An Honest Deception Read Free Page A

to
yourself for a little while.”
    Letitia
straightened her spine, which was indeed beginning to droop from weariness. “Thank
you, Cousin, but that is not necessary,” she said in a firm voice. “I must deal
with this on my own. You will not always be present for me to call upon, so I
mean to take this on myself until James is old enough to assume responsibility.
Perhaps if I had taken a greater interest in the estate at an earlier time, I would
not be in the desperate case I find myself now.”
    “Nonsense,”
replied Bainstall. “Although your husband clearly mismanaged Morgan Park, it
was his estate to do with as he pleased. No reasonable bailiff will take his
commands from a woman, and you will be hard pressed to make him listen to you. Things
may very well go from bad to worse.”
    “I have
known Grieves for years, and I am better acquainted with him than you are,”
observed Letitia. “I believe that he will be more forthright with me than he
would be with you, a stranger, although you are my cousin.”
    “You
will be far too indulgent with him,” said Bainstall. “I understand that your
late husband had some suspicions that he was stealing money and had him dismissed;
this is a matter which must be looked into carefully. It will not do to have
the estate not only disrupted by its master's death, but also placed under the care
of an unreliable employee.”
    “That
is exactly why I do not want you present,” Letitia said, her voice rising. “Alfred
was attempting to blame Grieves for his own gross neglect of our lands. I need
Grieves because someone who knows the history of the estate and the missteps
Alfred took is required to correct them. If you were to accuse him of stealing,
which is quite untrue, it would simply drive him away.”
    “Your sentiments
are, of course, admirable in one of your sex, but they are not suitable for
business of this nature,” said Bainstall, in what he presumed was a soothing
voice. “You will allow him to think that he can have the ordering of the farms.
He will need to speak to a man in order to understand that he is answerable to
others.”
    At this
moment Lord Exencour chose to enter the sitting room in search of Lady Morgan. He
took in the scene at a glance; Letitia's cheeks were flushed and there was a
martial glint in her eye, while Bainstall looked more than ever as though he
were about to have an apoplexy. Lord Exencour hastened to play the diplomat.
    “How
pleasant to find you two here,” he said quietly. “I am sent on an errand by my
wife to seek you out, Lady Morgan. I trust I am not intruding?”
    “Not at
all,” replied Letitia. “My cousin was just recommending to me that I allow him
to deal with the bailiff for me, but I, although appreciating his offer, have
decided I must deal with the matter myself.”
    “I see,”
said Lord Exencour. “I am sure that Lord Bainstall will respect your decision,
no matter what he thinks of it.” He turned an inquiring eye on the Baron.
    That
individual looked decidedly annoyed. “It is, of course, Letitia's decision to
make,” he responded with ill grace. “I believe that it is a badly thought out
plan, however.”
    “We all
have to make mistakes and learn from them,” said Lord Exencour with the air of
a sage. “Lady Morgan will have many more decisions to make in the future. Surely
we owe it to her to support her in this time of change.”
    “Of
course, of course,” said Bainstall testily. “Well, Letitia, it looks as though
you will see the bailiff by yourself. But do not say I did not warn you.”
    “Thank
you, Cousin, for that endorsement,” said Letitia, a touch of irony creeping
into her voice. “And now, I must see what it is that Lady Exencour wants. If
you will excuse me, gentlemen?”
    With a
grateful smile for Exencour, she exited the room, leaving the gentlemen alone.
    There
was a moment of silence, and then Bainstall spoke. “I must say that I do not
understand why you are encouraging