Page 29 of Finding Hope
This morning had been nothing if not a pointed reminder of what becoming duke would entail. Instead of fishing with the other gentlemen, he’d had to deal with an irate tenant over a boundary dispute. His time was no longer solely his own purview.
But the moment he had seen Hope, he’d relaxed, and everything had felt right. She seemed to belong at Davenmere, regardless of what her Grace thought. Was that enough? Was he being selfish?
He walked on down to where the gentlemen were fishing, a slow point in the river that formed a small pool, where a dozen of the gentlemen were casting lures. Some were in the water and some on the bank.
“They are not biting this morning, Max,” his father said from a chair on the shore.
“Perhaps you will bring good luck,” Summerton called over the dull sound of the moving water.
Max saw a tug on the line and the old man roared with pleasure. “Will you look at that!” His father held up a small brown trout that was thrashing back and forth.
Max congratulated him and walked over to his friends.
“What held you up?” Montford asked.
“A tenant dispute,” he answered blandly.
“Let me guess. Old man Byford and Farmer Jeffers?” Freddy asked.
“Indeed.” Max furrowed his brow. “How did you know?”
“Because they have taken their grievances to my father as well. The other side of their properties border ours. Father sent them straight back to Abernathy.”
Frankly, Max was surprised that Freddy knew more about the tenants than he did.
“How did you handle them?” Carew asked as he reeled in a carp, then unhooked it before tossing it into the waiting basket.
“I told him it would probably be best if one of them moved away from the other. That way they would not have any more disputes.”
“And did they agree?”
“Actually, Jeffers did. He agreed to move to a farm on the other side of the estate once this growing season ends.”
“And here I thought you’d been a-wooing this morning,” Carew mused.
“Wooing would have been far more pleasant…although I did just see the Whitford ladies to the bath house. They found some volumes of interest in the library they wanted to read.”
“Are you not going to fish?” Freddy asked, inclining his head towards the pole in Max’s hand.
“Maybe another day. I think I’d rather walk. I will join you this afternoon.” His friends didn’t protest and waved him on.After handing his equipment to his father’s footman, he thrust his hands in his pockets and walked on along the river bank. It had been years since he had spent any length of time at Davenmere. Normally it felt like a trap, but now? Perhaps he had matured and was accepting his fate.
He wandered far away from the gathering and became lost in his thoughts. He found himself back near the bath house and shook his head. If it was simply an infatuation, it would pass. But how would he know if it was more than that? He liked Hope—and he could not recall ever liking another female as a friend at the same time as wanting her.
“My lord!” a female voice called out to him as if startled, and he looked around.
“Lady Matilda.” How had he allowed himself to be caught unawares?
She tittered. “I thought you were fishing with the other gentlemen.”
“I have just come from there,” he replied, though he suspected she knew very well what he’d been doing. “Why are you out here alone?”
“I have lost my way. Could you help me find my way back?” She blinked her eyes up at him as though she was about to produce tears. He’d been tricked too many times to fall for the ploy. He hesitated, not wanting to arrive back at the house alone with her. He knew very well there would be someone lying in wait to catch them together.
Max looked at the bath house, warring with asking for help. Of course he should. Had they not explained the dilemma to the sisters? Of course, it was still humiliating to be caught in such a position. “Of course, I will help, but let me inform the other ladies. I told them I would make sure everything was to their satisfaction,” he prevaricated. He did not miss the flash of annoyance in her eyes before he turned towards the buildingwhich housed his salvation. As he climbed the steps, he saw Miss Hope watching him from the alcove. His plea for help must have been written all over his face, because she nodded and rose to come towards him.
He opened the door to find Patience, Grace, and Joy so engrossed in their books that they did not even look up at him.
“There you are, my lord,” Hope said with a bright smile, bless her.
