The Burlington Manor Affair

woman and you wouldn’t have got yourself into this arrangement had you not been in a position to do so.”

He really had done his groundwork. “Quite so. And you, have you left some poor woman at a loose end in London while you entertain yourself up here?”

Rex’s mouth curled. “You seem to have a very low opinion of me. I assure you I have never been unfaithful to a woman.”

He eyed her steadily.

Carmen felt an objection rise inside her—an objection that formed because of an old memory of him bedding a friend of hers at a time when she felt sure they were destined to be lovers. But he hadn’t been unfaithful. Much as she liked to think they were an item back then, they weren’t. That was foolish fantasy on her part.

Rex seemed more grounded these days. His actions and comments were more measured. The mature Rex could still be provocative and play free and easy with people’s emotions, but there was an underlying sense of honor that she hadn’t been aware of as a teenager.

Feeling awkward, she looked back at the surrounding landscape, to the fringes of the estate and beyond. “I also intend to make the estate function in a different way. It needs to earn. It’s only right and just for an estate like this to do so in the modern age. It’s contingency for the future, as well. If my business fails to be lucrative, I have to be sure that Burlington Manor can bring in funds for its own maintenance, going forward.”

“An admirable plan. Tell me more.” He looked genuinely intrigued.

Suspicion tickled the back of her mind. Why was he so interested?

“Oh, I don’t know that I should. What if I share my development ideas and you change your mind and refuse to sell?” She smiled to soften the accusation a bit. “It wouldn’t be sensible business practice, would it?”

“Probably not. However, I assure you I have quite enough to do developing my company. A shame, perhaps.” He paused and looked at her deliberately. “My business isn’t established the way yours is. It’s fledgling, and it would be hard for me to devote the amount of time this place needs, even if I did feel any loyalty or obligation toward it, which I don’t.”

They’d skirted the side of the building, and they’d reached the corner where the grounds had previously run down to open meadow land. Most of it had been sold to local farmers, but not all of it. There was some older property on the estate that she was particularly interested in. She left the gravel path, and pointed in the direction of the outbuildings.

“The old cottages,” she said, gesturing at the run-down stone buildings. Originally built to house servants in a bygone age, they hadn’t been used for decades and were scarcely more than empty shells. The traditional York stone walls and interior beams were solid, though, and in her mind’s eye she could picture the cottages renovated and functioning.

“I used to play down here as a child,” Rex commented.

The sun lit the gray slate roofs, which meant if she squinted her eyes, Carmen could almost imagine them brought back to life, made pretty and habitable. “They haven’t been used in decades. I thought it would be an interesting project to restore them.”

“You think there’s potential there?”

Carmen paused on the brow of the hill and took the countryside in, reveling in it. “Holiday rentals, perhaps?”

Rex nodded.

“I’m considering a similar plan for the stables.” She gestured to the left where the old stables were located. “There are also three disused barns on the property, of varying sizes. They’ve been abandoned for many years, but the shells are sturdy and they would make terrific barn conversions. Maybe to sell, or they could be rented out to cover the renovation costs and ultimately feed income back into the estate.”

“You’ve given it a lot of thought.”

“I don’t go into things without thinking through the implications.”

She’d meant that in a business sense, but as soon as she said it and saw his response, she realized what he was thinking about. Sex. His eyebrows lifted. It was almost imperceptible, but so suggestive, and his eyes simmered as he looked at her.

Carmen started walking again and thankfully a breeze lifted, cooling her. At her side, his presence didn’t let the silent exchange end. As they skirted the lake together, Carmen felt his attention intensify.

“One of the things I’d like to look into is developing some sort of scheme with the fishing rights. The owner of the manor has fishing rights to a stretch of the river. It’s about three-quarters of a mile in length.”

“I remember my father mentioning it, but I guess he never did anything about it.”

“No, he didn’t. It was your grandfather who set about making it official, but apart from the groundsmen and the occasional poacher nobody uses it. It’s a beautiful stretch of the river and one of the things I thought the estate could offer was a scheme with the bed-and-breakfast in the village and the pub, too. A lot of visitors come to enjoy the surrounding countryside. We could offer day passes for fishing and hire equipment. The bed-and-breakfast would run it. At this end it would only need the groundsmen to monitor the situation. They already keep an eye out for poachers, anyway, so it wouldn’t be an awful lot more work for them, and it will engage the estate with the local hospitality businesses.”

She rattled on in an attempt to ignore Rex’s insistent presence, his brooding glances. She couldn’t look at him when he was focused on her, so she directed his attention elsewhere. Then she noticed that when she pointed things out, he looked at the place fondly.

A shiver ran down her spine. Never trust Rex Carruthers. That had been her motto for over a decade, and now here she was giving him a blueprint on how to improve the property. What if he refused to sell? What if he used his sexual hold over her to force her to capitulate, then stole her ideas for the place? When the doubts took hold, she drew to a halt. “Why do you even care what I plan to do with the place?”

“Stop worrying.” He actually grew serious for a moment. “I enjoy watching you, and your enthusiasm is impressive. You deserve to be mistress of this place, you’ll make it work. You are much more committed to it than I possibly could be.” He glanced back toward the manor itself, his gaze shifting over it. “It’s a grand old house, it really is, but my relationship with the place was brought up short twice. First when my parents split, then my father and I couldn’t see eye to eye, so it was never going to work.” His gaze returned to her and he was silent a moment as he considered her.

“If you truly believe that, then you would arrange for the transfer papers to be prepared instead of holding me over a barrel with this silly arrangement of yours.”