Chapter Seven #2
Yet something stirred within Verina at the sight of him. She tightened, as a coil might, waiting to spring open. She dug her nails into her palm, trying to compose herself, but her heart beat as if she had run all the way here.
All from watching him from a distance.
This alone told her he was dangerous. Somehow, she had fallen under his spell, and she vowed not to be susceptible to his charm. Yes, he was handsome. Yes, he was a duke. Yes—other than asking what it would take to win a kiss from her—he seemed to be a decent sort of fellow.
Verina decided she could not possibly avoid him, either today or during the rest of her stay at Merrifield. To survive, she would have to harden her heart to his many charms. That is when it hit her.
She should treat him as she did Tray. As a brother.
She could be familiar with him, or at least as familiar as a person could be with a duke.
After all, Reddington was a family friend.
He would be afoot during the next few weeks while she and Justina were here.
He would come around again once Tray returned with Mama since it seemed to her that they had taken a shine to one another.
She would merely close off any feelings he stirred within her and act as though he were a brother.
Verina had loved to play pretend when she was young.
This would be the grown up version of pretend.
She only hoped that she could pull it off and not get lost in his cornflower blue eyes or swoon when she inhaled his marvelous citrus scent.
“I can do this,” she said under her breath, willing herself to be stronger than she suspected she might be.
Being a person who enjoyed organizing things, Verina was soon directing the wives, changing some of the placement of dishes and keeping others.
Since not every farmer was atop one of the cottages, she had them bring out tables and chairs from various cottages so that they would have places to sit while eating.
She also began assigning roles to various women, having some acting as servers, others distributing plates and silverware, and a few pouring mugs of ale, setting them out on the tables so the men could drink something once their work came to a halt and they lined up for their meal.
She dashed across to the cottage where Hugo worked and shouted up, “How long until you can stop?”
He looked about at the progress and told her, “Two minutes.”
Nodding, she went back to the tables of food. “We have two minutes,” she told the others.
Verina said things would go more quickly if they dished up plates of food and handed them out, so she prepared a sample plate.
“Let us start with this much food,” she explained. “We want to make certain that every man working on the roofs is fed first—and well. Then we can have the other men line up. After that, the women and children can be served. Lady Merriman and Lady Justina will help us do so.”
“You will need help, my lady,” one woman said.
“No, you have worked very hard preparing all this food, and you will have already served the men. Let us do this for you.”
A loud whistle sounded, and she realized it came from the duke.
Things came to a halt, and men scampered down ladders resting against the walls of various cottages.
A few women stood nearby with buckets of water, allowing them to wash up as they headed to the tables, downing their ale in a large gulp.
Verina indicated for those at the ale stand to refill the mugs, and she helped direct the workers to the line.
“Roofers first, then others who are helping them on the ground line up next,” she shouted. “Then the rest of the men may fall into line.”
Once she saw they lined up according to her instructions, she hurried back to the tables, supervising as plates were dispersed. At one point, she sensed eyes upon her and guessed it was the duke, but she kept her focus on the tasks at hand.
After all the men were served, she encouraged the women and children to line up. She, Tia, and Justina filled plates with food as quickly as they could, and those served took their food to the tables, sitting amongst the men.
When the last of them were served, she shouted, “If you wish for more, it is available.”
Hugo stood, raising his tankard of ale high. “We have accomplished much today. So much that I believe by the end of tomorrow, we will finish our work. I want to thank my lovely wife, as well as her cousins, Lady Verina and Lady Justina, for helping to organize this feast today.”
A loud cheer went up, and she felt pleased that things had gone so well.
“We will repeat this tomorrow, a new crew of roofers atop the remaining cottages. My thanks to those who prepared today’s food and those who will do so again for us tomorrow.”
Verina encouraged Tia and Justina to take a plate and sit, saying, “I will be here to help anyone who wishes to be served again.”
She wanted Tia off her feet and gave her cousin a pointed look. Tia obviously received Verina’s unspoken message and picked up a plate, handing it to Justina and then taking one for herself.
Several men came to her, asking for seconds, and she gave them whatever they asked for.
Three-quarters of an hour later, the men had finished eating and went back to work.
The women and children followed soon after, and Verina helped organize crews to wash the dishes in a nearby stream and had others return the tables and chairs to the appropriate cottages.
The tables which had been brought from Redfield would remain for use tomorrow.
“You must be exhausted.”
She looked up, seeing the Duke of Reddington had joined her.
His face and throat glistened with sweat.
Through the thin lawn of his shirt, she could see his muscular chest. She averted her eyes, having glimpsed those beautiful forearms up close, which made her knees go weak.
Then she recalled how she was supposed to treat him.
“What are you doing on the ground, Your Grace?” she teased lightly. “You are supposed to be atop a cottage, seeing to its roof and gaining experience.”
He frowned a moment, seemingly surprised by her lighthearted tone. “I thought that you should eat, my lady.”
“I will do so later. I need to go to the stream now and see how the washing of dishes is coming along.”
“I will walk with you.” His tone brokered no protests would be accepted.
She began heading toward the stream, and he fell into step with her.
“You did an excellent job organizing this for Hugo. While he and his steward may have broken the men into groups for efficiency, your skills in readying the meal made things go smoothly and efficiently, allowing the men to get back to work quickly.”
“I suppose I should put my skills to use and join His Majesty’s army then,” she quipped. “If England had more competent officers such as Wellington and myself in charge, that dog Bonaparte would run back to France with his tail tucked between his legs.”
“Who are you?” he asked, looking bewildered.
“Lady Verina Fulton. Though I do believe we have met, Your Grace.”
She liked the tone she had taken with him. She felt in charge of the situation. And Verina couldn’t but be a bit pleased that the duke seemed slightly off-balance.
They reached the stream. “Thank you for accompanying me, Your Grace. I advise that you get back to work now.”
A slow smile teased his lips, turning the corners of his mouth up.
It continued to spread until it was absolutely breathtaking, and that dimple in his chin looked so very appealing.
Verina placed a hand against her belly, trying to keep the butterflies which were exploding from causing her to turn giddy.
She told herself to be careful and not show any sign of weakness around this man.
“You have surprised me, my lady.” Reddington paused. “And that is very hard to do so.”
“Have I surprised you because I am a woman—or because I am young?” she demanded.
“Both. Today, you have convinced me that the weaker sex might just be the stronger one. And that I should not discount someone merely because of their youth.”
“I am glad I am a woman, Your Grace, and I think character is more important than age. While I do agree that maturity is important, too often others overlook the very young. I may be just under eight and ten, but I am as sharp and clever as those twice my age.”
“And modest,” he said, causing her to giggle.
“See, you made me giggle. Now I sound half my age. Go away, Your Grace. Go back to the roofs.”
“Goodbye—for now—Lady Verina.”
She watched him walk away, admiring his broad shoulders, her eyes focused on how his tight breeches molded to his buttocks and legs. When he was out of sight, she let out a sigh.
Verina felt she had won this round between them.
But if today were a battle, who was to claim victory in their war?