Husband Wanted (HC #1)

24: A Solution for the Troubled

Outside, Beth wandered down the lane that bordered the Namby estate, the wind swirling in her skirts and through her hair. She strapped her bonnet down as tightly as she could, but the wind caught at it trying to raise her by the head as if it were a parasol. She gave up after a moment, untying it with a laugh.

Quick footsteps in the lane behind her had Beth throwing a glance over her shoulder. Matt was practically skipping, though he calmed as he fell into step beside her.

"Avoiding the real work at the house?" she teased, bumping her shoulder against his.

He grinned. "Just copying you, sister-mine."

She chose to ignore that. The weather was too perfect to be arguing; the sun was poking out from beside delicate clouds, casting warm light across her face, and flowers danced in the wind.

They walked in silence for a few minutes longer, until Matt had his fill. "So, where are we headed?"

Beth cast him a glance, smiling at his inability to enjoy the quiet. Then she decided to put him out of his misery. "Mister Anderson, the stablemaster, said that his brother-in-law lives just over there," she pointed to their right, where a small cottage could just be seen nestled against the lane. "He used to work the land – quite well, by Mister Anderson's telling – but was injured a few years ago. I'm hoping to talk to him about being the new steward."

Matt's gaze stayed locked on the cottage. "Will an injured steward be much use?"

His sister took a small breath, trying to convince herself that his words shouldn't sting. It was a harmless question – a curious one, even – and was not designed to imply that she didn't know what she was doing. It wasn't Matt's fault that her soul didn't hear it that way.

"Mister Anderson says that Mister Green can still walk and ride, his back just doesn't hold up to heavy lifting or bending. A good steward might be expected to fix a fence here or there, but I think that talent pales in comparison to knowledge of the land and its people."

"I dunno, Beth," Matt said with a shrug.

She huffed. "Oh for pity's sake, Matt. I'm not gonna offer the man a job! I'm just going to see if he's interested and then David and Simon and Bart can interview him."

He held up his hands in surrender. They walked in silence to the cottage.

Before Beth could rap her knuckles against the door, it opened to reveal a plump woman drying her hands on her apron. She looked weary, but her gaze took them in quickly and she bopped a curtsy.

"Are you Mrs Green?" Beth asked, smiling at the woman's nodded reply. "How lovely to meet you. We are guests of the Earl of Namby, and we were hoping to talk to your husband. I was speaking with your brother, and he suggested that Mister Green might be just the man Lord Richards needs for the estate."

The woman was one of few words. "He oughtta be 'round back in the shed."

And the door was shut in their faces.

"You've got a way with people," Matt muttered under his breath. He was not quiet enough, and Beth threw out a hand to hit his arm.

They reached the shed quickly, finding a man with a broom standing outside with one hand shielding the sun from his eyes. He was perhaps in his forties, still quite slim, with a weathered face that spoke of much time spent outdoors.

"Mister Green," Beth said, introducing herself and Matt and again repeating her reason for visiting him. He stood there listening, awkwardly shifting the broom in his grip, but did seem interested in the role. Beth smiled sweetly, nodding at the broom. "May I?"