The Postilion (The Masqueraders #2) - S.M. LaViolette Page 0,58
far more pleasant than digging fence post holes, hauling stone, or replacing missing roof slates.
“How would you explain such a transition to Pike?”
“I’m not in the habit of explaining my decisions to my servants.” He frowned and Benna knew that he’d just realized that was exactly what he was doing. “You will retain some of your duties, such as assessing the buildings and conducting the girls’ riding lessons. That would allow you to keep some oversight of Pike until we are certain he is suited to the position.”
“Will I continue living in my current quarters?”
“I’ll leave that up to you. There is, however, a small suite connected to this study; it used to be part of the steward’s quarters.” He pointed to a door behind the large trestle table. “The chambers are separated from this room by a sort of butler’s pantry. This office will be yours whether or not you choose to occupy the adjacent chambers, since I’m planning to move back to the library.”
Benna thought about the tub that she had gone to so much effort to move and restore, which she had only bathed in once, But, in all truthfulness, she could not see herself bathing with Pike roaming the property.
“Well?” the earl prodded.
Really, the choice was no choice at all. “Thank you for the offer. I should like the position and I would also like the steward’s quarters, my lord.”
He didn’t look surprised. “Good. You may start immediately.”
Benna opened her mouth, and then closed it.
“What is it, Ben?”
“Why are you doing this, my lord?”
He gave her a cool smile. “To salve my conscience.”
It was pretty much the answer she’d expected.
“Any other questions?”
“I know you do not need to explain yourself to your servants, my lord, but I will have to justify the rather surprising move from the stables to the house.”
“Tell them the truth.”
His words surprised a laugh out of her.
“Not the entire truth,” he amended. “Just tell them that you are the child of a teacher who was raised to follow in your father’s footsteps. You will say that because of your youth and lack of teaching experience, you took a position as a postilion because it was the only job you could find. In the course of working for me I learned of your background and decided to benefit from your education.” He shrugged. “It is, in the important ways, the truth.”
If only he knew how far from the truth it really was.
***
“Come, I’ll show you your new quarters so that you might settle in.” Jago strode to the door that led to the strange little cupboard-closet-hallway. “This was last used as a linen closet, but I’ve coopted it for storage.” He pointed at the precarious ledgers and account books that filled most of the shelves. “These are what I have already examined.”
“My goodness,” she said.
“That is a polite way of putting it,” he said wryly. “My brother’s record-keeping was non-existent. Those ledgers might look like distinct bound collections, but they are often incomplete and even out of chronological order. The reason it is taking me so long to sort through everything is two-fold. One, my brother stopped organizing anything twelve years ago.
“And two, I am stretched rather thin since my return. I need to get the tenant farms up to snuff before the spring, but I also need to know the extent of my finances before I can commit to having more work done.”
His new secretary quietly scrutinized the small sitting area that contained only a few pieces of furniture.
That gave Jago an opportunity to scrutinize her, something he couldn’t get enough of.
Her bone structure was delicate and her features finely drawn and feminine. Her skin was flawless and smooth with no hint of facial hair.
She was tall—taller than any woman he’d ever met. He would not be surprised if she stood five feet eleven inches.
He liked to think that he would have noticed her deception sooner if he’d not been so consumed with sorting out the disastrous estate, but he suspected that was wishful thinking.
There was no point thinking about it; he knew the truth about her now, and that was what mattered.
Well, there was also the issue of that kiss, which stood in the room with them like a third presence.
Yes, that kiss most certainly mattered. For something that had barely lasted a minute its effect on Jago’s mental processes was prodigious.
He was both fascinated and unnerved by the attraction that had sprouted from it—and grown quickly, like a weed given