The Rake by Mary Jo Putney Read Free Book Online Page B

this position for four years. Everyone in this part of Dorset is used to me.”
    â€œ I’m not used to you,” he said bluntly. “It’s obvious from the way you talk that you’re the respectable sort of female, a breed I’m almost completely unacquainted with. In the nature of things, you will be working with me regularly. I don’t relish having to watch my tongue around you.”
    She shrugged. “After four years of working with every kind of laborer, I’m very hard to shock. Treat me like a man.” She couldn’t resist adding, “It will probably be safer for me that way anyhow.”
    His mouth tightened. “It sounds as if you expect me to pounce on every female on the estate.”
    She gave him a challenging look. “Will you?”
    â€œNot when I’m sober,” he answered shortly.
    Alys wished that she had not let the conversation go in this direction. She hoped that Reginald Davenport wasn’t the sort to leave a trail of bastards across the county, but if that’s what he wanted to do, there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop him.
    Luckily, he changed the subject. “Care to explain how you came to be a steward, Miss Weston?”
    Alys stared down at the tumbler clasped between her hands. “I was the governess at a nearby estate. The widowed owner, Mrs. Spenser, was having problems with her steward. I had ... grown up on a farm, and was able to advise her. Eventually she discharged her steward and had me take over his duties.”
    â€œI see.” His eyes watched her expressionlessly over the tumbler as he drank more whiskey. “How did you come to Strickland itself?”
    Alys hesitated, choosing her words. “Mrs. Spenser knew she was dying and that her husband’s nephew, who was heir to her property, wouldn’t keep me on. When the Strickland steward was discharged, she suggested I apply for the situation. She gave me excellent references, and persuaded several of the local gentry to do the same. They all thought it a great joke to play on the Earl of Wargrave—absentee landowners are not much liked around here. Because of the references, the Wargrave business manager hired me sight unseen. The estate has done very well under my management, so there was no reason to question my credentials later.”
    Mrs. Spenser had extracted a price for her aid: that Alys would become guardian to the older woman’s niece and nephews after her death. Alys had been quite willing to take charge of her former students. However, she preferred not to mention them to her new employer. The situation was already quite complicated enough.
    Davenport frowned at the toes of his boots, weighing her future in the balance. She studied his expression anxiously, but his thoughts were impossible to divine.
    The silence was broken by the entrance of the groom. Alys said, “Yes, Bates?”
    â€œExcuse me, Lady Alys, but I think one of the plow horses has a splint forming.” His question was for her, but his frankly curious gaze was for the new owner.
    Alys said impatiently, “Apply a cold water bandage, and I’ll take a look at it later. Is there anything else?”
    Bates considered for a moment. “No, ma’am.” Slowly he withdrew.
    â€œAre you consulted about everything that happens at Strickland?” Davenport asked, his eyebrows rising.
    â€œOf course not, that was merely an excuse for him to get a closer look at the new owner. Everyone is perishing of curiosity. After all, you have the power to make or break anyone on the estate.”
    Alys was pleased to see that her words took him slightly aback. Good, the more he thought about his new responsibilities, the better. He didn’t look like a man who’d had more than a nodding acquaintance with responsibility in the past.
    With a sardonic glint in his eye, he turned the conversation back to her. “Lady Alys? From what noble family