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West grinned “I would have bought more, had it been available”

They had spent hours in the study, and the time seemed to have flown by West had answered Phoebe’s questions in detail, without condescension He had opened ledgers, spread maps of the estate and the tenant farricultural Chee Operations of Arable Land from the shelves Phoebe had expected it to be a dull session of tallying long colu out for was about far more than numbers It was about people, animals, food, weather, science,it to her was so articulate and keen on the subject, he could even

The conversation was interrupted as a footht a tray of sandwiches and refreshments from the kitchen

“Thank you,” Phoebe said, accepting the glass of chilled wine West handed to her “Are we allowed to drink hile accounting?”

“I assure you, there’s no way to face the inventory and valuation ledger without it” He lifted his glass in a toast “God speed the plow”

“Is that a farmer’s toast?”

“It’s the farmer’s toast”

“God speed the plow,” Phoebe echoed, and took a sip of the tart, refreshing vintage After the foot the door behind him, she returned her attention to the list of fertilizers in front of her “Why Peruvian guano?” she asked “Don’t British bats produce enough of it?”

“One would think so However, Peruvian guano contains the en, which is what clay soil needs” West turned a few pages and pointed to a column “Look at these wheat yields”

“What do those numbers mean?”

“All totaled, that one hundred pounds of Peruvian guano helped us to grow nine hundred extra bushels of wheat”

Phoebe was electrified by the information “I want all the Clare tenants to have that fertilizer”

West laughed at her enthusiasen won’t work for every fare issues That’s why an estate or land er meets with each leaseholder at least twice a year to discuss the specifics of their situations”

“Oh” Phoebe’s excitee in a deep sine

West stared at her alertly “Larson doesn’t ularly?”

Phoebe replied without keeping her gaze glued to the page in front of her “The Larsons believe it’s better not to becoes them to make toorent According to Edward, tenant uprisings like the recent ones in Ireland could easily happen here Some landowners have even been murdered by their own leaseholders”

“In every one of those cases,” West said darkly, “the landoas notorious for having abused and mistreated their tenants” He was silent for a h a middleman?”

Phoebe nodded “He sends an estate bailiff to collect rents, and if they—”

“He sends a bailiff?” West began to sound slightly less calent ormy God, anyone Is it really necessary to use local law enforcement to terrify the tenants twice a year?”

After draining her wine, Phoebe said defensively, “Things are done differently in Essex”

“No er’s job usually involves having to bloodyhimself to have a conversation with a sious?”

“No,” Phoebe said earnestly “Oh, I’veimpression He’s such a—”

“No, I already disliked him”

“—lovely —he spent sohi me, too I leaned on Edward’s shoulder and came to rely on him even at the darkest moments—”

“Actually, I detest him”

“—and he was very good with Justin, and Henry saw all that, which is why he asked for my promise to—” She broke off abruptly

West stared at her without blinking “Promise to what?”

Phoebe set aside her e”

“What promise?”

“It’s nothing”

“Holy hell,” West said softly She could feel his eyes boring holes into her “An insane thought just came into my head But it can’t be true”

Blindly Phoebe turned pages in the ledger “I ondering—how much is in a bushel?”