“Pardon, my lord,”Mrs. Felix said as she tapped on the open door to his grandfather’s study. Navan should have been concentrating on the receipts stacked prominently on the edge of the desk, but his mind was where it always was since taking Lady Annalise Dutton’s acquaintance.He wondered whether she had arrived safely in London. Had his staff treated her properly? Were the Manfrieds as honest as they had appeared to be? Did Annalise think of him as often as he thought of her?
He looked up and attempted not to frown. “Yes, Mrs. Felix?”
“There is a gentleman here to see you. He says Lord Duncan sent him. He is supposedly an experienced land agent, and, if his accent proves true, he is also Irish.”
“Duncan sent me a land agent? How would he… Never mind. Send the man in, and ask if he wishes something to warm his bones.”
“Yes, sir.”
Navan straightened the stacks of papers on his desk. Within a matter of minutes, Mrs. Felix directed a young man into his office. “Mr. Liam, my lord.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Felix,” he said as he eyed the man. Shorter than Navan. Stocky built, but no sign of laziness in the sculpturing of his legs and arms and back. Navan gestured to a nearby chair. “How may I be of service, Mr. Liam?”
“Thank you for receiving me, my lord. If I had known you were in County Kerry, I would have called here first,” the man said as he settled in the chair on the other side of the desk.
“I am curious,” Navan said. “Mrs. Felix said it was Lord Duncan’s idea that you call upon me. I was not aware that his lordship knew I was in Ireland.”
“I cannot speak to his lordship’s knowledge. I called upon the barony estate, for the young clerk in your man of business in London told me your current land agent in Staffordshire was considering retiringsoon.”
“I have heard no such rumblings,” Navan countered. “I suspect whomever you spoke to in Miegel’s office was simply confused regarding which estate I meant, as this estate actually belongs to my maternal grandparents, but it will be home to one of my minor children when he is old enough to inherit.”
“I recognized my mistake when I traveled to Staffordshire,” Mr. Liam admitted. “The information was seriously in error. I felt quite foolish.”
“Then you are seeking a position as a land agent. Is that what I am made to understand?”
“Yes, sir. Your Mr. Edwards in Staffordshire was very kind once we cleared away the misinformation. He and I had an excellent conversation, speaking mostly of your favoritism for a four-crop rotation.”
“You know of the need to replenish the soil?” Navan asked, his interest piqued. “My brother Graham uses the method exclusively on his Scottish estates.”
“I trained and oversaw what those in America call aplantation, though it was simply a grand estate, not one where the master plants cotton year after year, depleting the soil. I would not approve of that. In Pennsylvania, thoroughbred horses were the master’s obsession. He left the planting and such to me.”
“I have never seen a field of cotton,” Navan admitted, “but my wife might have.”
“Is Lady Beaufort from America?” Mr. Liam asked innocently, but Navan was glad the man had no prior knowledge of Annalise’s history.
“No, but her ladyship has traveled much of the world,” Navan explained and was proud of Annalise’s many fine qualities. He paused before adding, “What would you do about the stubbornness of our fellow Irishmen who treat the land poorly by planting potatoes year after year?”
“We are a stubborn lot, are we not, my lord?”
Though he noted the man had not answered his question, Navan said, “Tell me how you came to speak to Lord Duncan?”
“Mr. Edwards seemed to think Lord Duncan would know of your whereabouts. His lordship did not, but he told me to call upon Lord Graham, for Lord Duncan had heard you followed Lord Graham to Scotland.”
So, Marksman finally put two and two together and decided on betting on the number four, Navan thought.
“And Graham was still at his southern estate?” Navan asked casually. He thought perhaps his brother had followed the Cunninghams north so Aaran might again speak to Lady Freya Cunningham. Navan had never viewed Graham so struck by any woman.
“His lordship meant to depart later in the day when I called upon him,” Mr. Liam explained.
“And Graham told you I was at Klare Fields?” Navan did not think Graham would share that information. It was not in Aaran’s nature to be chatty with strangers, only with women.
“He said you were in Ireland,” Mr. Liam confided. “It was one of your men at Beaufort Court who told me that your Mr. O’Connor was at Klare Fields.”
“May I ask why you have tracked me through two countrysides?” Though Mr. Liam did not appear suspect, Navan was aware that he had enemies who would pay well to see him brought low.
“When I returned to Ireland with the intention of searching out a land agent position so I might marry my sweet Claudine and begin a family, everyone said you were one of the most innovative masters in all of the land. As I said previously, many men would not tolerate my suggestions well. I am hoping you will.”
“Let us discover whether I meet your criteria and you meet mine.” Navan stood and straightened his coat. “We will walk the estate, which currently is under my grandmother’s care, but, as I said previously, one day, with the king’s permission, it will belong to one of my minor sons. I shan’t tell you what I have decided, but I wish to hear your evaluations of what you observe. Afterwards, perhaps over supper, you might tell me what you believe should be done to bring this estate and the manor house into better repair.”
