Kathleen was too astonished to reply. She couldn’t believe it. Had she heard him correctly?
“Eversby Priory’s situation is so desperate,” Devon continued, “that few men could conceivably make it worse. Of course, I’m probably one of them.” He gestured to a pair of chairs positioned near the writing desk. “Will you sit with me?”
She nodded, her thoughts racing as she settled into the chair. Yesterday he had seemed so resolved – there had been no doubt that he would dispense with the estate and all its problems as expediently as possible.
After she had arranged her skirts and folded her hands in her lap, she sent him a wondering gaze. “May I ask what caused you to change your mind, my lord?”
Devon was slow to reply, his expression troubled. “I’ve tried to think of every reason why I should wash my hands of this place. But I keep returning to the conclusion that I owe it to every man, woman, and child on this estate to try and save the estate. Eversby Priory has been the work of generations. I can’t destroy it.”
“I think that’s a very admirable decision,” she said with a hesitant smile.
His mouth twisted. “My brother calls it vanity. He predicts failure, of course.”
“Then I’ll be the counterbalance,” she said impulsively, “and predict success.”
Devon gave her an alert glance, and he dazzled her with a quick grin. “Don’t put money on it,” he advised. The smile faded except for a lingering quirk at one corner of his mouth. “I kept waking during the night,” he said, “arguing with myself. But then it occurred to me to wonder what my father would have done, had he lived long enough to find himself in my position.”
“He would have saved the estate?”
“No, he wouldn’t have considered it for a second.” Devon laughed shortly. “It’s safe to say that doing the opposite of what my father would have done is always the right choice.”
Kathleen regarded him with sympathy. “Did he drink?” she dared to ask.
“He did everything. And if he liked it, he did it to excess. A Ravenel through and through.”
She nodded, thinking of Theo. “It has occurred to me,” she ventured, “that the family temperament isn’t well suited to stewardship.”
Amusement glinted in his eyes. “Speaking as a man who has the family temperament in full measure, I agree. I wish I could claim to have a mother from steady, pragmatic stock, to balance out the Ravenel wildness. Unfortunately she was worse.”
“Worse?” Kathleen asked, her eyes widening. “She had a temper?”
“No, but she was unstable. Flighty. It’s no exaggeration to say there were days at a time when she forgot she even had children.”
“My parents were very attentive and involved,” Kathleen volunteered after a moment. “As long as you were a horse.”
Devon smiled. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his legs, dropping his head for a moment. The posture was far too casual to affect in the presence of a lady, but it revealed how very tired he was. And overwhelmed. For the first time, Kathleen felt a stirring of genuine sympathy for him. It wasn’t fair that a man should have to contend with so many dire problems all at once, without warning or preparation.
“There’s another matter I need to discuss,” he said eventually, sitting up again. “I can’t, in good conscience, turn Theo’s sisters out of the only home they’ve ever known.” One of his brows arched as he saw her expression. “Yes, I have a conscience. It’s been abused and neglected for years, but even so, it occasionally manages to be a nuisance.”
“If you’re considering allowing the girls to remain here —”
“I am. But the scenario presents obvious difficulties. They’ll require a chaperone. Not to mention rigorous instruction, if they’re eventually to come out in society.”
“Society?” Kathleen echoed in bemusement. “All three?”
“Why not? They’re of an age, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but… the expense…”
“That’s for me to worry about.” He paused. “You would manage the most difficult part of the whole business by taking the twins in hand. Civilizing them to whatever extent you can manage.”
“Me?” Her eyes widened. “You… you propose that I remain at Eversby Priory with them?”
Devon nodded. “Obviously you’re scarcely older than Helen and the twins, but I believe you could manage them quite well. Certainly better than a stranger could.” He paused. “They deserve the same opportunities that other young ladies of their rank enjoy. I’d like to make that possible, but I can’t do it without you staying here to bring them along.” He smiled slightly. “Of course, you would be free to train Asad as well. I suspect he’ll learn table manners before Pandora does.”
Kathleen’s heart was fluttering madly. To stay here with Helen and the twins… and Asad… it was more than she could have dared to dream. “I suppose you would live here as well?” she asked warily.
“I’ll visit infrequently,” Devon said. “But most of the work in setting the estate’s financial affairs to rights will have to be done in London. In my absence, the entire household will be under your supervision. Would that be inducement enough for you to stay?”
Kathleen began to nod before he’d even finished the sentence. “Yes, my lord,” she said, almost breathless with relief. “I’ll stay. And I’ll help you any way I can.”
Chapter 7
A
month after Devon and West had left Hampshire, a parcel addressed to Kathleen was delivered to Eversby Priory.
With the Ravenel sisters gathered around her in the upstairs parlor, she opened the parcel and folded back layers of rustling paper. They all exclaimed in admiration as a cashmere shawl was revealed. Such shawls were all the rage in London, hand-loomed in Persia and finished with a border of embroidered flowers and silk fringe. The wefts of wool had been dyed in graduating colors so that it produced the exquisite effect of a sunset, glowing red melting into orange and gold.
“It’s called ombré,” Cassandra said reverently. “I’ve seen ribbons dyed that way. How fashionable!”
“It will look beautiful with your hair,” Helen commented.
“But who sent it?” Pandora asked. “And why?”
Picking up the note that had been enclosed in the parcel, Kathleen read the boldly scrawled words:
As promised.
Trenear