The Reluctant Duke (Love's Pride Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

matters.
    “My good lady,” he said with a smile. “Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Bathurst, the new Duke, and no, we are not here for the rents, at least not today.”
    A change in plans but a soldier must always be ready to improvise. Her shoulders slumped in relief as a small tear glistening at the corner of her eye.
    “It seems the old Duke left instructions in his will that certain of his tenants be given a bag of flour and a smoked ham.”
    Her face turned to shock and elation and then looked at him a little skeptically. She knew the old Duke had never given anyone anything. Obviously deciding not to question it, she let him continue with the charade.
    He gingerly climbed down, retrieving a twenty-pound bag of flour, he threw it onto his left shoulder trying to avoid the extra weight on his right knee. He then reached in and grabbed the ham. “Should I put them inside?” He asked.
    Still in shock, she didn’t seem to hear his question. The young boy, however, being more nimble, and very afraid of losing this food, quickly jumped forward.
    “This way Sir, I mean Your Grace,” he said as he led him into the farmhouse. They were followed by the family and Miss Harding, who had jumped down without assistance and introduced herself to the widow Rife.
    Looking around the one-room farmhouse he saw a bed on the far side, an old table in the middle of the room, a small fireplace and crude chimney on the opposite side. A stone floor and wood roof, one door and two glassless windows with roughhewn wood shutters to keep out the cold. Is this typical of his tenants he wondered? He tried to remember if he’d ever visited a tenant farmer before.
    His stomach tightened as he realized that in a few days the ham would be gone, and these people would be back to scraping by.
    As the Lord of the Manor, it was his responsibility to make sure these people could ‘make it’. That they didn’t starve, that they were taken care of. But how do you do that he wondered. It was obvious that to make a farm work, you needed a man for the heavy work; the boy just wasn’t old enough.
    They didn’t even have a pony for the plow. Could he have someone else over to prepare the fields he wondered? Who could he get? This is why he needed an agent. Someone to handle these details, someone who knew what was possible.
    Were problems like this occurring on all his lands? What was he not dealing with because he wasn’t aware?
    Taking one last look around, he realized that he’d gathered all the information he needed.
    “Mrs. Rife, it was a pleasure meeting you and your family, but we must be going. You could do me a favor though and spread the word. We are looking to take on additional staff at Brookshire. I know Cook needs a scullery maid, and my stable master could use a strong lad,” he said, looking at the two children and regretting that they would have to start working at such a young age.
    “Additionally we will need household maids and footmen, if you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them up to see Miss Harding here.”
    The boy’s eyes got very big; he looked pleadingly at his momma but kept quiet.
    “Thank you, Your Grace, I will spread the word,” Mrs. Rife said as she curtsied.
    Later, sitting in the wagon, Mrs. Harding asked with a slight smile, “Are there any other tenants the old Duke mentioned in his will?”
    His Grace just grunted and focused on the road.

Chapter Four
     
    Gwen spent the morning organizing the five new maids that had applied for positions, all of them from the village or neighboring farms. Cook had two new assistants, Mrs. Rife and her daughter, helping in the kitchen. Young Billy was now working in the stables. The huge house was becoming a beehive of activity again, drapes being taken down for cleaning, floors being scrubbed, and brass being polished.
    Gwen was so busy that she didn’t see the Duke all day. A little bit of her soul missed it. She wished with all of her