Page 8 of The Moonstone Governess
“You are being sarcastic. But you should not be so quick to dismiss me, little dove. I’ll need to tour the place again to make certain it is suitable for the entourage about to descend on me. Mother. Nephew. Governess. Maidservants. Butler. Cook. Groom.”
“Will you reside there, too?”
“Perhaps. I haven’t decided yet. The Kestrel Inn is quite comfortable.”
“Especially with your lady friends ensconced there.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Thaddius talks too much.”
“What you do with your lady friends is none of my business, so long as you do not think to turn my home into a bawdy house.”
“With my mother in residence? I can assure you, it will be as free of sin as any fine church. So, do we have a deal?”
They were almost into town now, and he knew they ought to part ways so as not to be seen returning together. For a young woman to be caught alone with a man such as himself would cause damage to her reputation if they were in London. But he wasn’t quite certain how these locals would respond, especially since she was related to most of them.
“A deal? No… Maybe. Well, let me give it some thought. Set out your offer and convey it to Mr. Priam. He can bring it to me.”
“Why not discuss it with me directly?”
The girl had lovely and delicate features, even as she frowned at him. “Because you think you can manipulate me with kisses. Let me assure you, I did not appreciate your forwardness. Sweeping me into your arms to kiss me will not soften me toward you in the least. It will firmly put me off. So let us keep this strictly professional. We shall deal through Mr. Priam or not at all.”
He sighed and put up his hands. “Very well. I surrender to your terms. I’ll ask Mr. Priam to take me to Stoningham Manor this afternoon, if that is all right with you. Care to come with us? You needn’t speak to me directly. But there will be some adjustments needed to the house, and it would be so much easier if we could come to terms on all of it today. Any work done will be solely at my cost, and if any of it is not to your liking, I shall deposit additional funds in escrow to cover the expense of restoration once the lease term has ended and we have gone back to London. As for the lease, I shall offer you double whatever the other homes in the area are being let for.”
“And you chide me on my bad negotiation skills?” she said with a shake of her head. “Good heavens.”
She considered his offer, one she had to know was ridiculously generous and ought to be grabbed before he came to his senses.
Not that he would, for this was mere pocket change for him.
She sighed. “Yes, I would like to be there when you look over the house.”
“Good. I’ll arrange it with Mr. Priam.”
He waited for her to walk back into town before he mounted Scipio and made his way back to the inn. The hour was early, and Mr. Priam would not be in his office yet.
Daire was in no hurry now that he had swayed Brenna. All that was left to do was set the terms down in writing, and Mr. Priam would put his clerks to it immediately in order to secure his own fee.
There was no other pressing business to occupy Daire’s day, so he took his time making certain Scipio was properly fed and curried by the inn’s ostler, the chatty Mr. Matchett.
“I’ll take good care of him, Your Grace. Never you worry. I hear you were looking over Miss Angel’s property on the heights. Lovely girl, she is. Cleverest of us all, but we always knew she was a bright little thing and would make good someday. She could read and write better than me by the time she was a wee sprite of six. But for all her book learning, her Uncle Joseph’s worried about her.”
“Joseph?”
“Aye, m’lord,” Mr. Matchett said. “Joseph Angel. He owns the Three Lions Tavern. Runs it with his son, William. He’s a strapping lad and very protective of his cousins. Looked out for Cara, he surely did. And now he’s looking out for Brenna. They are close as siblings, but that comes as no surprise, since the three of them, along with their cousin Felicity, were caught up in the squall that killed Captain Arundel, and would have killed them all had the captain not come to their rescue. Such wee ones they were at the time, and their ship about to go down. Don’t think our village would ever have recovered had they drowned.”
It took Daire another few minutes to disengage himself from the ostler, but the man had given him much to think about. Brenna had almost drowned as a little girl? How had this affected her, having to face death at a young age?
He did not know why it roused his protective instincts.
Gad, he wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her forever. Not that she required this from him, for she was a scrappy little thing, having survived a near drowning and the scourge of an illness that had claimed the lives of her older siblings. She was clearly a strong woman and not afraid to make her way in the world. Perhaps the ordeals she had faced had given her the strength to stand on her own.
The innkeeper, Thaddius Angel, greeted him as he strode in. “Did you have a pleasant ride this morning, Your Grace? Lovely day for it.”
Daire nodded. “Yes, quite an enlightening ride.”
The fellow arched an eyebrow. “Enlightening? Ah, then you finally encountered my cousin, Brenna.”
For pity’s sake, did everyone have to know his business?
