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“How long has she been serving in such a capacity?” he reiterated, enunciating each word with exaggerated slowness.
“Since before His Grace...” Hayes trailed off awkwardly. “Begging your pardon, Your Grace, I meant no offen—”
“You may go,” he cut in. When she didn’t move, he raised his voice. “I said you may go.”
Turning on her heel, Hayes did as he bade.
The door slammed behind the woman, and Harriett shrank inside as Manchester again faced her.
He spoke in a low voice that, for all its softness, was filled with unmitigated fury. “Are you telling me that for the past two years I have been corresponding through my solicitor with you and not Mr. Dun?”
She squared her shoulders. Might as well own to it. “No, Your Grace. You have not. Because I am Mr. Dun.” She waited, but he said nothing. “A month had passed since William’s death and still you had not appeared. After two months, I knew you wouldn’t, so I—”
“Took it upon yourself to assume his place?” His amber eyes bored into her.
“Yes, actually.” Pride steadied her, gave her strength. “And you ought to know that I did so with the blessing of the other founding governors. All of them. I volunteered my services, and they accepted with gratitude.”
“You expect me to believe they would let a woman have control of this place?”
The carefully banked coals of her temper flared. “William and I drew the plans for this place together. I helped him design it. I’ve been a part of it since the very first stone was laid. In fact, it was my own hand that laid it, alongside his. William taught me everything about how to manage this hospital, and I have done well in his stead—as any of the other governors can and will tell you, should you care to ask.”
“The only thing I care to ask is why I was never informed that my brother’s fiancée had seized power in his absence.”
“Probably because it wasn’t a matter of power,” she countered. “It was a matter of capability and interest. Had you shown even the slightest shred of either, I and the others would have welcomed your input. But you never gave a damn about this place. You don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself. I assumed the name of the Honorable Mr. Dun whenever communication with you was necessary because I knew if you discovered my presence here, you would cause problems. So did the others, which is why they helped conceal it from you.”
“You lying little—”
Fear of him vanished. “I did it to preserve William’s legacy,” she said with righteous indignation. “I certainly wasn’t about to allow you to destroy it.”
“Allow me?” he said, laughing humorlessly. He leaned in again, towering over her. “Do you think you can refuse me my place here? I am my brother’s heir—in every respect, including his part in the governorship of this hospital.”
“I have never challenged your right to be here. What I—”
“Good, because here I am, and here I shall remain,” he barked. “You, however, will get yourself home to your father where you belong. Running a place like this is the purview of logic-minded men, not women with their bleeding hearts and open purses—my open purse, as I recall,” he amended, jerking an angry thumb at his chest.
Rage pounded through her. All the time she had spent nursing the sick herself when they were short-handed because they couldn’t afford to hire more help. All the long hours she’d spent poring over figures to make the funds stretch to feed and clothe those in their keep. He could have helped, had he not been such an uncaring, pathetic, self-serving bastard. It was only with the greatest effort that she refrained from hitting him.
Ignoring the fire in his eyes, she loaded her voice with scorn. “If you ever cared to look at the ledgers, which you have not in the two years I’ve been managing this facility, you’d know better than to utter such complete rubbish. And as to my scurrying back to ‘my place,’ the other governors won’t allow you to remove me. They know my worth even if you refuse to acknowledge it.”
His angular face hardened into a cold mask. “We shall see about that.”
“So we shall,” she replied, shaking with barely repressed rage. She wanted to claw his eyes out and send him slinking back home with his tail tucked between his legs! “Send in your auditors. Send in anyone you bloody well please. You’ll not find fault with my work.”
“No auditors. I won’t send in anyone that might be swayed by your guile, Lady Harriett. Oh, no. I intend to review your performance record myself. Meticulously.”
Her dismay must have been obvious, because now he smiled. It was a patronizing smile that again made her palms itch.
“I may be Saint William’s wastrel brother,”
he continued, “but that doesn’t mean I’m an ignorant fool. I received the same education as he. I might not have had the desire to run this place, but I am perfectly—what was the word you used? Oh, yes—capable of it.”
She had no choice but to accept his direction—if he followed through on the threat. Judging by the smell of him, she doubted he would even remember this conversation tomorrow morning. She inclined her head. “I look forward to you taking your proper place here, Your Grace. Believe me, any help you can provide will be a blessed relief. Though managing the Hospital has thus far been a labor of love on my part, I cannot continue to devote so much of my time to it indefinitely.”
They locked gazes, neither willing to give way to the other.
“Good,” he said softly. “You may expect to see me again before the week is out. First, however, I believe I shall pay a visit to Mr. Blume.” He turned to go.
Her heart leaped into her throat, and before she knew what she was doing, she’d grabbed him by the arm. “It is not his fault! Mr. Blume was directed to mislead you by the other governors!”
