Page 35 of The Earl's Wrangler
Randall met his gaze once again, and this time there was doubt in his eyes.Sawyer wasn’t sure what the issue was, but he had a feeling it was something Randall needed to wrestle with himself and come up with his own answers.Sawyer could give him a start, but he couldn’t dictate his actions.Though he was a man and dictating would be the easier solution… at least to his way of thinking.But he held back.
“I think it’s time we dispense with this ‘your Lordship’ stuff.My name is Randall, okay?His Lordship was my father, and he’s dead.”Randall pulled himself straighter, but he didn’t stand up like he was making a grand announcement.He stayed seated like he was just having a conversation.Sawyer wished he could do more to give him his support.“We all know that my father….”
“It’s not right to speak ill of the dead,” someone said, but probably out of habit rather than true feeling about his father.
Randall snorted.“We need to clear the air, so if I’m speaking ill about him, then he deserved it, and I certainly know that more than most of you.He was a bad father and an even worse landlord.He didn’t do some of the things that he should have done.So I would like your help.I need to know what is lacking.If you rent from the estate, then what repairs need to be made?I will make a list so that it can be prioritized and the repairs and upgrades completed.”
A murmur went through the group.
“Is he serious?”an older man with snow-white hair asked as he leaned over, propping himself on a cane as he did so.
“Yes.”Sawyer nodded to reinforce the point.
“And if you or your children have building or handyman-type skills, please tell me about them as well.I want to make the repairs, and I want the money to stay in our community if at all possible.”That got an even more of a murmur, people talking to each other with an undertone of excitement.
“Should we write to you?”
“How about you just email me?”Randall said and offered an email address.“That one comes right to me, not the staff at the estate.We need to work together to improve our community.This is long overdue, and I’m sorry for that.”He went quiet and turned back to the table.He drank the last of his beer and closed his eyes.
“Do you want to leave?”Sawyer asked before motioning to the bartender.He asked about the bill.
“It’s on the house,” the bartender said.
Sawyer shook his head and leaned over the bar.“How about you let me pay for our food, and the next time someone comes up a little short, you take care of them instead?”He used the strange money to pay and thanked him once again for an amazing meal.They left the pub, and Sawyer looked around the small village with its mostly stone buildings.It was a little like stepping back in time.The streets were narrow, with the center of the town facing a small open square.
“I think that went well.At least I hope it did,” Randall said.“With a lot of these people, there is so much history and tradition, and I don’t know if I can fight it.”
“They certainly can’t.You’re the landlord for a lot of them, so they might feel like they’re at your mercy.So you have to be the one to make the first move, and you did that very well.”Sawyer opened the car door and realized he was on the wrong side.He grumbled under his breath and went around before getting in.“I’m not sure if you’re going to get flooded with requests or if it is going to be radio silence.”
“I know.But I need to know the condition of things.”
“Give them some time.The brave ones will contact you, and the others will wait to see what happens.”Sawyer knew what it felt like to not have much of a voice for a long time.It became hard to believe that anyone would ever listen to you.
Randall nodded his agreement and started the engine on the small BMW before pulling out of the parking space.
The sun had set and fatigue began to set in.The huge house was lit from the inside but seemed foreboding as they pulled up.Randall parked, and they went inside and into the rooms he used.The rest of the place was locked up tight and closed up for the night.
“Does it seem strange to have part of your house not really open for you?Like it’s off-limits or something?The domain of tourists?”
Randall shrugged.“I still have access to the rest of the house, and I’ll show it to you in the next few days.But having it open is an agreement with the National Trust.We still have inheritance taxes here, and they are hefty, so when my father inherited the property, he negotiated a deal that as long as the home was open to the public for a certain amount of time each year, the tax bill would be deferred.Now there are two of them that were deferred, because I’d have to pay as well.Otherwise I’d probably have to sell the contents as well as the house itself to pay them, and where would that get anyone?The tenants would be thrown into chaos, and it would be a mess not just for me, but the entire community.”
“So you’re doing what you have to do,” Sawyer said and Randall nodded slowly.They settled in Randall’s sitting room and listened to the rain pelting the windows.Sawyer was tired and wondered what arrangements Randall had in mind for them.He yawned and checked the time.It was barely nine o’clock, but dark with fog close to the ground.
“Tomorrow I’ll show you through the house,” Randall told him, and Sawyer closed his eyes.It wasn’t long before Randall guided him out of the seat, took his hand, and led him upstairs to bed.
SAWYER WASall turned around.He had slept deeply and it was definitely morning, but his body wasn’t ready to get up.Still, he got out of the bed, scratching his hip on his way to the bathroom.He took care of business and found Randall in the bedroom with two mugs of coffee.He handed him one, and Sawyer sipped, groaning in sheer appreciation.
“You are a god, you know that?”
“I try,” Randall said.“And you’re naked.”Damn, Randall’s gaze slid down him.Sawyer put his mug aside and began dressing.Once he was done, he finished his coffee and joined Randall in the sitting room, where a tray of meats and cheeses with more coffee was set on a table.He settled in a chair and ate while Randall worked on his phone.
“I got two emails from the tenants.One says that the plumbing in their cottage is really bad, and another says that their lights aren’t working properly.”
“What are you going to do?”Sawyer asked, but Randall was already on the phone.He arranged for a plumber and an electrician to pay visits to the cottages that day.Then he ate a little and jumped to his feet.
“When we’re done here, I’ll give you a tour of the house.This afternoon we need to go to the village.I want to be there when the tradesmen show up so that the village will know that I meant what I said in the pub.Do you want to go with me?”
“Sure.Then can we go for a ride?”
