Page 20 of Lady Audacious
‘It’s on my borders.’
‘Ah, I see. And it’s an eyesore, I suppose. A blot on the landscape that will offend your guests’ sensibilities. In which case, your friends are perhaps over-endowed with sensitivity.’
‘You will have your work cut out knocking it into shape and will likely be taken advantage of if you intend to tackle it alone.’
‘By you? Do you intend to hamper my progress, sir?’
She folded her arms and sent him a considering look, enjoying sparring with him, despite the voice of reason that told her she would never get the better of such an intelligent and powerful man. How she could know he was intelligent when all he had in his favour was his position as an earl, which was inherited, not earned through merit, she had yet to decide. There was something about those wretched eyes of his, she conceded, that swayed her assessment.
‘You do me a disservice,’ he said softly.
‘Do I? It seems to me that everyone around these parts takes their lead from you.’
‘I have no intention of sabotaging your efforts,’ he assured her with another highly disturbing smile.
‘Now you are being deliberately patronising by implying that I don’t have the wits to restore a house to a habitable condition,’ she said hotly, more affected by the power of that smile than she would care to admit.
‘My, but you are a difficult lady to placate.’
She sent him a hostile glare, feeling hot all over despite the fact that the sun was lowering and the temperature had cooled. ‘We have already established that I am no lady, certainly not by your standards at least. And you, if you don’t mind my saying so, are not the best of masters.’
He blinked. ‘What have I done to earn your displeasure?’ he asked.
‘You would be better advised to address that question to Harris, my steward. He was employed at Amberley Hall before the war, but when he returned from doing his patriotic duty he found that his position had been filled.’
‘I was not aware of that until someone mentioned it to me quite recently.’ He actually looked chastened, which just went to show how good an actor he must be, Odile thought. ‘My father’s steward dealt with the returning heroes, and my understanding is that the pater recommended Harris for this position.’
Odile believed him, which went some small way to reducing her anger. ‘At least he is being well looked after and appreciated here,’ she said. ‘But now, if you will excuse me, I must get on.’
‘You have assumed a massive undertaking,’ he remarked, seemingly in no hurry to take himself off. He glanced up at the dilapidated house which was, Odile assumed, a thousand times removed in its shabbiness from the pristine condition of Amberley Hall. ‘But it has a certain rustic charm, I’ll grant you.’
‘How gracious of you to say so.’ Odile made no attempt to conceal her sarcasm. ‘I shall have that engraved by the front entrance, perhaps. “Fox’s Reach: It has a certain rustic charm.” How kind you are to sing its praises so.’ She wondered why she felt a need to antagonise the gentleman who held so much sway over the district. One who could make her life very difficult if he so chose. She realised she was close to causing serious and permanent offence, and so relaxed both her shoulders and her fisted hands.
‘I would be happy to lend you a few men to help with the heavy work, if you will accept the offer.’ He smiled at her, as though her acceptance was a foregone conclusion.
‘Thank you, but Harris has engaged men from the village to provide that service.’
‘So stubbornly determined,’ he muttered, looking amused by her ungracious response.
Odile was fiercely determined not to accept charity and unaware of how to react to offers of friendship. She hadn’t been the recipient of any during her years with Miss Mackenzie, where she had been shunned as a pupil and looked upon with cautious indifference by her fellow teachers, all of whom assumed that she was Miss Mackenzie’s favourite and therefore not to be trusted. Odile had learned to be cautious and fall back on her dignity when she felt out of her depth.
Out of her depth? She almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of such an understatement. When dealing with this elegant sophisticate, poised and oozing self-confidence, she had no idea whether she was holding her own, offending the man or simply drowning. There was only one thing that he could possibly want from her, she knew, only one reason why he had bothered to ride over, and that was the possession of her house. She could tell from the appreciative expression in his eyes, which couldn’t possibly have been engendered by her indifferent appearance. She could also see that he hadn’t taken her refusal seriously and assumed she would have a change of heart once she realised the enormity of the task she had taken on.
He could make that task more difficult by dissuading local tradesmen from working for her. And yet, she reasoned, he was attempting to be fair, offering his own men to help her. No doubt he had done so in order to discover just how well situated, how determined she actually was and wouldn’t be taken in by his largesse.
I have your measure, Lord Amberley, and will not fall for your very obvious charm campaign. Nor will I allow you to get your hands on my house.
‘Well, my lord, you have now introduced yourself and doubtless found the new owner of Fox’s Reach wanting, but there is nothing to be done about that. You are now also aware that the property is not for sale and so have no reason to return.’
He blinked at the warning. No doubt a man of his stature and with the added bonus of such distracting good looks was unaccustomed to being treated so dismissively, especially by a female. He smiled at her and bowed.
‘I hesitate to disagree with anything you say, but I cannot help thinking that our paths are destined to cross again.’ He lifted his hat and swung easily into his saddle. Chase left Odile’s side and wagged his entire body as he readied himself to follow his master home. ‘Good afternoon to you, Miss Aspen. It has been a pleasure.’
‘For you perhaps,’ she muttered, watching him leave at a brisk trot, annoyed with herself for admiring the way he sat his horse so elegantly and controlled the lively beast with just one hand.
He looked back as he reached the stream, raised a hand in farewell and was gone.
Chapter Six
