Chapter 20 #2
“I set about changing over the fields where we could,” she murmured, keeping her eyes closed.
“We spread quantities of lime over the weaker fields to restore their natural acidity. Drained the easier boggy fields. Began filling the abandoned mining shafts and holes. Used the funds from my dowry to repair tenant cottages so they could live off of the adjusted rent rather than spend on their mending. Anything and everything that made sense at the time. Started the crop rotation schedule, and—”
“Elena.”
She opened her eyes and looked up at West, almost startled that he had interrupted her. “Yes?”
His smile was soft and crooked. “I’ve read all of the reports and the ledgers. I know exactly what Williams did. You don’t have to recount every detail of your actions.”
Ellie blinked in surprised. “I don’t?”
West shook his head, unfolding his arms and leaning back on his hands a little. “No. I wanted an accounting of Williams, which I have received, but I do not need a recitation of his—your—every choice when the records are already there.”
She nodded once in understanding. She knew he had been studying materials in this study, and she had ensured that all of the Williams reports had been set in appropriate places for him for that purpose.
She hadn’t known how closely he would study everything, of course, since she had never heard of him, let alone known him, but since his arrival, she had learned that detail.
“What else do you need to know?” she asked him in a small voice.
He tilted his head at her, eyes narrowing just a little. “Are you afraid of me, Elena?”
She began shaking her head at once, then paused before lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Not you specifically, my lord.”
“Then . . .”
“The consequences of my actions,” Ellie admitted with a wince. “Now that I am no longer in control of my own fate or the Fenmore estate. You are. The consequences are yours to determine, and that frightens me.”
“It does not need to,” West told her, keeping his voice low and steady. “There is nothing frightening taking place, not to you, not to Mr. Tucker, not to anyone.”
Ellie’s breath caught in her throat, nearly strangling her as relief washed over her head like bathwater. “Really?”
He looked almost hurt by her emotions. “Elena, you saved this estate. You looked at a situation that you did not have to care for, and took action to not only improve the land, but the lives of the people on the estate. Yes, your methods were unconventional, but I do not blame you for that.”
“You don’t?” she cried, her hands clutching at her skirts.
“No, I don’t.” He uncrossed his ankles and scooted back against the surface of the desk until he was sitting atop it, his legs swinging slightly.
“What estate manager, in his right mind, would have taken on the task at Fenmore, such as it was, for the salary that could be offered, such as it was, and actually made a discernable difference that could be built upon for any sort of success? I’ll tell you—not many.
You would have been searching for someone the entire time you had been here until Leonard’s death. ”
She laughed a little. “Probably.”
George snorted loudly. “No doubt about it. What’s been managed here during this time you’ve had control is extraordinary, even to old and seasoned eyes like mine.”
Ellie looked at him with an almost reckless grin. “You were on my estate-management committee, and you know it, George. At least half of my decisions were made after discussions with you.”
“But that is what a good estate manager does, Elena,” West insisted, to which George nodded. “It is not a dictatorship. Things are discussed with those actually doing the work and then, based upon what is said, decisions are made. You did everything right.”
“Aside from the duplicity,” she muttered.
West smirked at her. “Well, yes, but no one would hire a woman as an estate manager, no matter how brilliant you were. As of yet, it has not been made an occupation for any woman to fill. But give it time, I am certain that is on the horizon.”
Ellie bit her lip softly, stifling another laugh. Then she sobered and forced her hands to settle in her lap. “What would you have me do now, my lord? As regarding the position of estate manager and Williams.”
His mouth twisted slightly, his eyes still on her. She could almost see the thoughts whirling behind his eyes as she waited.
“Would you walk the fields with me again? As your fullest, truest self now. Tell me where they were, what was done, and what you’d planned. All of it, every detail, down to the amount of lime used.” He flicked his eyes to George for a moment. “You too, Mr. Tucker. If you can be spared.”
“I can, sir,” George replied easily.
Ellie’s lips parted as her mouth fell open. “What? You . . . you want me to . . .”
West grinned fully now, clearly delighted by her response. “Well, are you Williams or aren’t you?”
“Y-yes, I am, but . . .” She wet her lips, shaking her head slightly. “You don’t mind? That I am?”
“I don’t mind,” he assured her softly. “In fact, it just makes you that much more interesting. And I would very much like to hear your thoughts on the Fenmore lands. If you’d like.”
It was all Ellie could do not to cry in relief, a flickering ribbon of hope waving madly within her. “I would very much like that, my lord. At your convenience.”