“Yes. If he agrees to meet with me, have him come by either immediately, or tomorrow morning at ten.”
Hoover bowed and left. Leo began to sort the mail he’d received into piles. Ones from yesterday. Those received today. Work. And social events. He came across a card from Lord Fellows inviting him to a gathering at his house on the river in Greenwich. Leo had attended a few events there since he’d returned from his Grand Tour. The first time he’d brought his mistress, but his tendency not to share what was his had created some difficulties. After that, he’d gone alone. He threw the card in the fireplace and watched it burn. That was his past life. This was the year he began anew.
Sometime later, as he wrote an answer concerning a tenant issue, a knock came on his door. “Enter.”
Hoover opened the door. “Your grace, Mr. Whiting is here to see you.”
Thank God! Leo prayed this went well. He inclined his head.
“Sir, his grace will see you now.”
A tall, slender gentleman entered the room. He had sandy hair and wore glasses. To Leo, he looked exactly like how he pictured a secretary would appear. Coming from around his desk, he held out his hand. “Welcome. I’m glad you had time for me today.”
“I was pleased to receive your letter.”
This sounded promising. “Have a seat.”
Leo took his chair behind his desk again. “I have heard some of your qualifications, and you came highly recommended by friends.”
The man looked curious. “May I ask who?”
“Indeed. The Duke of Rothwell and Lord Kenilworth.”
“I respect both of them a great deal,” Whiting said. “Can you tell me exactly what the position would entail?”
“Correspondence.” Leo resisted a shudder. “During the past year, I fully took control of my holdings. When I was at home, everything was manageable. Now that I’m in Town and looking to wed, it has become more difficult.”
“Courting is interfering,” Whiting observed.
“In a word, yes. It’s dashed hard to attend even the few events I have gone to so far and keep up with the questions I receive from my estate managers.”
Hoover brought in a tea tray and Leo served. Once Whiting had a cup of tea and had taken a sip, he put down the cup. “You said you had recently assumed full control. Who was managing before?”
“My father, but he died about three years ago. I did not take it well and continued on with my life as it had been before. Then I had a revelation. You could describe it as being doused with a bucket of cold water. It was made clear to me that there was something I wanted more than a life of frivolity.”
“Were your estate managers pleased with this turn of events?”
That was an interesting question. “I would have said they were. In the beginning. Then I followed the lead of a few gentlemen who were testing new methods, and they became not surly, but they had a great many reasons why the old ways were better.”
Whiting tented his fingers. “Now you are inundated with minor problems.”
“Exactly. How did you know?” Leo had not even considered how trivial some of the requests were.
“People in general don’t like change. From what I understand, you hadn’t been involved when your father was living and left everything to them after his death. That is not as unusual as you might think. It might be a way to put you in your place, as it were. Or to make you throw up your hands and let them have at it again.”
“I will not do either of those things. My father believed a landlord should be actively involved in his estates.” Leo wished he’d done that from the beginning. On the other hand, he’d had a lot of fun for a few years. Perhaps he’d needed to do that to realize how empty that life was.
“I can see that you will not. My suggestion is to allow them to continue on during this Season. When you return you can make changes.”
“I could fire them all.” That seemed like an excellent idea.
“Unless you wish to return to your main estate and do a tour of the rest, it would be difficult to let them go now.”
“You’re right. What should I do?”
“If you decided to hire me, I would handle all the correspondence.” Whiting raised his brows. “You would still have to make the decisions, but you won’t be required to take the time to respond. That will provide you with the courting time you need.”
And when Leo returned to his estate, he’d have Theo with him. She, he knew, had a great deal of knowledge about estate management and dealing with dependents. The question was should he consider this until tomorrow or just hire Whiting now? It suddenly struck Leo that he’d never hired anyone. Except a mistress, that is. He should speak with someone. Like Theo.
