Page 16 of A Rogue to Resist
“Is it?” Drake moved to the window, gazing out at the manicured gardens of Greythorne House. “She struck me as a woman who prefers to face challenges directly.”
“True enough.” Harrison studied his friend thoughtfully. “But be careful, Drake. Lady Katherine has spent years learning to navigate difficult men. She won’t be easily manipulated or intimidated.”
“I have no intention of manipulating or intimidating her,” Drake protested, though in truth, he had indeed hoped to overwhelm her with his position and authority.
Harrison’s sceptical expression made it clear he wasn’t convinced. “What’s your strategy, then?”
Drake hesitated. In truth, he wasn’t entirely sure. His usual methods of persuasion seemed unlikely to work with Lady Katherine. She was too intelligent, too self-possessed to be swayed by charm or cowed by authority.
“I need to understand what motivates her,” he said finally. “Why these particular fields matter so much to her. Once I know that, I can find a way to get what I need without giving up what I want.”
“A sound approach,” Harrison admitted. “Though I suspect you’ll find her motivations more complex than simple financial gain.”
“What else could it be?” Drake asked, genuinely puzzled.
Harrison smiled slightly. “For someone so worldly, you can be remarkably obtuse about women, my friend.”
“I understand women perfectly well,” Drake replied with a hint of irritation. “Their desires are generally quite straightforward, once you strip away the social pretences.”
“Spoken like a man who has never truly known a woman beyond the bedchamber,” Harrison observed dryly. “Lady Katherine is not some opera dancer or society matron looking for a liaison. She’s a woman who has fought hard for her independence and will not relinquish it lightly—especially not to a man bearing the Halston name.”
Drake frowned. “I am nothing like my predecessor.”
“No,” Harrison agreed. “But does she know that? More importantly, does she have any reason to believe it?”
The question lingered uncomfortably in Drake’s mind long after Harrison departed. He found himself replaying the meeting with Lady Katherine, noting the wariness in her blue eyes, the careful precision of her words, the way she had corrected him immediately when he’d addressed her as Lady Greythorne.
I no longer use the title of Lady Greythorne, as that now belongs to your future countess.
There had been no wistfulness in her tone, no hint of regret at relinquishing the title. If anything, she’d seemed relieved to distance herself from it—from the Halston name entirely.
What kind of marriage had she endured, to make severing those ties a relief rather than a loss?
Drake shook his head, irritated with himself for this unwelcome empathy. Lady Katherine’s past was not his concern. His focus needed to remain on securing the estate’s future—and that meant obtaining the western fields, regardless of her feelings on the matter.
He moved to his desk, pulling out maps of the Greythorne lands. If he was to make any headway during their excursion, he needed to be as familiar with the terrain as she undoubtedly was. No more being caught off guard by her superior knowledge.
As he studied the boundaries and waterways, Drake found his thoughts repeatedly straying to the forthcoming visit. There was something about Lady Katherine that had gotten under his skin—her quiet confidence, perhaps, or the intelligence that had sparked in her eyes when she’d challenged his interpretation of the deed.
Whatever it was, he would need to guard against it. Sympathy for her past would only weaken his position. The estate needed those fields, and he intended to have them, one way or another.
Yet as he traced the meandering line of the Millbrook stream with his finger, Drake couldn’t help wondering what Katherine would be like away from the formal constraints of a London drawing room. Would she be more relaxed in the country setting she clearly knew so well? Would he glimpse the woman behind the careful mask of the Dowager Countess?
He found himself unexpectedly curious—a dangerous sentiment when dealing with an adversary.
And make no mistake, he reminded himself firmly, Lady Katherine Halston was an adversary. An unexpectedly formidable one, whose beauty and intelligence were merely complications to be managed, not attributes to be admired.
Drake closed the map with a decisive snap. He would approach their excursion as he would any business negotiation—prepared, focused, and determined to achieve his objective. Lady Katherine’s blue eyes and quick mind would not distract him from his purpose.
He left his study with a tight jaw, knowing he must change tactics. She wasn’t going to beeasyto handle. But then, he had never shied away from a challenge.
And Lady Katherine Halston was certainly that.
Chapter Five
Katherine bristled as the earl gestured at the crumbling state of the stables. “Youdidlive here, did you not? Or were you simply too comfortable to notice?”
The morning had begun poorly and was rapidly deteriorating. What had possessed her to agree to this excursion? She should have insisted on sending her steward in her place, or better yet, let her solicitor handle the entire boundary dispute through proper legal channels.
