottage repairs were firmly established, and Drake had commissioned assessments of three other tenant properties in similar states of disrepair. Throughout it all, Lady Katherine had remained actively involved, her practical suggestions invariably proving sound.
As the workers dispersed to begin gathering materials and preparing the gamekeeper’s cottage, Drake found himself alone with her once more.
“You’ve been surprisingly helpful today,” he acknowledged, the admission costing him more than he cared to admit.
“Surprisingly?” A hint of amusement played at the corners of her mouth. “Did you expect me to stand idly by while you struggled with matters I understand better than you do?”
Her directness both irritated and refreshed him. Most women of his acquaintance would have simpered and deflected such a comment, playing at modesty even when false.
“I expected you to remain in London,” he replied honestly. “Or at least at Willow Park, attending to your own affairs rather than involving yourself in mine.”
“As I told you, these people matter to me.” She gazed around at the modest tenant holdings that stretched before them. “Their welfare was the one aspect of life at Greythorne that gave me purpose. I won’t abandon them simply because ownership has changed hands.”
Drake studied her profile, struck by the quiet determination in her voice. “You could have been a formidable countess, had circumstances been different.”
She turned to him, surprise evident in her expression. “I beg your pardon?”
“I mean,” Drake clarified, suddenly conscious of having overstepped, “that your management skills are evidently considerable. Had you been given proper authority, Greythorne might not be in its current state of disrepair.”
Lady Katherine’s eyes widened slightly at what was, coming from him, a significant compliment. “That’s a generous assessment, Lord Greythorne.”
“Not generous,” he corrected. “Merely accurate. I may disagree with your claim to the western fields, but I would be a fool to ignore your obvious competence in estate matters.”
A strange tension hung between them then—not quite the antagonism of their previous encounters, but not quite accord either. They were adversaries still, with opposing interests and unresolved conflicts. Yet Drake found himself reluctantly acknowledging that she was not at all the adversary he had anticipated.
“I should return to Willow Park,” she said, breaking the silence. “I’ve imposed on your patience long enough.”
