A Little More Discreet Madness by Sahara Kelly

Author:Sahara Kelly [Kelly, Sahara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SK Private Label Publications
Published: 2020-08-26T23:00:00+00:00

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“Marian, come here, girl.”

The tall man in the field called across the green grass and clicked his fingers, laughing with pleasure as a huge sheep lumbered towards him.

Naming his prize ewe Marian had been done in a moment of whimsy, but as soon as he did she seemed to respond. Her mate, and the driving force behind the flock, was—of course—Robin. As yet there was no Sheriff of Nottingham, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

He grabbed a handful of Marian’s fleece and rubbed it, pleased at the softness beneath the outer coat, and the honey gold colouration spreading across her skin. The tips were white, or would be after washing, so his work was progressing well.

Marian and her fellows had the winter to develop this unusual covering; it would be lush and full come shearing time, and he looked forward to introducing the Crawford wool to the market. It would, indeed, cause a bit of a stir.

He grinned as his stomach rumbled and reminded him of dinner. The terrible rain had stopped, the flock was doing well and he was hungry. A brisk walk over the fields toward Crawford Hall would give him just about enough time to clean up before joining his father for the evening meal.

As he strode through the wet grass breathing in the clean country air and ridding his lungs of the last vestiges of London smog, Piers Crawford turned various matters over in his mind. Sheep, as always, were top of the list, but at the moment that was a topic he could set aside, having seen for himself that all was as it should be.

The two shepherds he had hired knew their jobs well, and between the three of them satisfactory progress was being made. Unfortunately, the matter of Haskings lurked just below. The books had to be kept, because wages had to be paid. Income had to be reported and other financial matters dealt with promptly and accurately.

He allowed a frisson of anger at himself to linger; knowing that he was hopeless at such things didn’t make it all right that he couldn’t take the job on. His father was worried, too. Piers could see the concern etching a tiny wrinkle between his eyebrows.

Something had to be done.

Then there was the matter of taking a bride. This was personal, much more personal, and much as he adored his parent, he knew he would not marry just anyone to keep his father happy.

He knew what he wanted in a wife.

She had to be unique, impossible though that might seem. But he also knew his father would insist upon him at least looking at the current crop of debutantes. Somehow or other he vowed to be polite, but noncommittal. His father had his best interests at heart and was behaving just as he should, but the choice would be his, and his alone.

They both knew that such a decision would last a lifetime, thus it had to be right. The sun emerged briefly, illuminating the warm brick walls of Crawford Hall.

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