Page 42 of A Duchess to Unravel

He snapped when he heard a knock on the door as he continued to look down at the pile of opened account books. Alistair heard the door open, waited for someone to speak. He assumed it was Mr. Mackenzie, or his valet, Leckie, and began to grow impatient with the silence.

“I said what do you--oh.”

The harsh words he had at the ready died as he looked up and saw Theo standing at the door, his body instantly reacting to the sight of her. Her brilliant blue eyes shone with amusement as she lifted a dark brow and smirked, as if she knew the effect she had on him. He frowned at the thought and straightened his stature.

He was glad that she was attracted to him and more thrilled that he was so attracted to her, but that did not mean that she got to smirk at him like that.

“You look as tense as I feel, Your Grace.” Theo remarked.

Alistair dropped his tense shoulders and gave her a rueful smile.

“You are dealing with a mess as well?” He asked, waving her further into the room.

“If you are referring to this crumbling castle, yes,” she agreed, taking a seat, “I am indeed dealing with a mess.”

Alistair chuckled, and picked up one of the account books only to drop it back onto his desk.

“Shall we trade? You try to make sense of these accounting books and I shall take over the castle?” He teased, and was rewarded with a laugh from Theo.

“With whatever it is that has kept you locked in here for almost two days? No, I do not believe so. But I do need to speak with you about some accounting matters.”

Alistair’s eyes widened at her words.

“Two days? Goodness, have I truly been in here that long?” He asked. He shook his head, barely believing it.

His attention to detail sometimes overrode his more common sensibilities, but he’d never lost track of time like this before.

“Apologies,” he went on. “I did not realize. Of course we may speak. I had intended to find you when I better understood the accounts but I suppose I never found that understanding.”

To his surprise, Theo looked almost relieved at his words.

“So, you were not avoiding me?” She asked.

Alistair smirked.

“Why would I do that? I am a busy man--” he paused sweeping a hand toward the mess upon his desk, “obviously, but I do not avoid anyone.”

He raised a brow and made a show of raking his eyes down her body. “Especially my new partner.”

Theo’s brows rose in surprise.

“You see me as a partner?” She asked.

“This is a surprise to you? We have a deal, do we not?” He asked.

“It is just very modern of you,” Theo replied, “To see a woman as a partner.”

“When it comes to business, one must evolve with the times. A stale plan does not make money or success,” he told her.

Alistair studied her face, trying to get a read on her emotions. The surprise was gone, but she did not look quite pleased by his words either.

“Well,” she huffed, “As your partner I must tell you that your investment of this place is questionable. It needs much work. Far more than can be done by just the small staff you have on hand. We need at least twenty more people, closer to forty just for the upkeep. Not to mention construction experts, architects, masons, designers--”

“So, hire them,” he stated, then shrugged.

Theo blinked.

“Just like that? No argument?”