Page 41 of The Earl's Wrangler
“HEY, COWBOY,you need a lift?”Randall said with the window down.“I hear you’ve been making the rounds already this morning.”
Sawyer got in and pulled the door closed.
“I fixed the Manners’s roof and stopped a flood in the Cooks’ kitchen.These people take great pride in their homes, but they are in need of a lot of work.And it isn’t just repairs.You need to make a full assessment of all the real estate you own and then, year by year, renovate these properties.I know a lot of them are historic and all, but they need new roofs, new plumbing and electrical.I’d say do three or four a year.It will take some time, but these systems are coming to the end of their lives, and they need a lot of work.”Sawyer had done some patches, but more systemic changes were needed to take care of the root of the issues.
“That’s sort of what I figured.If my father didn’t help them out, that means they’ve been limping along for a lot longer than they should have.”
“Okay.Then put together a plan to make the changes that need to be made.”
Randall nodded.“I can see that’s what I’ll have to figure out.”He pulled off to the side of the road.“Did you get something to eat?”
“At the pub, yeah.These are really nice people.But there is one thing.I think I had too many cups of tea.Everyone I talked with offered me one, and I didn’t know how to turn them down.”
Randall laughed.“Okay, I get that.It’s the British thing to do.If someone comes to your door, you offer tea.If they help you out, you offer tea.If you inquire about their health and they want to chat, they offer tea.It’s their way of being friendly.I have had more cups of tea in my lifetime than you can imagine.And I’ve found that the only way to say no is to have something pressing that you have to get to.Don’t be specific, but gentle and caring, but you have a previous engagement that you must attend.”
“I see.Though I suppose that will work for you.Everyone around here seems to think that you’re very busy and have a lot of things to see to.I’m just a cowboy, so that really isn’t going to work.”If he stayed here for any length of time, he was going to have to get used to drinking a lot of tea.That was all there was to it.
“Your Lordship,” someone called from behind them.Sawyer turned and got out of the car as Randall did the same.The man huffed as he caught up with them.“I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Mr.Cook.Is everything okay?Did the kitchen flood again?”Sawyer certainly hoped not.He’d spent enough time crawling around on their kitchen floor already, and he could have sworn he’d found the issue.
“No.It’s good.Thank you.”He took a few more deep breaths and then pressed a plate into Sawyer’s hands.“Mrs.Cook just took some ginger scones out of the oven, and she asked me to bring them to you.”
“Are these for me?”Sawyer asked.He inhaled and groaned.“You tell Mrs.Cook that they smell amazing, and that I will share them with Randall if he asks nicely.Otherwise I’ll eat them all myself.Do you need a ride back home?”Mr.Cook really seemed stressed.
He seemed completely shocked, his eyes wide.“No.I don’t want to put his Lordship out, but we wanted to say thank you for all your help.”He turned and walked back more slowly down the road.
“We should go,” Randall said.
Sawyer shook his head.“Give it a minute.Laticia told me that he smokes more than he should and has a touch of COPD.I just want to make sure he gets back okay.”Sawyer took a bite of scone and passed one to Randall.“You know, if you ever decide to go with that ‘tea with an earl’ idea, you need her to make the scones for it.”
Randall scoffed and then covered his mouth with his hand.Once he finished the scone, they got back in the car.
“WHAT ISthis?”Sawyer asked as they pulled into a parking lot.Randall called it a car park.
“This is what used to be the stables,” Randall told him.
Sawyer whistled.“You have to be kidding me.The horses lived in fancier accommodations than the people in the village.”The building was brick with beams, and even the old stable doors were fancy and well built.Heck, the thing even had a clock tower.
“It was built at the height of the Victorian era when the country was booming, there was no income tax, and estates like this made money hand over fist.If you owned the land at that time, it was a license to print money.You controlled the food, the access to the woods, you got rent from the villages where many of the people who worked for you lived, and on top of that, the farmers paid you rent to farm your land.So in addition to all the fine art and furnishings in the house, the estate had some of the finest horses in this area of the country.”
“Is that the gift shop?”Sawyer asked, pointing to where people were going inside.
“Yes.And the ticket office.This building also houses some of the management offices.We can go inside later, but this end has something I want to show you.”He led the way down the long row of what had once been stalls and unlocked a door toward the end.
“People are watching you and pointing,” Sawyer whispered.
Randall sighed.“It happens all the time.I can’t go anywhere on my own land without someone seeing me.It’s like living in a fishbowl a lot of the time.”He pulled open the door and stepped inside.Sawyer followed him and closed the door before latching it closed.
“Oh my god,” Sawyer whispered.“Is that a coach?”
“Yes.I’ve been working on it for a few years in my spare time.I found it, this carriage, and this buggy where the horses are now.I moved them into this section of the old stables.The store managers would like to expand, and they have their eye on this part of the building.I’ve been thinking of fixing up the estate manager’s house and moving the offices there to give them extra room, but I don’t want to give up this space.”
“No,” Sawyer agreed.“It’s still really rough, and this is a workspace.”He carefully opened the door to the coach and peered inside.The seats were lush and heavily padded.“Is that the same crest as on the glasses in the dining room?”
“Yes.The queen, after her visit, sent this to my ancestor as a thank-you for showing her such amazing hospitality.It even has her crest on the door.I want to finish it and the others and open this as a carriage display.I think that would be really fun.”
Sawyer was already shaking his head.“Screw that.Finish this one and show it off, but the others, use them.Get the horses you need and use them on the property.God, I would love to drive a team of horses.”He grinned as he ran his hands over some of the smooth wood.“Can you imagine taking a ride in this on a summer afternoon, or adding bells to the horses and using them at Christmas?”It was mind-blowing.“I wouldn’t want to try to drive this one.It’s too fancy and way too valuable, given its history, but the others?”He could just see riding in them.It would be like a dream come true.“A ride in any of them would be amazing.”Every nook and cranny of this place seemed to harbor something special.He peered inside the coach and then walked all around it.
