Chapter Four
“I fail to see why she should retain such a generous portion of the estate when it is I who must restore it,” Drake muttered, pacing the length of his study at Greythorne House. “Even with her help, it seems she’s getting a better bargain than I am.”
The meeting with Lady Katherine—not Lady Greythorne, as she had so pointedly corrected him—had not gone as he’d anticipated.
Despite the warnings from both Harrison and Carrington about underestimating the woman, he had expected either a weeping widow or a Society gadabout, both out of their depths in business matters.
Instead, he’d encountered a woman with a razor-sharp mind who knew every acre of his inheritance better than he did.
It was... disconcerting.
Mr. Winters sat stiffly in a leather chair, watching Drake’s agitated movements with barely concealed apprehension. “As I explained before, my lord, the late Earl’s settlement with Lady Katherine was entirely legal. Her brother, the Duke—”
“Yes, yes, I’m well aware of what her brother arranged,” Drake interrupted, pausing to pour himself a generous measure of brandy. “The question is not whether it was legal, but whether it was just.”
“Just, my lord?”
Drake turned to face his solicitor, irritation simmering beneath his carefully controlled expression. “Five years of marriage, no children, and she walks away with more than half the unentailed assets. Does that strike you as equitable, Mr. Winters?”
The solicitor cleared his throat uncomfortably. “The terms were agreed upon before the marriage, my lord. And if I may speak candidly...”
Drake raised an eyebrow. “Please do.”
“The late Earl was not known for his... generosity of spirit. The Duke of Wexford was merely protecting his sister’s interests.”
Drake scoffed. “Protecting her interests would be ensuring a comfortable income. What she received goes well beyond that.”
“Nevertheless,” Mr. Winters insisted with uncharacteristic firmness, “her settlement is legally binding. The only matter open to interpretation is the boundary dispute concerning the western fields.”
Drake drained his glass, the brandy doing little to soothe his irritation.
The western fields. Prime agricultural land that, by any reasonable reading of the original deed, should be part of the entailed estate.
Yet Lady Katherine had been farming them as part of her dower property for years, apparently with considerable success.
“She knows those fields are rightfully mine,” Drake said, refilling his glass. “Yet she sits there citing yields and improvements as if productivity could override legal ownership.”
Mr. Winters shifted uncomfortably. “The boundary markers—”
“Were placed incorrectly, or the stream changed course after they were set,” Drake interrupted. “Either way, the deed clearly states the water course as the boundary, not stone markers that could be moved by anyone with sufficient motivation.”
“Are you suggesting Lady Katherine moved the markers, my lord?” Mr. Winters asked, sounding alarmed.
Drake waved a dismissive hand. “No, of course not. The discrepancy likely predates her marriage. But she’s certainly taking advantage of it.”
The meeting played through his mind again—her cool composure, the way she’d simply handed him that ledger as if the figures themselves were argument enough, the quiet authority in her voice when she’d warned him about what he’d find at the estate.
There had been no hysteria, no feminine wiles, no attempt to manipulate him through flirtation or tears.
Just clear-eyed determination and a thorough understanding of her legal position.
“What do you make of her?” Drake asked suddenly, turning to study his solicitor’s face.
Mr. Winters blinked, clearly surprised by the question. “Lady Katherine? I... that is to say... it’s not my place to—”
“Speak freely, man. I value your insights, however limited they may be.”
The solicitor straightened in his chair. “In my professional dealings with her, I have found Lady Katherine to be forthright, intelligent, and exceptionally well-informed about estate matters. The late Earl often... that is, he frequently left such concerns to her discretion.”
“Did he indeed?” Drake murmured, recalling Lord Carrington’s comments at White’s. “And what of her character? Beyond business matters.”
“She is well-respected by the tenants,” Mr. Winters offered cautiously. “When the harvest failed three years ago, she personally ensured no family went hungry, even advancing funds from her own accounts when the Earl was... indisposed in London.”
Drake’s brow furrowed. This didn’t align with the grasping widow he’d constructed in his mind. “She seems extraordinarily involved for a woman who merely married into the family.”
“Lady Katherine has always taken her responsibilities seriously, my lord.” A hint of admiration crept into the solicitor’s voice. “More so than many who are born to them.”
The implied criticism was not lost on Drake. He fixed Mr. Winters with a hard stare, but the solicitor merely looked back placidly, apparently having found his courage.
A knock at the door interrupted the tense moment.
“Enter,” Drake called, relieved at the distraction.
His valet appeared, bearing a silver salver with a sealed note. “This just arrived for you, my lord.”
Drake broke the seal, scanning the brief contents with narrowed eyes.
Lord Greythorne,
As you proposed, I will tour the properties with you the day after tomorrow. My sister-in-law, the Duchess of Wexford, has graciously agreed to accompany us, ensuring all proprieties are observed.
I shall expect your carriage at nine o’clock.
Lady Katherine Allingham-Halston
Her signature was as precise and elegant as she was—no flourishes, no embellishments, just clean, confident strokes of the pen.
“Good news, my lord?” Mr. Winters inquired cautiously.
Drake folded the note deliberately. “Lady Katherine has arranged to show me the western fields. We depart the day after tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” the solicitor said, visibly relieved. “Perhaps seeing the land together will facilitate your working together.”
“Perhaps,” Drake agreed, though compromise was not foremost in his mind. He wanted those fields, and he intended to have them—one way or another.
“Shall I accompany you, my lord? To provide legal perspective?”
Drake considered the offer for a moment before shaking his head. “No. This initial visit should be... less formal. I want to understand how she views the estate before bringing legal considerations to bear.”
Mr. Winters nodded, gathering his papers. “Very wise, my lord. Lady Katherine responds better to reasoned discussion than to confrontation. The late Earl never quite understood that.”
The comment piqued Drake’s curiosity, but before he could inquire further, Harrison was announced.
“Lord Marwood, my lord.”
Harrison strode in with his usual confident air, nodding briefly to Mr. Winters. “Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all,” Drake assured him. “Mr. Winters was just leaving.”
The solicitor bowed and took his leave, closing the door quietly behind him.
“So,” Harrison said once they were alone, dropping into a chair and helping himself to Drake’s brandy. “How did the meeting go?”
Drake grimaced. “Not as expected.”
“She didn’t swoon at your feet, begging for mercy?” Harrison suggested with mock surprise.
“Hardly,” Drake replied dryly. “She came armed with ledgers, figures, and five years of detailed knowledge about every aspect of the estate.”
Harrison laughed. “I warned you.”
“You did,” Drake acknowledged grudgingly. “Though you might have emphasized just how, shall we say, formidable she is.”
“Would you have believed me?” Harrison swirled his brandy, studying Drake with amused eyes. “You were quite convinced she was nothing more than a grasping widow who’d manipulated her way into a fortune.”
Drake scowled. “I still believe there’s more to her settlement than meets the eye. No woman needs that much independence.”
“No woman needs it,” Harrison agreed, his tone surprisingly serious. “But after five years with Edmund Halston, I imagine Lady Katherine considers it essential.”
Drake paused, arrested by his friend’s tone. “What exactly do you know about her marriage?”
Harrison’s expression grew sombre.
“Only what my sister told me, and what was whispered in drawing rooms. Edmund kept a public face of respectability, but in private...” He shook his head. “Let’s just say he had a talent for cruelty that required no physical violence to inflict lasting damage.”
Drake absorbed this in silence. He had never met his predecessor, knew him only through legal documents and financial records. The picture emerging was increasingly unpleasant.
“And yet,” he said finally, “that doesn’t explain why she should retain such valuable assets that rightfully belong to the title.”
“Doesn’t it?” Harrison raised an eyebrow.
“Think, Drake. A woman in our society has precious little power. Her property becomes her husband’s upon marriage.
Her body, legally speaking, belongs to him.
Her very existence is subsumed by his. Most women accept this exchange for protection, security, and social standing. ”
“Your point?”
“Katherine Halston received none of those things from her marriage. Instead, she endured years of subtle degradation from a man who, by all accounts, resented her intelligence and sought to undermine her at every turn.” Harrison leaned forward earnestly.
“The irony is that her brother negotiated what seemed like generous marriage terms at the time—Willow Park as her dower property—never knowing it would become her only refuge from Edmund’s cruelty. ”
Drake felt a flicker of discomfort. Put that way, it did make a certain kind of sense. But it didn’t change the fact that he needed those western fields if the estate was to prosper.
“She’s agreed to show me the disputed land,” he said, changing the subject. “The day after tomorrow.”
Harrison’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That’s... unexpected.”
“Is it?” Drake moved to the window, gazing out at the manicured gardens of Greythorne House. “She struck me as a woman who prefers to face challenges directly.”
“True enough.” Harrison studied his friend thoughtfully. “But be careful, Drake. Lady Katherine has spent years learning to navigate difficult men. She won’t be easily manipulated or intimidated.”
“I have no intention of manipulating or intimidating her,” Drake protested, though in truth, he had indeed hoped to overwhelm her with his position and authority.
Harrison’s sceptical expression made it clear he wasn’t convinced. “What’s your strategy, then?”
Drake hesitated. In truth, he wasn’t entirely sure. His usual methods of persuasion seemed unlikely to work with Lady Katherine. She was too intelligent, too self-possessed to be swayed by charm or cowed by authority.
“I need to understand what motivates her,” he said finally. “Why these particular fields matter so much to her. Once I know that, I can find a way to get what I need without giving up what I want.”
“A sound approach,” Harrison admitted. “Though I suspect you’ll find her motivations more complex than simple financial gain.”
“What else could it be?” Drake asked, genuinely puzzled.
Harrison smiled slightly. “For someone so worldly, you can be remarkably obtuse about women, my friend.”
“I understand women perfectly well,” Drake replied with a hint of irritation. “Their desires are generally quite straightforward, once you strip away the social pretences.”
“Spoken like a man who has never truly known a woman beyond the bedchamber,” Harrison observed dryly.
“Lady Katherine is not some opera dancer or society matron looking for a liaison. She’s a woman who has fought hard for her independence and will not relinquish it lightly—especially not to a man bearing the Halston name. ”
Drake frowned. “I am nothing like my predecessor.”
“No,” Harrison agreed. “But does she know that? More importantly, does she have any reason to believe it?”
The question lingered uncomfortably in Drake’s mind long after Harrison departed.
He found himself replaying the meeting with Lady Katherine, noting the wariness in her blue eyes, the careful precision of her words, the way she had corrected him immediately when he’d addressed her as Lady Greythorne.
I no longer use the title of Lady Greythorne, as that now belongs to your future countess.
There had been no wistfulness in her tone, no hint of regret at relinquishing the title. If anything, she’d seemed relieved to distance herself from it—from the Halston name entirely.
What kind of marriage had she endured, to make severing those ties a relief rather than a loss?
Drake shook his head, irritated with himself for this unwelcome empathy. Lady Katherine’s past was not his concern. His focus needed to remain on securing the estate’s future—and that meant obtaining the western fields, regardless of her feelings on the matter.
He moved to his desk, pulling out maps of the Greythorne lands. If he was to make any headway during their excursion, he needed to be as familiar with the terrain as she undoubtedly was. No more being caught off guard by her superior knowledge.
As he studied the boundaries and waterways, Drake found his thoughts repeatedly straying to the forthcoming visit.
There was something about Lady Katherine that had gotten under his skin—her quiet confidence, perhaps, or the intelligence that had sparked in her eyes when she’d challenged his interpretation of the deed.
Whatever it was, he would need to guard against it. Sympathy for her past would only weaken his position. The estate needed those fields, and he intended to have them, one way or another.
Yet as he traced the meandering line of the Millbrook stream with his finger, Drake couldn’t help wondering what Katherine would be like away from the formal constraints of a London drawing room.
Would she be more relaxed in the country setting she clearly knew so well?
Would he glimpse the woman behind the careful mask of the Dowager Countess?
He found himself unexpectedly curious—a dangerous sentiment when dealing with an adversary.
And make no mistake, he reminded himself firmly, Lady Katherine Halston was an adversary. An unexpectedly formidable one, whose beauty and intelligence were merely complications to be managed, not attributes to be admired.
Drake closed the map with a decisive snap. He would approach their excursion as he would any business negotiation—prepared, focused, and determined to achieve his objective. Lady Katherine’s blue eyes and quick mind would not distract him from his purpose.
He left his study with a tight jaw, knowing he must change tactics. She wasn’t going to be easy to handle. But then, he had never shied away from a challenge.
And Lady Katherine Halston was certainly that.