Heart of the Diamond (19 page)

If there was one lesson Blake's father had instilled in him regarding the management of an estate, it was never to talk down to the workers. He grasped the mane of his horse and swung to the ground, forcing the tenant to step back or be knocked over. “There. I like talking to a man face to face. I believe I shared my name, but you have yet to provide me with yours.”

“Samuel Willis,” delivered in sullen tones.

“Good. Samuel. I was attempting to explain that in examining Rosewood's accounts I did not see any entries relating to the tenants. Have no crops been planted or sold?”

A brisk wind sped across the yard bringing with it the scent of damp earth, leather, and horse, and dislodging Samuel's hat.

“Ye'll be thinkin’ we've been livin’ ‘igh and enjoyin’ the run o’ the place,” the man said gruffly as he grabbed for his hat before it could blow away. He held it crushed against his thigh.

Blake took his time surveying the yard impeccably free of debris, the front door freshly white washed and early spring flowers blooming in window boxes. The fences separating the yard from the field stood solidly upright.

He returned his attention to Samuel. “I prefer to hold my opinions until I learn the facts. If I were to form a conclusion, it would be that you have been working very hard and your place is in fine condition. Have you any arguments with that assumption?”

Samuel, unable to mask his surprise, turned slightly to follow the path Blake's examination had traversed. Some of the hostility left his gaze and he stood a little taller. “No arguments, sir.”

“Good. Then perhaps you would apprise me of the condition of the other farms and the crops.”

“Me da took care of most of the book work for Sir Thomas, but ‘e died six months afore the Master and young master left for good. I knew what to do from watchin’ me da. It suited the other families for me t’ take over. We been takin’ care of the plantin’ and ‘arvestin’ and marketin’. The master's share we put in a safe place. We cheated nobody, if that's what ye're thinkin’.”

Blake raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. “I had never realized I was such a suspicious sort. You obviously are expecting a certain behavior from me. Let me see. Shall I scowl and stomp about the yard? Yes, that might be good. And then I will insist you return all that you have stolen from me or I shall throw you and your family out of your home to starve or freeze to death. There, that should please you, I suppose.”

Samuel took a step back then drew himself up proudly. “Ye're the master here. Ye don't ‘ave to be pleasin’ the likes o’ me or mine.”

Blake held out his hands, palms up, with the reins dangling loosely from his fingers, and shrugged. “I have a weakness, Samuel. I like to take stock of a man before I judge him. My goal this morning was not to harass you or threaten you. I merely wished to meet the tenants. If I offended you, it was not intentional. From what I have seen thus far you have done an admirable job maintaining the farms and I appreciate that.”

“I'll be askin’ for yer pardon, then, m'lord. It was wrong o’ me to take on so.”

As if sensing the change in mood, Blake's horse Banbury pawed at the earth and tossed his head. Blake grabbed the leather bridle strap and murmured a soothing word.

He looked at Samuel, whose close-cropped straw colored hair stood on end without the calming effect of the cap. “I think we are off to a much better start. Now, I would like you to be my guide and introduce me to the others. I hope you can take time away from your work to bring your accounts up to the house so we can discuss your continuing on as manager of the farms.”

Samuel nodded without hesitation. “I'll get me horse, m'lord. I won't be but the swish of a pig's tail.”

As the man hurried off, Blake remounted. At least he had one less problem to deal with on his own.

The remainder of the day passed quickly. With Samuel at his side as an ally, the other farmers took to Blake instantly. He traversed the green grass of the meadows as they worked to turn the soil and prepare the ground for planting in the early spring, and he admired the efficient layout of the fields. When the farmers took a rest for lunch, he perched on a fence rail with them and shared their fresh-baked bread and cheese washed down with a mug of frothy milk.

Later in the afternoon, rain started. In a short time the ground was saturated. A workman's cart slipped off the nearby road to became buried to the axles in a ditch. When Blake saw it, he rolled up his sleeves and lent a shoulder as the sturdy oxen struggled to drag it free.

His muscles ached and mud covered his lower body making his breeches cling to him, chilling him to the bone. But damn, he felt good. Because as long as he could exhaust himself physically, his mind could not plague him.

Indignation gnawed at Nicki's insides. She reached up to run a finger along the inside of her bonnet. This morning she had awakened excited and anxious for the day to begin, taking extreme pains with her appearance, only to wait in vain for Blake's arrival.

She glanced over the rolling green meadows crisscrossed with low stone fences and stuffed her hand back into the warmth of her fur muff. At her side sat Teddy, skillfully guiding the carriage over familiar roads that took on a new freshness through his enthusiasm, though little had changed during his absence.

The crisp breeze splashed her face, tearing her eyes. Poor Teddy. Seeing the simple pleasure he took in being back home, Nicki marveled at Blake's callousness in taking something of such importance from someone, even if they had been reckless enough to risk losing it.

Yet, if she were honest with herself, that harsh side of Blake intrigued her. Something had happened in his past to bring him teetering at the edge of cruelty. His actions toward her father were not those of a kind person. But it was his gentle patience with Shelby, his attempts to comfort her—to these gestures she held fast. As long as the brief instances were there, he would continue to balance on his precipice without falling.

He could be saved.

With a jolt of surprise, Nicki realized the earl posed a challenge. A mystery. For the briefest instant she had experienced the absurd desire to be the one to rescue him from himself.

“You've disappeared on me again, Nick. Where is it you keep going? As it's obviously more exciting than here, I'd like to go with you.”

Nicki shook off her thoughts and grinned at Teddy, earning a responding sparkle from his topaz eyes. “It has always been the other way around, Teddy, and you know it. I have ever traipsed about after you because I was certain wherever you would go had to be much more fun than where I was.”

“I'm flattered, dearest.”

“Usually it meant much more trouble than I would have found on my own.”

Teddy cast a questionable glance in her direction. “You were so naive and so honest. All you had to do is tell one little fib to save yourself, yet you would be noble.”

A chill ran up Nicki's spine and she leaned closer to Teddy, burrowing her fingers further into her muff. “I prefer honesty, no matter the cost.”

“I always said you were a dreamer, Nick.”

She knew he could not have forgotten the horror of his father's drunken rages. Teddy could not have forgotten. Nicki would hold those horrible memories for the rest of her life.

“Tell me, Teddy, how has your life been since we parted? The truth, please, not entertaining stories. I know it must have been hard for you when you and your father left England. Whatever happened to him, bye the bye?”

It was as though Teddy drew away from her, though he did not move. “Several months after we arrived in America, my father was attacked outside our hotel, beaten, and robbed. He was cut, on his arm, clear to the bone. It took him several weeks to die from his injuries and he was in terrible pain the entire time. The physician wanted to remove his arm, but he flatly refused. Pride, you know. It was the gangrene that killed him.”

Real tears pricked at Nicki's eyes. No matter what demons had eaten at Randolph Bartholomew, he was still Teddy's father. She withdrew one hand from her muff and slipped it through his arm.

“It must have been a nightmare for you.”

“I had no money to pay the doctor, so I gave him all my father's clothing.” Teddy squeezed Nicki's hand against his ribs with his elbow. “I thought that satisfied him, but he returned with the sheriff, saying I had not paid him anything.”

“How horrible!”

“You don't want to hear this, Nick. The amusing stories are much more fun to tell.”

“I
do
want to hear.” Nicki pressed her fingers into the scratchy wool of his jacket sleeve. “I am your friend, Teddy, I always have been.”

He shifted the reins into one hand and pressed Nicki's fingers where they dug into his arm. “I know, little one, but some things I could never share—not even with you. It's best to forget.”

“I do not believe you can ever forget, but having someone to listen sometimes makes it easier to leave incidents in the past where they can no longer hurt you.”

Teddy looked at her in surprise, then drew the horses to halt. “You've grown into quite a young woman, Nicki Langley.”

“After the sheriff came, what happened then?”

“If I'd had the money, he would've let me go free. But I'd just paid up the bill on our hotel room with the last of our coin. I tried to explain to the sheriff that I'd given the doctor my father's wardrobe, which was worth much more than the fees. The doctor said I was a liar. I think the sheriff believed me, but the doctor was a respected citizen. I, on the other hand, was a foreigner. A foreigner whose country was at war with theirs. He took me to jail.”

A cry of dismay escaped her lips before Nicki could stop it. “But how could you get the money if you were imprisoned?”

“Somehow Blake Dylan learned I was in jail and he came and paid the money to gain my release.”

“Blake? But why? I thought you only met him in America.”

Teddy's expression revealed the distance of his thoughts. “I knew Blake in England. I don't know what possessed him to come to my rescue, but he did. He gave me money to find new lodgings, since the hotel tossed me out after learning I had no more funds. He suggested I find a job. I assured him I would pay him back, but he said he never wanted to see me again.”

“How odd.”

“I found a room for rent in a house run by a kindly old widow. She helped me find a job cleaning up in a saloon after hours, and setting the place up for business the following afternoon. I had never worked a day in my life and suddenly I was cleaning up vomit, spilled liquor, and tobacco spit. It was all I could do not to end my life at that point.”

Pride at Teddy's courage and heart-wrenching sorrow at his pain constricted the muscles of her throat. “It was very brave of you, Teddy. Some people in the same position might have given up. I am proud of you.”

“I'm not so sure you should be, Nick. At any rate, the saloon keeper liked me. He promoted me to dealer at the blackjack tables. It paid well, and I was good at it. The customers liked me. It was then Blake entered my life once again.”

“You make it sound like a curse.”

Teddy offered his best grin, guaranteed to soften the hardest of hearts, but Nicki sensed the anguish behind the smile. “I've no notion of the wrong he feels I've committed against him.” He sighed deeply. “At any rate, he always came to my table. He seemed to enjoy flashing his money about, as if to show me what a success he had made out of his flight from England. Night after night he came. Finally, he challenged me to a game at another club where the stakes weren't limited. Fool that I was, I agreed. Perhaps in my pride I wanted to prove to him I was as good as he. That was the night I lost Rosewood. I hadn't seen Blake again until yesterday, in your stables. When I saw you in his arms, I thought surely my eyes were deceiving me. I thought my heart had been ripped from my body.”

With her chilled hand, Nicki wiped tears away from her cheeks. “You must accept the marriage, Teddy. I cannot change anything, though I tried. If you are my friend, you will support me.”

Teddy turned to her, the features of his face distorted by fury and frustration. “He's a monster, Nick, and he'll destroy you if you let him. Come away with me now, today! Marry me and there's nothing he can do. He'll go away then, back to hell where he came from. And he'll not have you.”

“I cannot run away! If I am anything, I am no coward.”

“Is it cowardly to choose the man you love over a devil who wants only to crush you beneath the heel of his boot? Is it such a noble thing to sacrifice yourself to a life of bitter unhappiness?”

She returned her hand to her muff, shivering within the folds of her fur-lined cloak. Her own fears echoed in Teddy's words. What kind of marriage could she have without love? Once again the vision of her mother's mournful eyes rose to haunt her. Could she consign herself to the same fate?

“If you care for me, you will stop this at once,” she murmured miserably.

Teddy took her chin in his gloved hand, drawing her face to meet his gaze. “How can I watch you go to this marriage like a fatted calf to the slaughter? You ask too much.”

“It is you who ask too much! Had you come back years ago, none of this would have happened. Then I was free to marry you, Teddy. I might have known you would come back into my life at the precise moment I became lost to you forever.” His eyes shimmered golden with moisture and Nicki instantly regretted her words.

“Do you hate me so, then?”

As she drew back from his hand, he did not try to hold her. “I could never hate you. But I waited for you—I waited a very long time.”

He watched her for a long moment, then slapped the reins crisply. The horses lunged in the traces and the carriage jerked into motion. “It seems I have some reparations to make. But have no doubt, Nick, this is far from finished.”

Huddling further into her cloak, she clutched her cold hands together within the softness of her muff. The joy of the afternoon had fled. A light drizzle sprayed their faces as the carriage rolled briskly over the narrow road.

Shortly, it turned into a heavy rain. Teddy turned for home. If Teddy only knew how tempting his offer was—how easy it would be to throw caution to the wind and ride away with him.