Chapter Nine #2
Mr. Morton gave a quick nod before exiting the room, leaving Christopher to his thoughts.
He stared at the ledgers lying on the table.
He’d read his father’s and then his brother’s ledgers many times in the past. They were, in fact, what had given him the idea of owning his own property after learning of his lost legacy.
He didn’t want a large estate, just something that could sustain itself.
It had taken years of listening, talking, and waiting for the right one to go up for sale.
Mr. Morton had done him a great service in saving him money, which he would use to pay his butler and steward, but he couldn’t feel obligated to hire the man’s brother.
However, he was open to talking to him. After all, Mr. Morton had shown his own trustworthiness over the years.
He walked around the settee and picked up all three ledgers. He’d read these immediately and then start preparing questions for the plays he’d assigned his students.
The swish of skirts caught his attention as Lady Sommerset walked into the parlor. “Chris, what are you doing in here? The students will be down any moment.”
He snapped his gaze to the connecting room to see the table was indeed set, and the footmen were bringing food to the sideboard.
He turned back to his sister-in-law. “I was just leaving. I had a visitor and Harrison showed him into this room. It didn’t occur to me that the ladies would be breaking their fast.”
“Well, you best get to your own dining room or I’m quite sure Mr. Billings will devour your share.”
“I doubt that. The man is nothing if not polite. But I shall leave immediately.” He strode past Lady Sommerset and into the entry.
He was almost to the other side, which held the door to the instructors’ study, when three ladies started down the grand stairs.
Quickly, he opened the door and slipped inside.
The room was vacant, so he placed the ledgers in an empty desk drawer and continued through it to break his fast with the other mentors.
He should have asked Lady Sommerset if there was any news from the duke and duchess.
He’d heard babies could take a long time, and he was anxious to get started on his new estate.
Even as he entered the dining room, he imagined broken furniture, smashed windows, and vines growing over the windows and into the interior of his new home. He shook his head to dispel the image.
“Lord Tamworth, do you not like the company or the food that you shake your head?”
He stopped at Mrs. Kingman’s question. “I adore the company and look forward to the food. I simply shake my head to refocus my thoughts.”
Mr. Billings strode past him with a full plate. “Best step up now, thoughts or no thoughts, if you want a couple of honey cakes. When Lady Prestwick comes in, there won’t be any left.”
“I heard that, Mr. Billings, and no, I wouldn’t dream of eating more than half of them.” The elderly Lady Prestwick laughed before sweeping past him and up to the sideboard.
Christopher sat at the table across from Lord Hopton, a widower who instructed the women in estate management. He must be a very open-minded man. “Good morning, Lord Hopton.”
The older man with a long, narrow face looked up from his paper. “Lord Tamworth.”
“I had hoped to see you today.”
Lord Hopton raised his narrow brows in question, but didn’t speak.
“One of my former students has recently purchased a small estate and is in need of a steward. Neither my brother nor myself have ever had the need to hire such an individual, yet my student was hoping for advice. As you are the expert here at the school, I thought I might pass on some of your wisdom.”
Putting down his paper, Lord Hopton lifted his head and looked down his rather pointed nose. “That is the most crucial position for the success of the estate. Does the young man have any experience running an estate? That will make a difference.”
Christopher shook his head, waiting as the footman poured his coffee. “His father is a physician, so the property on which he was raised didn’t entail tenants or many servants.”
The lord’s brows lowered. “And he now owns an estate with tenants? How can this be?”
That Lord Hopton did not like the idea of someone moving into a higher class was quite obvious. Not exactly as open-minded as Christopher had wished. “He does indeed. I believe an inheritance played a part. Of course, he now wants to ensure it will be successful.”
The lord snorted. “I’m sure he does.”
Christopher waited expectantly as the lord took a sip of his coffee. Mr. Billings took the opportunity to sit down next to Christopher and pour his own coffee.
Lord Hopton then took a bite of toast with marmalade and lifted his paper as if he intended to read. Christopher refused to be dismissed. “Do you have any advice for my student?”
Lord Hopton lowered the paper just enough to look over it. “None that he would listen to. I suggest you tell him to sell the place. His sort won’t be happy with so much responsibility.”
Surprised that such a man would be teaching at the duke and duchess’s school, Christopher had to ask the obvious. “But you share your experience with the ladies in this school, do you not?”
Now he had the man’s complete attention. “I do. However, I know it’s a waste of time. Why a woman would need to know how to manage an estate is beyond my understanding.”
“Then why do you do it?”