“I would like to take a tour of the estate tomorrow. On horseback. And I would like someone to show me around.”
“Melissa…” she began, but he interrupted her.
“No. I would like to be shown around by someone who knows it well. I can hardly ask Crawford, now can I? I’m not sure he’d be pleased at having to climb onto a horse at his age. I don’t even know if he can ride.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think he can.”
“So you see, as there is no estate manager to perform this task, the next best thing must be the previous lady of the manor. You.”
“Well…”
“Please say yes. I need your expertise. I need to meet my tenants in the company of someone who knows them.”
“You do know we are living in what used to be one of the tenant farms?”
“I do.”
“You must know that my husband left it to us…to me…to live in until I marry again.” She paused. “Something I assure you I have no intention of doing. So it is unlikely to revert to you in my lifetime. I am what you might call a sitting tenant, and one that pays you no rent.”
“Immaterial.”
She frowned. “I don’t like to be beholden.”
“Then don’t be. In payment, I require your services as a guide and mentor. For some time to come.”
She must be fighting her desire to persuade him to take Melissa as his guide, but clearly she could think of no excuse. Or perhaps she found she liked his company. He could only hope that was the truth of it.
She smiled up at him. “Then it is a deal. I will help you.”
It was a start.
