She had accepted the job because she wanted so much to believe him, but Georgia still had some reservations— about her decision. What would it be like working for a man who had probably never had to worry about where the next meal was coming from in his life? A man who, because of his status, epitomised— the old feudal system of ‘Lord of the Manor’ while— those around him were mere serfs?
She didn’t exactly have a problem with the concept of inherited wealth—she begrudged nobody their comfortable circumstances—it was just that she was so weary sometimes of her own struggle to keep the wolf from the door, and the idea that somebody could just be born into such good fortune and not have to do anything to earn it was apt to rub salt into the wound. Still, no doubt the wealthy Laird of Glenteign had his own problems…they just didn’t come in the same shape as Georgia’s. But—problems— or no—surely he couldn’t fail to take solace in so much wonderful scenery?
When her reliable but old Renault finally drew into the grounds of Glenteign, Georgia switched off the engine, leaned her elbow on the window’s ledge and considered her surroundings with a flare of wonderment— in the pit of her stomach.
The house immediately proclaimed its historic past—its impressive edifice of Pictish stone, with its turrets reaching towards the presently cloudless azure sky, reminding Georgia of an ancient impenetrable fortress that had survived every onslaught both nature and man could throw at it and still there it stood, proud— and inviolable, with an almost defiant grace. Turning her head, Georgia viewed the lushness of emerald lawns rolling out into the distance like an expansive— glittering carpet, and over to the right a high stone wall that perhaps led to the formal gardens that her brother had been working on for the past halfyear.
She couldn’t deny she was eager to see them—not— just because of the work Noah had done there, but— because he’d told her they were incredibly beautiful. Moving her gaze further afield, a grove of tall firs captured her attention, stretching endlessly beyond the exquisite perfection of the immaculate lawns. There was just so much land! It didn’t seem feasible that one person could own all of this. She began to realise what a prestigious opportunity this was for Noah, coming to work here. And now, because— of the success he had achieved, he was working at another large estate in the Highlands—a commission he had secured on the Laird’s recommendation— because he had been so impressed with what he’d done at Glenteign.
She felt a flicker of love and pride. Every sacrifice— she’d made to help Noah get his business off the ground had been worth it…
‘You found us, then?’
Abruptly lured away from her reverie, Georgia found her glance commanded by a pair of eyes that were so faultlessly, intensely blue that for a moment no speech was possible on her part. The rest of the features in the masculine face before here were not exactly difficult to look at either. It was as if they might have been sculpted—the planes and angles so strongly delineated that they were surely the loving work of an artist’s reverent hand? But Georgia wasn’t the only one who was transfixed…The man’s unflinching— perusal of her own face came as a shock.
She wasn’t used to being regarded with such uncommon directness and everything inside her clenched hard in sudden self-consciousness. But before she could find her voice, he was opening the driver’s door and standing aside for her to step out onto the gravel.
‘Yes…hello.’ She held out her hand, then awkwardly— withdrew it almost as soon as her skin came into contact with his. Such an acceptably polite gesture shouldn’t feel as if it was bordering on intimacy but somehow it did. As he considered her further, his gaze no less direct, Georgia silently bemoaned her travel-worn appearance. After several hours’ travelling her clothes must resemble unironed laundry, she was sure. The cream linen shift dress she wore, with its scooped neckline, had been cool and fresh when she’d donned it early this morning, but it definitely didn’t look like that now.
‘Did you have a good journey?’
Beneath the polite questioning Georgia thought she detected a slight strain—as though he neither welcomed nor enjoyed this kind of inconsequential chit-chat. Her heart sank a little.
‘Yes, I did. The directions you gave me were spot-on.’ —
‘Good.’
‘I presume you must be the Laird?’
‘Yes, I am…And you are Georgia…Noah’s sister.’
It was a statement of fact, not requiring a reply.