The Arrangement Read Online Free PDF Page B

sour look and trudged upstairs to wash my hands and brush my dress.
    * * * *
    The earl was enjoying a plate of cooked eggs and bannock bread when I came into the dining room and took my place opposite him at the table. I was wearing an old blue kerseymere dress for warmth, not for style, and once more I was uncomfortably conscious of how shabby I must appear beside my elegant guest.
    The eggs that Savile was eating were from the chickens in Mrs. Macintosh’s henhouse, and they were unaccompanied by bacon or grilled kidneys. I was quite certain that the earl was accustomed to eating meat for breakfast, but meat was not served very often in the Saunders household. I couldn’t afford it.
    I poured myself some coffee and offered a fresh cup to Savile. Then I said, “I have decided that I will accompany you to Savile Castle after all, my lord.”
    He put down his coffee cup. “A wise decision, Mrs. Saunders. You owe it to Nicholas to take advantage of any bequest George may have made to him.”
    I didn’t reply. It occurred to me suddenly that the prudent course right now was to keep my mouth closed about my intention to refuse any money from George. If Savile knew my intention, he would doubtless spend the entire journey to Kent trying to get me to change my mind.
    At that moment, Mrs. Macintosh came through the door bearing more eggs, bread, and fresh coffee. I filled my plate, refilled my cup, and tucked in to my food.
    Silence reigned as I ate my second breakfast. When finally I was finished, I looked up and found Savile regarding me with that infuriating amusement in his eyes.
    “I was hungry,” I said defensively.
    “You have every reason to be hungry if you have been out at that stable since six-thirty in the morning,” he returned. “There was no need for you to do that, you know. Grove would have seen to the horses.”
    “I have no intention of asking your groom to see to my horses,” I said evenly. “I will see to them myself, as I always do.”
    His brows drew together, but he did not reply.
    I took a deep breath, then trotted out the little speech I had prepared on my way down to the dining room. “I fear I have little to offer you in the way of entertainment, my lord. Perhaps you were able to find a book that interested you?”
    As I finished speaking, his face underwent a remarkable change, the golden eyes narrowing, the well-cut mouth setting into a hard, straight line. To my astonishment, I realized that he was angry.
    “What kind of a cursed dandy do you think me?” he said in a clipped, hard-edged voice. “If there is work to be done, I am perfectly capable of doing my share. I certainly have no intention of sitting around reading a book while you break your back mucking out horses!”
    Well, well, well. He was insulted. Suddenly I felt much better.
    “The horses are finished until lunchtime, my lord,” I said sweetly, “and that is three hours away.”
    “What do you plan to do this morning, Mrs. Saunders?” he countered.
    I gave him my most angelic smile. “I am painting one of the bedrooms that I use for my clients.”
    He actually looked shocked.
    “Painting?” he said. “Surely you don’t mean you are painting the walls?”
    “I assure you, I am not painting murals, my lord,” I replied even more sweetly. “I finished the molding and the window trim yesterday and am all ready to begin the walls this morning.”
    “Good God,” he said.
    “Just so,” I returned.
    He looked slowly around the dining room. As in the rest of the house, the old walnut furniture was scarred and shabby. The walls, however, were painted the same pale gold that I had used in the drawing room.
    “Did you paint this room as well?” he asked.
    “This room was last winter’s project,” I replied.
    He leaned back in his chair and regarded me across the table. “You haven’t yet got around to the two bedrooms at the end of the passage, I notice,” he said dryly.
    “No one ever uses them,” I