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“My staying here won’t injure your reputation, I trust?”
“People may think it strange that we harbor someone considered to be the captain’s agent.”
His brow knit. “I had forgotten that.”
She offered another sympathetic smile. “As someone recognized for her deep stratagem, you may want to reconsider your being incognito. Now, I really should go.”
“But you have not yet answered my question.”
“What question was that, sir?”
“About Mannering, what you think I should do.” He finished his tea and placed the empty cup on the table.
“You truly want my opinion?”
“You seem to have no small degree of common sense. I would appreciate the advice of a sensible, clever lady about what to do.”
She studied him a moment. He did indeed appear sincere. “I cannot think you mean it to be a ruin.”
“Is it worth fixing?”
“Can you afford to leave it? Would not a little expense in fixing a few things allow for greater income if you leased it out? I believe the house would prove quite popular, should it be known it was available to let.”
“You think this is what I should do?”
“I do not claim to know your personal situation, sir, but if this is something you can afford to do, and if it is a house that holds sentimental value—”
“It is not.”
Very well. “Regardless of whether one intends to sell, I believe that the house could benefit from more than a simple spruce up. If I was in possession of such a house, then I would reverse the rooms so that the main reception rooms looked out across the back and the inhabitants could enjoy views of the river.”
“You have thought on this, I see.”
“To effect such a change would not be greatly expensive, I should think. It’s simply a matter of switching furniture and intention. One can afford to have one’s study at the front of a house when that house is more secluded and not prone to many visitors. And can you not imagine how lovely it would be to have the drawing room at the back, where one can see the Cheviots beyond the stream and trees? To be honest, I have never understood why people do not wish to make the most of the natural beauty to be found and arrange their rooms accordingly. I should much prefer to look at the hills rather than a fussy, ordered garden.”
“You do not admire artifice?”
“No indeed, sir, I do not.”
His gaze trickled over her hair and cheek, and she wondered if she should have powdered her face earlier. Oh, how nonsensical was she!
“It is rare to encounter a woman who does not wish to employ tricks and ploys to garner attention. You are most refreshing, Miss Stapleton.”
She was?
“You appear to possess remarkable good sense and sympathetic understanding.”
Oh. “I’m afraid I might be known around these parts for such things. However, good sense is not always valued highly, especially from …” She bit off her last words. She had almost saidyoung men!
His perusal of her lingered, unsettling her.
She moved to the door. “I can furnish you the names of several competent builders, if you so wish. But if you don’t wish it, then I shall bid you good day.”
“These builders, you could write to them for me?”
“Yes. Although it might prove of greater benefit if you, should you continue to represent yourself as the captain’s steward, make such enquiries. Besides”—she offered a saucy look—“it will give you some occupation for the next hour that won’t distract me from mine.”
He laughed and agreed, and she shut the door, her heart beating foolishly fast.
