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Cavendish laughed. “No … not yet. I have to work for a living.”
“What is it you do, sir?”
She was so direct, without subterfuge, he found it enchanting. “I am the king's representative with the Court of Augmentation.”
She recoiled from him. “God's blood, is that anything like the Court of Wards?”
He considered the question philosophically. “Specifically, I deal with the dissolution of the monasteries, but both courts serve the same purpose: raising vast amounts of money for the Crown.”
“You steal property!” she accused.
“Softly, Elizabeth,” he warned. “You may say anything you wish to me, but accusations against the Crown are considered treason. I worked under Thomas Cromwell until he lost his head. I survived his downfall and now work directly for the king, but only because I guard my tongue.”
Bess leaned forward and confided, “My family owns Hardwick Manor in Derbyshire, but because my brother, James, was a minor when my father died, the grasping Court of Wards stepped in and took it from us until he comes of age.”
“I'm sorry. There are ways to avoid such losses.”
“How? My mother protested, but the bloody Court ruled against her,” Bess replied passionately.
“The property could have been held by trustees. You should have had a lawyer. They are costly but worth every penny. The side with the better lawyer always wins.”
Bess pondered his words for a moment. “That's a valuable piece of advice you've just given me. Oh, I wish I were a man. The things they teach men are so worthwhile. Lady Zouche's daughters are taught Latin and Italian, which are nearly useless, in my opinion. I persuaded the Zouche steward to teach me to keep the household accounts, a far more practical skill.”
“For when you run your own vast household,” Cavendish teased.
“Don't laugh at me, sir. I shall have my own household!” she vowed. “I want to learn so many things … how to buy and sell property, for instance. Oh, I warrant you could teach me a lot. I am insatiable!”
His groin, finally starting to behave itself, suddenly went wild. Lord God, he thought, the things I'd like to teach you. His mouth curved. “You'd make an apt pupil.”
They were at Whitefriars' stairs, and perversely William didn't want to let her go. He jumped up onto the stone steps to hand her from the barge. “You have been delightful company, Mistress Elizabeth Hardwick. Lady Zouche is an old acquaintance of mine; it seems high time I paid my respects to her.”
Bess at last relented and gave him a dazzling smile, perfectly aware that she had engaged his interest.
