“Reluctantly.”
“Marvelous!” She slid her arm through his once more. “Now let us walk around some more to show these fickle lords and ladies what a lovely match we are.”
Oddly enough, Austin didn’t mind the thought of that half as much.
Chapter Thirteen
“Please forgive the intrusion, my lord, but this is a matter that needs your prompt attention.”
Austin turned to look at his butler with a raised brow. The firm tone he’d heard just now turned into a bumbling mess the moment Austin’s eyes fell on him. His butler backed into the threshold of the study and bowed deeply.
“If it pleases you, my lord.”
Austin only stared at him for a long moment. Then he chuckled under his breath. He saw the moment his butler stiffened at the sound, as if he was bracing for something horrible.
Once upon a time, the servants had only been apprehensive of him. They’d stayed out of his way, treating him with the respect that should be given to the earl’s son—bastard or no—but never truly interacting with him. That apprehension shot up to true fear the day Austin received the title and he’d been fine with it. He didn’t care if the housekeeper and the maids avoided him as if he were the plague. And it didn’t matter to him that his butler shook in his boots every time he had to interact with him.
For some reason, watching a grown man tremble in fear when he was only doing his job, made him uncomfortable. Austin could only laugh at himself. Since when had he cared? And why did it bother him so much so suddenly?
“What is it?” he asked in as calm a voice as he could muster. He’d retreated to his study after breakfast wanting to stay out of the way of the workmen and find some solitude so he hoped this conversation would not be long.
The butler straightened and licked his lips, visibly wiping the trepidation from his face. “Your steward sends word from the main estate, my lord. I believe there are certain matters that require your attention, ones he cannot undertake in your stead.”
Austin looked down at the bound book and what looked like a letter in the butler’s hand. “And I assume that is from him?”
“Yes, my lord. He says that it is a matter of urgency.”
“Hm.” Austin turned to the window. “Put it on my desk.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He listened to the butler’s quick footsteps behind him as he hurried to do as he was told. Before he could leave, Austin said, “You have been employed by my father for a while now, haven’t you?”
“Y-yes, my lord. I have been the butler of this townhouse for fifteen years.”
“Fifteen years. That is long enough to watch me grow up, though I admittedly did not spend much time in London.”
“I suppose, my lord.”
Austin turned at the uncertainty in the butler’s voice. He didn’t know why he was doing this. He didn’t care to know his servants better. The last thing he wanted to do was embrace this life that had been forced onto him, rather than accepted willingly.
But there was a certain brown-eyed lady floating around in his mind since his walk through the park yesterday and it was making him feel…nice. He was in an unusually good mood, even though there was the looming task of going to the tailor in his near future. Perhaps that was the reason he didn’t feel instant annoyance at his butler interrupting his alone time.
“What is your name?” Austin asked, leaning on the wide windowsill. “I realise I have never asked you before.”
The butler looked startled. “My name?” It is Mr. Jonathan Francis, my lord.”
“Mr. Francis.” Austin hoped he could remember that. He had a feeling this wasn’t the first time he’d been told. “Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Francis.”
The butler looked at a loss for words. Austin gave him a few seconds to come to terms with what he’d just said, and then he told him, “You may leave now.”
“Yes, my lord.” Mr. Francis left slower than he usually did, as if he were in a daze.
Odd of him to care about such a thing, Austin thought as he made his way to his desk. He only knew the name of the butler at the main estate, where he had spent most of his time. And that man was no more comfortable with him as Mr. Francis was.
Austin reached for the letter first, skimming through it out of mere curiosity. It was certainly a serious matter. Apparently, therewere a number of servant posts now vacant at the estate since quite a few of the maids and footmen resigned. The other estates within the earldom also required considerable attention that his steward could not give himself. The bound book, Austin realized, was a ledger book. One quick look through it told him that things were not looking good.
He had been pouring all of his attention into the repairs that he hadn’t given a single thought to anything else. And that was on purpose. Austin hadn’t wanted this title. He didn’t want the responsibility that came with managing so many things at once. Just looking at this ledger book brought on a slight megrim.
