Chapter Twenty-Five
Caroline chuckled. Yet she sounded nervous, which piqued his curiosity.
“As I told you earlier, my father is only thinking about grapes and wine this time of year.”
It was an assurance that he appreciated but an estate manager shouldn’t be focused only on one task while the rest of the estate was ignored, and something he would give further attention to, and observe once they returned to Wyndview Farm.
As they neared the home of his great-aunt, Malik approached, his chin high, shoulders back and spine straight.
“Lord Wyndham, may I please have a moment of your time.”
Sterling straightened, grew stern, and tried not to smile.
Malik would not have approached had Kaya’s father not granted permission to marry his daughter.
Yet Malik’s hands were shaking. Was he afraid that Sterling would deny his request?
In any other circumstance, he might question the man further, but Malik may view it as torture if he did, so Sterling decided to make the matter easy for his employee.
“If it is to ask my permission to marry another servant in my household, then I grant it.”
Malik’s eyes widened as his jaw seemed to drop. He had probably been working up the bravado to approach and likely rehearsed a speech in his head and was full of nerves while doing so.
“Congratulations, Malik,” he offered.
“Thank you, Lord Wyndham. Thank you very much.” Then in a blink he turned and ran off, likely to tell his future bride.
“That was good of you,” Caroline said.
“Good of me to do what?”
“To save him from having to ask you when he was terrified of doing so.”
“He was nervous, not terrified.”
“Then you did not see how much his hands trembled.” She chuckled. “You are a good employer, Lord Wyndview.”
“Sterling,” he corrected.
“Sterling.”
“If I am, why do the servants appear to be afraid of me? They are certainly nervous in my presence and never speak.”
“You gave no warning that you were going to arrive and none of them know your character and likely fear what you may do or the changes you may make.”
“There is no cause for concern.”
Caroline stopped and turned to face him, suddenly serious.
“Please do not make light of their circumstances. They cannot know if you mean to sack them or increase their wages. The life of a servant is precarious and often decided on the whim of an employer. Everyone on your estate is loyal and their priority is seeing that Wyndview Farm not only produces the best wine, but that every other aspect is successful as well. They have a mind to increase the earnings and eliminate waste, not only for you, but because it is also their home and they take pride in their duties. As you have never had to worry where your next meal may come from or where you might live, you cannot understand their concerns when the absentee owner of an estate suddenly makes an appearance seven years after he inherited that estate.”
Sterling sobered. Not only had Caroline’s impassioned speech taken him aback, as if she had a personal stake in what happened, but she had also humbled him. Perhaps she was more sensitive to their plight because she was forced to return to her father because she had no means to support a child.
He really should be more considerate and sensitive and would begin doing so now.
Then maybe everyone at the estate would not fear him so much.
*
Caroline surprised herself with the emotional speech to Sterling, but he needed to understand what he so easily disregarded.
“You are correct,” he said after a moment. “I should have realized…”
“Lords usually do not give much consideration to those in their household so long as there is no upset,” she explained and knew it to be the truth. Or at least that was what she had observed when she was in London and how her own grandfather treated those who worked for him.
“Do you think it would make a difference if I said anything?”
Was he truly so concerned that his servants may fear him? “I do not think that is necessary.”
“They do not leave the room the moment you walk in, or keep their eyes down, and not speak in your presence. It is all rather disconcerting if you must know the truth.”
She supposed there could be several reasons. One being they didn’t want to be asked questions that Caroline would not want them to answer. “They likely only need time to become used to you,” she finally suggested.
“I may be gone by then.”
“At least they will then know you are not a horrid employer.” She shrugged.
“I suppose,” he said quietly.
She would have never guessed that when he arrived that Sterling cared about being liked.
Maybe it wasn’t so much liked as he didn’t want to be feared.
“Mrs. Sutcliffe, Lord Wyndham.”
They both turned to find Kaya hurrying toward them. Caroline hoped that Malik had told her the news and that she wasn’t here to beg for Sterling’s permission.
“Thank you, Lord Wyndham,” she gushed after she quickly curtseyed and then turned to Caroline. “The wedding is to be today.”
“So soon?” she asked in surprise.
“We need to return to Wyndview Farm tomorrow. Who knows when we will return and Malik and I want to be wed now, and in front of our family.”
“Then I am happy for you,” Caroline replied. What more could she say?
“Promise you will be there.” She turned to Sterling. “And you too, of course, Lord Wyndham, that is, if you would like to, but I understand it…that is…it is presumptuous of me.”
“I will be happy to attend your wedding,” he finally said, much to Caroline’s relief because she feared Kaya was about to dissolve into a puddle for even speaking to Sterling, but she had been so excited that the words were likely out before she realized that an earl usually does not attend the wedding of a servant.