Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,256

said.

I have never dreamed that far in advance.

Her hopes for his support dimmed as Rhys folded up the piece of paper and placed it into the desk drawer. Legally, he was not compelled to pay her. The debt for her outstanding wages should have been settled by Lord Kington’s solicitors. Instead, they had taken the money and paid their own account. The lawyers were no fools. Few courts would support the petition of a young woman asking to be paid for having acted as the manager of an estate.

“What if I were to offer you to stay here and help me over the next month? I need someone to be able to explain the workings of the estate, and to be honest, to show me where all the money has gone,” said Rhys.

Wister wiped away another tear. She too would like to know where the hundreds of pounds that should be in the estate coffers had disappeared to over the past few years. They most certainly had not made it into her hands.

“What about money? I mean, not just the wages I am owed, but will you pay me for the next month as well? I need funds to begin my life over,” she said.

He nodded. “I will write to my banker this week and organize your money. If you agree to see out the rest of this calendar year in my service, I will not only pay you for the extra month, but I shall add in a bonus payment. You could use that money to go and see your family,” he replied.

Wister closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. Three years, eight months, and eleven days. Time, they said, was a healer, but it still hurt to say the words.

“Lord Carno, I have no family. And I have no home.”

Chapter Seven

Rhys hadn’t dealt with many young women over the years. He knew a few in polite society, but they were either sisters of his friends or relatives. Time spent trying to build up the finances of his family estate in Wales meant he had not made much headway when it came to the fairer sex.

Unlike Deri, he didn’t have a functioning castle with which to tempt a possible wife. His was little more than a ruin with a cold, drafty gatehouse. When Miss York said she had no home, he could somewhat understand her predicament.

Her request to have until the following morning to consider his offer of extending her employment was less clear in his mind. But, not wishing to put her in a difficult position, Rhys had reluctantly agreed.

As the day finally drew to a close, he decided it was time to venture over to the Royal Oak and sample some more of their simple but hearty fare. It was just the way he liked his food—nothing fancy.

He headed up to his room, intending to freshen up before taking a stroll into Kington. At the top of the narrow staircase, he met Wister coming out of another room.

Is that her bedroom? I need to get a better idea of the layout of this house.

“Good evening, Lord Carno. Are you ready for your supper?” she asked.

“I was going to go into the village to eat. There is no need to cook just for me,” he replied.

Surely Polly wouldn’t have cooked for one, with Deri having taken himself off to London?

The disappointed expression on Wister’s face told him he was mistaken.

“Oh. Well, have a nice evening. Give my regards to George the tavern keeper.” She hurried down the stairs and quickly disappeared from sight, leaving Rhys to ponder her response.

Once inside his bedroom, he changed into a clean shirt and brushed his badly-in-need-of-a-good-cut hair. An unappealing beard stared back at him from his reflection in the mirror and he screwed up his face.

Miss York said she could cut hair. And she said she could wield an open razor.

Leaving his jacket and coat still laying on the bed, Rhys made his way downstairs in search of Miss York and her sharp scissors.

After a good ten minutes of wandering in and out of various rooms on the ground floor, he finally found her in the kitchen, seated at a long wooden table. A large pot of something delicious simmered on the stove, filling the room with an enticing aroma. Rhys’s stomach growled.

She put down her spoon and rose from the table. “Lord Carno, I thought you were going to the village.”

He took another long, deep breath, his nose picking