Chapter Two: Alexander

The poor girl's terror was fading into wariness as she met my gaze. Introducing myself like this would have been rude if I were back in London. Thankfully, this was the country and the rules of polite society could be bent.

"E-Ellie," she finally said, before her gaze returned to Brutus. The rim of her bonnet hid her face. "My friends call me Ellie."

A first name but no family name? How strange. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Ellie," I said, my curiosity piqued. I made a brief bow. "You don't have to worry. Brutus wouldn't hurt a flea. That's why he's with me instead of with the grooms. He's not much use in keeping intruders off the land."

"He certainly sounds like he would hurt someone," she said, her shoulders relaxing a little. She tentatively patted the top of Brutus's head. "Nice to meet you, Brutus. Shall we be friends?"

Much to my relief, Brutus sat on his haunches and let his tongue loll out of his mouth. "Do you live near here, Miss Ellie?" I asked curiously. I'd only been on the estate for a week, but had met several of the tenants. She looked nothing like them, but there were bound to be many more neighbors for me to meet. She glanced at me in surprise. "You did say you walk in this pasture often."

"Oh, yes. And yes." She gestured to the north. "I live at Meadowbrooke Cottage."

Meadowbrooke Cottage? More than a tennant's cottage if it had its own name. "Then, we are to be neighbors."

"I suppose," she said slowly. "Do you intend to remain long at the Manor, Mr. Turner?"

"I certainly hope so. I'm the new steward."

To my surprise, the young woman's eyes brightened as she smiled. "Oh, so you will see to the tenants' roofs and walls," she exclaimed. "They will be so pleased to see the work done."

Were the cottages in disrepair? No one had mentioned it since I had arrived. Then again, I hadn't been told anything of importance since I set foot on the estate "If something needs to be cared for, I'll speak to the tenants and make the arrangements."

"After the winter we endured, I know the Webers especially will be relieved to hear that," she continued. "They have seven children now and another one coming in the fall. A sound roof will be welcome."

"Well, we will do our best to make sure the family is dry," I said, amused by her ready knowledge of Bedwell's tenants. "I take it you grew up in the neighborhood?"

"Yes, I did."

"In that case, I will know who to turn to for advice when I run into trouble."

A blush colored her cheeks. "Do you expect trouble?"

Trouble. The simple answer was yes. I did expect trouble. I'd never been a steward, hadn't even been raised to know the ins and outs of managing an estate. The previous steward of the estate had left without warning, so I didn't even have that person to turn to for advice.

"I hope there is no trouble, or emergency for some time," I said honestly. "But what kind of a steward would I be if I didn't at least consider the possibility that everything could come crashing down around me and I won't have the slightest idea how to fix it."

A frown formed on her face. "What could come crashing down?"

The concern in her voice made me shift from foot to foot. "Oh, nothing I suppose. Or anything." I shook my head. "Never mind. I know I'm not making any sense. Ignore me."

"Expecting everything to fail sounds like a difficult way to look at life." Miss Ellie heaved a sigh and looked beyond me. "But realistic as Mrs. Haynes says. She believes I have my head up in the clouds too often."

Her blush deepened as she realized just how frank she was being. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Mrs. Haynes is always telling me I should mind my tongue. That no one wants to hear every thought that comes to mind."

"Who is Mrs. Haynes?" I asked. "She sounds like an admirable person."

"Oh, she's the housekeeper at Meadowbrooke."

Which really didn't explain anything at all. I realized then that the young woman had kept petting Brutus, showing no hint of the fear she'd had no more than ten minutes earlier.

"Well, Brutus and I will let you continue your walk," I said, reluctantly remembering the accounts books that waited for me at my desk. "Will I see you at the service on Sunday?"

"Of course." She smiled at him. "Good day, Mr. Turner."

"Good day, Miss Ellie." Automatically, I reached for my head, only to realize I hadn't put on a hat before I went for my walk.

Miss Ellie turned and continued on her way. Brutus stood up. Swiftly, I bent down and caught the dog. "Not this time, Old Boy," I said, holding him from chasing after the young woman. "Let her be."

It was a minute before I was sure the dog would obey him. By that time, Miss Ellie had reached the edge of the pasture. She climbed the fence and dropped down on the opposite side. She raised her hand in a wave before she walked on.

"What do you think?" I asked, patting Brutus' neck. "Are we going to settle down here? The company is better than I might have hoped for."

Tongue lolling out his mouth, Brutus looked up at me with nothing to say. "Right. Come on, boy. Let's go back. There's work to be done." I couldn't quite bring himself to say home, but it was more comfortable than any place I'd been in years.

~*~

The gardeners all nodded respectfully as I walked past. I wasn't used to such deference and awkwardly nodded in return before I quickened my steps. Once I was inside the manor, I used the servants' hallways to get to what would be my office for the foreseeable future.

Any hope of having some time to study the books fled when I saw the room already had an occupant: a tall, brown haired man in a tailcoat more suited for a London drawing room than a steward's office in the country.

"When did you get here?" I asked, unsure if I was pleased to see my cousin or concerned.

"Is that how you greet an earl?" William Turner, the new Earl of Berdwell, asked as he turned. He grinned. "My aunt would be appalled that you didn't recall all your manners she painstakingly taught you."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I asked, "Do you want me to 'my lord' you, my lord? Because I can do so if you want, my lord."

William shook his head. "Absolutely not. I had enough of that in London. Besides, it would be strange coming from you. I seem to recall you had more interesting names for me in our youth."

"Is that why you're here? You have been 'my lorded' away from polite society?"

My cousin dropped his gaze. "I thought I ought to take the time to be better acquainted with my new responsibilities. I haven't been to the manor in ages. I must have been ten or eleven the last time the family came here for the holidays."

"Why did you stop coming here? Visiting here was always the highlight of the summer."

The earl shook his head. "I really don't know. I went to school, and then it just seemed like too much trouble to come all the way here. But I'm here now. I know I haven't given you much time to look into how things stand here, but I thought to kill two birds with one stone, as they say."

I crossed to the desk. "Two birds? Let me guess. Some enterprising young lady made you uncomfortable in London so you came to the country to escape her."

A glance over revealed a flush creeping up William's neck and he cleared his throat. "No. That's not the whole reason."

"But it is part of the reason? Who was she?"

"I'd rather not talk about it or the lady," William said with a huff. "I'd hate to blacken her reputation over something best left alone."

If my cousin's tone hadn't been so serious, I might have thought he was joking. "Blacken? Good heavens, what did she do?"

Stubbornly, the earl shook his head. "Besides, I've been informed of a pressing issue that I need to talk to you about."

Miss Ellie's warning about the roof on one of the tenants flashed through my mind. "A pressing issue? What's happened? What do I need to do?"

"What?" William looked over and blinked. "Oh. No. It has nothing to do with the estate."

Though I was relieved, I couldn't decide if I should be even more worried about that bit of information. "Well, what's this about then?"

My cousin shifted from one foot to the other foot before he finally spoke. "Apparently, when I inherited my father's title, I also inherited guardianship of a young lady I've never met."

"Guardian? You are a guardian?" I said in surprise. Of all the things I might have expected my cousin to say, this wouldn't have been in the top ten. "Of who? How?"

"Bellows informed me that my father became the guardian of a friend's daughter, a Captain Burke or something like that." William shook his head. "I don't recall this person at all. My father has never mentioned this responsibility before. But the solicitor showed me the money has been provided to the girl's stepmother for school and such for the last twelve years."

"That's...unexpected." I shifted closer to his desk, eager to take notes. "Twelve years? I hadn't heard anything about it. What seems to be the problem? Is the girl demanding more money? To have a Season next year?"

"Problem? I don't know the first thing about who this young lady is! And suddenly I am responsible for her?"

"So? Weren't you responsible for Mary last year? You sent her off into society with no problem."

William threw up his hands. "I haven't met her, Alex. That's the issue! Shouldn't I have met her before this? Should I take an interest in her now or should I not interfere? What steps have been taken for her future already?"

"Has her stepmother asked for help?" I asked, trying to think logically. "She would be the first person I would talk to if I were you. Wouldn't she know what should be done about this girl?"

"I have no idea," William answered, shrugging his shoulders. "But you don't find it odd that my father never mentioned being a guardian before? Why didn't he have this girl brought to the manor? Or to London? She could have shared the governess with Henrietta and Mary. Why send her to a school?"

"Not so strange. Perhaps the stepmother was attached to the girl and didn't want to be parted from her."

"Again, why a school? I don't even know how old she is. Why didn't Father mention this at all before he died?"

To that question, I had no answer. I sank into his chair behind the desk. "So what do you want to do, Will?" I asked, trying to understand my cousin's thinking. "Are you going to invite the young lady here?"

"I already did." William shook his head. "What I mean to say is I invited her to join me in London. Mrs. Burke claimed that it would be impossible to bring the girl from school at this time of year. She said she was satisfied with the arrangement that has been in place this long."

Tilting my head, I tried to piece together the logic. "She does realize that your sisters have been to school and you would know that most students are at home this time of year?"

His cousin heaved a heavy sigh. "Apparently not. Nothing about this makes any sense, Alex."

"Couldn't you visit the lady in London to get the story? Learn what you can about your ward and then you will be in a better position to decide what to do. Making decisions without facts can get you into trouble."

That seemed the most logical way to approach the situation. But my cousin only shook his head. "She claimed that she had no time for me to visit before she left to visit her husband's home in the country. I feel like she is hiding something at this point. I am determined to get to the bottom of this."

Putting my elbows on the desk, I leaned forward. "Let me guess. That home is in this neighborhood?"

"Indeed. There must be a reason my father and this Captain Burke knew each other. If they were neighbors, it would make sense."

"Do you think following this Mrs. Burke all the way to the country will make her more willing to produce the girl?"

"I'm willing to try anything at the moment. I don't like being kept in the dark, Alex. I don't even know how old this Miss Burke is. Or even what her first name is. But I'm somehow responsible for her?" William heaved a sigh. "A little warning would have been nice."

"Well, do you know anything about Mrs. Burke?" Helping my cousin was something I enjoyed doing, but I'd never been handed a puzzle like this before.

"I've never seen her before. But Henrietta says she's met the woman's daughter as some of the social functions this year." The earl shook his head. "I don't think my sister thinks much of her, but she didn't say as much."

"Did Mrs. Burke specify where in the neighborhood she would be?"

Again, William gave a shake of his head. "Even if I'm not able to meet her right away, I hoped someone in the neighborhood might be able to tell me something of the family. Even that would give me something to work with."

"I met a young lady just this afternoon who might be able to help," I said, thinking of Miss Ellie. "She said she grew up here, so she could know who you're looking for."

"A young lady?" William repeated with interest. "Why didn't you say something earlier? What's her name? Who is her family?"

"She told me her name was Ellie." I sat back, already regretting saying a word about it. "She was pleasant. Brutus scared her and I wanted to reassure her."

"Brutus? The dog who you claim won't hurt a flea? I thought young ladies who grew up in the country were made of sterner stuff."

"What if we were to invite your ward for a house party?" I asked to change the subject. "You could even include the stepmother. Your sisters would be more than happy to bring their husbands here for a few weeks."

"I knew I could count on you to help me make a plan," William said with a grin. "Though don't think I didn't notice how you avoided the subject. You'll have to introduce me to this young lady. As the head of the family, I'll have to give my approval."

"She was a pleasant woman, and that's all I have to say about it," I said as I grabbed the closest account book. "Now. Do you have any other pressing matters for me to solve? Or can I start on the job you're paying me to do?"

"I really do appreciate you taking the position, Alex," William said, his tone becoming sincere. "You'll be joining me for dinner?"

"I wouldn't miss it."