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Rafe believed that. Mostly. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“Look, if it helps you out a little, I will give you the cottage.”
“What?”
“As you said, it’s not being used anymore, and it’s not far from the house. And neither of you will lose your jobs here. I have to admit, it would be nice to have something happy in the house for once. You can have the cottage as a wedding present.”
Manning looked a little dazed. Rafe almost laughed at his expression.
“But…what if Lady Blackmore sacks Abigail? What will happen then?”
“Abigail is now under my employ, and I have given my blessing if you want to marry her. She can’t do anything about it, except force me to move Abigail to another job in the house.” Rafe gave him a pointed look. “But if you do propose, you follow through. You run away from her, and you’ll have to deal with me. I’m not dealing with a broken-hearted woman again.”
“I promise you, my lord, I will not break her heart,” Manning said fervently. “Thank you so much. I do appreciate it.”
“And no more cavorting around at work?”
“We’ll make sure we’re not in the same room alone.”
That was the most Rafe could expect. He didn’t want to make it harder. While he wasn’t impressed with what he had walked in on, he wasn’t about to be the cold-hearted man and throw servants out for being intimate. Even servants deserved love, and he believed that Manning loved Abigail.
“What about Lady Blackmore, though?” Manning asked. “She’s going to know about this once Abigail and I announce our engagement.”
“You let me deal with her. It’s not up to her what happens.”
“Really?”
“Really. She has a problem with it, then she can come to me.” Rafe turned away. “Now go and get on with your work. I want to have breakfast.”
Although how much he would actually eat, Rafe had no idea. There was still a knot in his stomach, knowing that Victoria was going to be unhappy about this.
