Chapter Twenty-Four
After Sterling had taken care of matters uninterrupted, he returned to the cottage only to find Caroline outside. Few residents were out yet.
“Do you always wake this early?” he asked once her reached her side.
“Yes,” she answered brightly. “Do you?”
“No,” he grumbled.
“Did you not sleep well?” she asked with concern.
“I had difficulty getting comfortable.” Let Caroline think it was the bed and not thoughts of her.
“What do you suppose we do now?” she asked.
“We could walk,” he suggested. “I would like to see how much Stellenbosch has changed since I was last here.”
Eventually they would return to the home of his great-aunt because she had promised to provide meals, but he wasn’t ready to go there yet. It was likely too early to knock on their door. He also wanted to be alone with Caroline.
They walked in silence along oak-lined streets protecting whitewashed cottages then past the farmhouses with the Dutch gables and finally came to the fields of grapevines where workers were just beginning their day. The town was nearly twice the size it had been when he had visited as a child.
A peacefulness had settled around Sterling that he had not experienced in a very long time.
It was the quiet. It was not having to make any decisions.
It was not having to worry about Trade Wynd or the earldom.
And it was because Caroline was by his side, with no need to fill the silence, but just be.
Maybe his mother was right in that he truly needed a holiday. But tomorrow they would return to Wyndview Farm where he hoped to take part in the harvest, learn the answers to his questions, and then he would sail for Madeira.
Sterling glanced down at Caroline, who stared out over the valley. His only regret in leaving so soon was that he would not have a chance to come to know her better.
He returned his gaze to the horizon. Besides grapes, there were also rows of corn further out, which did remind him of one question. “We grow wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Have we grown corn?”
“A letter has gone to Lord Avery to ask his opinion and the benefits and value of such a crop.”
“Why not me?” he asked.
Her face started to pinken. “I suppose the letter should have gone to you. It is just that…”
Sterling chuckled. “I would have asked Avery if your father would have asked me. Avery has managed and adjusted the crops on our estate until they were to his specification, so he should do the same here.”
If he weren’t mistaken, she sighed with relief.
Why was everyone afraid of him? Caroline, especially, should know by now that he was not disagreeable.
Except, she had witnessed some conversations he’d had with his mother, and those had not been very pleasant, so maybe she did fear his displeasure.
If that were the case, he needed to somehow prove to her that he was not a difficult person, and that he was no threat to the life she shared with her father, brother, and daughter at Wyndview Farm.
*
“Shall we return?” Caroline asked.
“I suppose we should.” He let out a sigh as they started to return to town.
When Sterling asked why they had not written to him, she had not wanted to tell him that it never occurred to them to write the owner when it had been Lord Avery who first began writing and asking about the vineyard and then other crops, plants, trees…everything that grew on the estate.
Also, she had not been careful in her response, but fortunately he assumed that the letter had come from her father, even if it may have been written in her hand.
At least Sterling wasn’t angry, but she really did need to remember to write to him first on any matter that concerned Wyndview Farm.
No, her father needed to write him first.
“I joined your father in the vineyard a few days ago.”
Caroline tried to remain relaxed as if he had not said anything alarming. “I hope you found him informative and that he was able to answer some of your questions.”
“He did not have much to say, even though I attempted to have a conversation, but he only cared about the grapes.” Sterling chuckled.
“I thought we could discuss some of the questions from my review of the reports but I might as well have been invisible, though he was very clear when he told me that the grapes would be ready when they were.”
Caroline winced. That was not how one treated their employer.
“At this time of year, Father is preoccupied with the harvest because he knows it is a source of income for not only Trade Wynd but Wyndview Farm as well. If the wine crops fail, so does the vineyard,” she explained. “He thinks of little else.”
No matter the time of year, her father thought of nothing else, which was why she had taken over his other duties.
“I gathered as much, but as you already explained that he does speak with you and you know what is in the reports, perhaps you can tell me why he decided to plant tobacco and then stopped?”
“Your brother, Lord Avery,” she answered knowing that he already possessed such information.
“Your brother said the same, but no further explanation was provided.”
“Should they have not taken instruction from your younger brother?” Was that what bothered him?
It was the second time he had mentioned it but admitted that he would have asked Lord Avery himself.
Maybe that is how it should be—all correspondence regarding anything grown at Wyndview Farm should be directed to Sterling even if he was going to then ask his brother.
“That is not my concern,” he assured her. “Avery is a botanist and studies other sciences. If he thought tobacco would bring additional income to Wyndview Farm, then he was welcome to instruct your father to see that it was done.”
“Which he did.” Caroline was still not certain what Sterling’s question was.
“Why did he cease growing tobacco after only two years, or do you know?”
“Oh, that is a simple explanation,” she answered. “Which was explained to your brother.”
Wyndham arched a blond eyebrow. “I, too, would appreciate an explanation.”
“Tobacco is a lengthy process,” she began. “Seeds are sown in August and September, the plants then need to be thinned in October, then in November, transplanted to the field. In January, it is primed and topped.”
“Is it because the process is too involved?” he asked.
“Partially,” she answered. “The first difficulty came when the tobacco needed to be cut near the same time as grapes. While tobacco is hung for curing, the grapes needed to be crushed. Twice the number of servants were needed for the month that it took to accomplish both tasks.”
He nodded, his blue eyes gleaming with engagement.
“After the wine was barreled, the tobacco then needed to be pressed and shipped and it became difficult to manage both.”
“I can see where it would, except the cost of extra workers did not offset the income from tobacco. It was still a profitable venture.”
“It would be if you owned enough land,” she corrected.
“I own several hectares,” he reminded her.
“Yes, you do, much of it taken up with grapes, wheat, barley, rye, and oats, besides the kitchen gardens and fruit trees.”
“I still do not understand. There was enough land to plant tobacco for two years.”
“Tobacco grows best in previously uncultivated ground so land needs to be cleared before each planting. You would soon be out of land, though after a few years, you could likely replant in the first field, and rotate, as many crops are, but you would need more land to rotate, or so it is assumed. The difficulty was addressed to Lord Avery, but a response has not yet been received. Which was difficult when it took three months for a letter to be delivered and another three months for the reply to be received, and why many decisions were made without consulting the owner.”
“You are very well-informed and knowledgeable about the growing of tobacco,” Sterling remarked when she was finished.
Had she provided too much detail? Except that was what had been included in the letter to Lord Avery. She could explain that it was only because she had copied her father’s letters, but the lie was become more uncomfortable and she really hoped that he asked no further questions.
“It was discussed,” she finally said, which was the truth, because it had been, at length, just not with her father.
Wyndham tilted his head and slowly nodded. “Yet, your father seemed surprised that tobacco had been grown at all the one time that I was able to sit down and meet with him.”