Page 32 of The Earl's Wrangler
At the station, Sawyer climbed out of the carriage and got their luggage, hefting the two suitcases while Randall carried the smaller bags.His cowboy stood taller than most people and was easily the talk of everyone he passed.A few times he paused to tip his hat.Eventually they went into the station and out to the street side, where Randall had arranged for a car.
Sawyer insisted on loading the luggage in the boot for the driver and then held the door for Randall.“I take it your mama’s manners come out when you’re nervous,” Randall teased, and Sawyer shrugged.
“How long does it take to get to your house?”
“About ten minutes.”Randall settled back, every house and road familiar to him.He had explored them all as a boy, and they hadn’t changed much.It was like going to back in time, and he loved it.He had never realized how much until now.He had let his father and his miserable childhood color everything about this place and his life.Taking Sawyer’s hand, he realized just how much he owed the man next to him.
“Holy shit,” Sawyer swore as the driver pulled into the drive up to the house.“This place is huge.”He tilted his head so he could see out the window.
“Yes, I suppose it is.”The manicured gardens spread out on both sides of the drive, and in the distance, great lawns met the old estate trees.The gardens, lawns, and forests were all managed and maintained without much help from Randall.
“It looks like something out of a movie,” Sawyer said as the car stopped.He bounded out and looked around.Randall stood next to him, trying to see the old Regency-era pile the way Sawyer did.“And the flowers….”Sawyer’s voice broke.“My mama would have loved to see this.”
“Maybe we should go in and get out of the rain,” Randall offered, and Sawyer hefted the bags out of the back before thanking him for the ride and shaking his hand.
“Lead the way,” Sawyer said.
Randall climbed the steps and pulled open the tall front door before entering his family home’s grand foyer, with its marble floors and rich woodwork.Walls hung with the souvenirs of his ancestors’ European grand tours.
“Celeste, this is Sawyer Kincaid.He’s going to be staying with me for a while.”
“Pleased to meet you.”Sawyer set down the bags, pulled off his hat, and made a slight bow of his head.
“Celeste manages the house for me.She makes sure all the tours are running well and that everything in the house is exactly as it should be.”Randall smiled.“Is there anything that I should know?”
“There’s a tour that’s just started.They will be coming this way in about ten minutes.After that they are every half hour, and we close the house at five.”
“Then we should leave this portion of the house.”
“I’ll get someone to bring your bags,” Celeste said.
Sawyer lifted the bags.“That’s okay, ma’am.They have their work to do, and I can get these.Thank you.”He picked up the bags, and Randall went into the library and opened a secret door in the bookcases that led to the private family wing.“Now this is more like it.I don’t feel like I’m going to break stuff just by looking at it.”
Randall shook his head as he glanced around the room with fresh eyes.The furniture was sturdy but old and well used.Everything in the room, just like the rest of the house, had come down to him from his father.“Make yourself comfortable.”Sawyer put down the bags.“I can get us some tea and a few things to eat.”
“Okay.Then I want to see the rest of the house and the gardens and the stables.And I want to meet your horses.”He went to the windows to look out.“How much land is there?”
“About ten thousand acres.Much of it is leased out to local farmers, and there are about two thousand acres of woodlands that my grandfather was smart enough to protect.My father did nothing with it out of sheer neglect, so the area is quite wild at the moment.I hired a forester who manages that acreage now.Some of it we leave completely wild, and other areas are managed more actively.We thin some of the trees and sell the wood.We’re very careful.It’s become quite a lucrative business for the estate.”
“And what about all these tour people?Do they pay you too?It sounds to me like you got money coming in from all over the place.”
Randall sighed.“The house tours help pay for the upkeep on the mansion.I’m happy if they keep the lights on, the place heated, and allow us to do regular maintenance.Right now, we’re saving up for a new roof, which is going to be a huge expense.I have about ten years on this one, and it’s going to take that long to save up to pay for it.Then there’s the estate store, where we sell the things we produce here on the estate, like some of our wool products.We have sheep and goats on the farms.We sell the cheese and goat’s milk in the shop.From the sheep, we sell wool for knitting and such and fleece blankets.Some of the villagers use the wool to make hats and jumpers, and we sell those as well.I have a tenant who uses some of the trees we fell to make bowls, spoons, and other wooden implements.Everything in the store has some sort of connection to the estate.My father liked to take credit for the store idea, but it was the estate manager who had the idea and came to my father with it.Jessup is a real visionary.He retired, but he lives in the village.I’ll introduce you.”Randall cleared his throat.“All that money goes strictly to upkeep.Nothing more.”
“So you just take care of the place?”
“Yes and no.”Randall put his feet up, and Sawyer finally sat down.“I have an income because my grandfather realized the kind of man his son was and tied up the family money really well.I have income from that trust, and I have some real estate in London that generates income.I try to live off that so the rest can go to the house.”Sawyer seemed so restless.“Come on.”Randall was tired, but there was no fighting Sawyer’s energy.“Let’s take a walk.”He stood and led Sawyer out of the sitting room and through the dining room to his messy office.He tripped a latch and opened a hidden door.
“You have more secret passages?”
“Sort of.”They passed down a central hallway and came out to the main hall once more.“This was used by the servants to access the first-floor rooms without being seen.There’s a door to the dining room as well as the library, but that door is fixed closed now.There’s another of these halls on the other side of the house as well.”
“Does anyone use them anymore?”
“Just me.It’s a way I can get around if I need to when there is a tour going on.Most of the time I can join one and no one is the wiser, but every now and then a guide will feel compelled to introduce me to the guests.They love it, and I will sign their maps and guides for them, but I like to just be able to live my life.”
“I suppose.”They came out in the hall, which was deserted once more.Randall led the way out the doors at the back of the hall and out into the end of the verge.
“Holy crackers,” Sawyer said at the wide line of green with an abundance of flowers that stretched for nearly a hundred feet.
