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he completely disregarded my wishes.’

      ‘But—but can you really mean you want nothing to do with Elmswood—ever?’

      ‘Never. Though that does not mean I am pleased to see the place so run down. I could barely locate the door into the walled garden.’

      ‘I know, and that is a subject close to my heart, believe me,’ Kate said, diverted. ‘It’s been a dream of mine for years to be able to restore Elmswood Manor and the gardens to their former glory.’

      ‘To say nothing of modernising the farms? It’s a strange ambition for a female to have.’

      ‘I have inherited my father’s love of Elmswood.’

      ‘Is Mr Wilson likely to recover? Forgive me for being blunt, but…’

      ‘I would much rather you were. I’m extremely aware that time is of the essence to you. Papa is frail, and, while not in any immediate danger, his days of estate management are well and truly over.’

      ‘Does he have everything he needs to make him comfortable? You said there is something I can do for him? What was it?’

      It was the perfect opening. Kate’s throat was dry, her heart thumping in her chest, but she might not get another opportunity. She owed it to Papa as much as herself to take it. And of course to Elmswood itself.

      ‘My father is concerned about what will happen to us now that he is not fit to continue serving you.’

      ‘I’m not sure what you mean?’

      ‘I mean, where will we live and how will we survive? Our house is tied to your estate, as indeed is our income, save for a small legacy your father left in his will. Our circumstances would be severely straitened were you to appoint another estate manager. I don’t mind for my own sake, but Papa…’

      ‘There’s no need for that. You are currently acting as de facto estate manager. I see no reason for that situation to change. I will formalise the arrangement before I leave—you have my word. I came here with the intention of investing complete authority in your father to allow me to resume my foreign travels. Circumstances have changed, but now I shall invest my authority in you instead. You are clearly trustworthy—better still, you obviously cherish this place. I consider you a very safe pair of hands.’

      Daniel smiled, looking as much relieved as pleased.

      ‘There, I hope that puts your mind at rest. So, let us turn our minds to what I need to do in order—’

      ‘I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid it won’t work.’

      His smile faded. ‘You don’t want the position?’

      ‘I’m extremely flattered that you should offer it to me, and I can say, hand on heart, that I would do my very best to ensure that you would never have any cause to regret placing your faith in me. Believe me,’ Kate said earnestly, ‘if I thought for a moment it would work in practice I’d leap at the chance. It’s not that I can’t do the job—the accounts prove that—but the reality is I’m a female of modest background, and you would not be here to underpin my authority, or indeed be available to make important financial decisions. Though it pains me to admit it, that is a fatal combination. It would be doomed to failure.’

      ‘But what is the alternative? I don’t want to employ a stranger and throw you and your father out onto the street, and even though I don’t give a damn about this place, I don’t want to let it go any further down the road to rack and ruin.’

      ‘You could look to offload it. I’m sure you could find a willing purchaser.’

      ‘That would make your situation perilous.’ Daniel began to turn over the stone in his hand again, frowning down at it. ‘No, I need a caretaker I can trust implicitly. My sister in Ireland has a son. It seems to me that he is the obvious person to hand the place over to, when he comes of age. Lock stock and barrel, as they say. Of course I can’t pass on the title, but I see no reason why my nephew shouldn’t make use of that too.’

      Kate’s mouth dropped. ‘You have a nephew!’

      ‘So I’ve been informed.’

      His tone was one of insouciance, but he could not possibly be indifferent to such news. Or perhaps she’d misunderstood.

      ‘You didn’t know that your sister had a son? His birth is a recent event, then?’

      ‘I believe the boy is seven or eight, so it will be a good few years before I can hand the reins over to him.’

      ‘Seven or eight! Did your father know of his existence?’

      ‘I have no idea. There was no mention of the boy in his will.’

      ‘And your sister? What does she think of your plan?’

      ‘I don’t know. I haven’t discussed it with her,’ Daniel answered impatiently. ‘I am no more interested in her life than she is in mine, and I would be obliged to you, Miss Wilson, if you would resist asking the many questions I can see you are desperate to ask, because I have neither the time nor the inclination to discuss the matter further. I would rather my nephew did not inherit an encumbrance. You are the ideal person to ensure that he does not, and yet you’re telling me that, much as you’d like to take on the job, it’s impossible. We both want the same thing here. Surely there must be a way of making the impossible possible.’

      There was, and she must speak now or for ever hold her peace, but her head was swimming with the revelations Daniel had so callously announced. But they were all grist to her mill, she reminded herself.

      Her hands were clammy. She wiped them surreptitiously on her gown under the desk. She cleared her throat. ‘I do have a plan, as it happens, which will restore the fortunes of both this house and its lands, and make them a fit inheritance for your little nephew.’

      Daniel set his turquoise stone down on the desk. He sat back, his hand curling around the crudely polished stone. He smiled suddenly. ‘What a very surprising young woman you are. What is this cunning plan of yours?’

      His teeth were very white and even. When he smiled, his eyes lit up. It was a very infectious and unexpected smile. The kind that she suspected one would do a great deal to earn. It changed him, that smile, and it made her uncomfortably aware of him as a very attractive man.

      Kate allowed herself a very prim smile in return, but now she was coming to the point her stomach was starting to churn again.

      ‘It’s a little radical.’ Perspiration prickled her back. ‘In fact it will take a bit of a leap of faith on both our parts.’

      ‘Now I am thoroughly intrigued. Take a deep breath and spit it out.’

      ‘Very well. What I’m proposing resolves both our dilemmas—your desire to live abroad unencumbered by responsibility, and my desire to live here with Papa while he is still with me. It would provide me with the natural authority to make whatever significant decisions need to be made without referring to you, including financial ones. It would allow me not only to maintain your lands but to improve them, and to restore the house and gardens too, while you’d have nothing to do save return to your life in darkest Africa, or wherever it is. And then when the time came, you could make the lands over to your nephew and I could—well, I don’t know what I’d do, but we can worry about that when the time comes. What do you think?’

      ‘To be honest, I think it sounds too good to be true. And when something sounds too good to be true, it is my experience that it usually is.’

      Kate shuffled her feet under the desk. She picked up the polished stone, turning it over in her hands as Daniel had done. It was elliptical in shape, smooth and not quite flat, and had a very soothing effect. ‘Is this turquoise?’

      ‘Yes, it is, Miss Wilson.’

      He held out his hand. Embarrassed, she surrendered it. ‘Kate. You may as well call me Kate, since—if we are to—and after all I’m already

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