Page 38 of Finding the One (River Rain #7)

Lady Norton Had Spoken

Dair

“ Y o, bruv,” Davi greeted as she strolled into the stables where Dair was saddling one of the horses to take it out for a ride.

It was Wednesday.

Nearly everyone was gone, but his mum, his sister, Alex, Rix and Ned.

His sister was working remotely, but she had to get back. She had plans for the weekend. His mum was going with her, and they were leaving on a flight out that evening. Dair was taking them to the airport.

At that moment, Ned, Blake and Alex were going over the estate’s accounts with Christine in the study.

Rix was supposed to meet him at the stables for a ride.

Dair had a match to call at Twickenham on Saturday, and he and Blake had made plans.

The next day, not only Blake, but all of them were going to come to London with him and catch the game. They’d return to Treverton on Sunday, after they took Ned, Alex and Rix to Heathrow because they were flying out that day.

There had been no talk of Blake going back to The States.

But there had been talk of her returning to Edinburgh with him.

He wasn’t mentioning her going home to New York.

As far as he was concerned, she was now home.

At Treverton.

Which was a far sight closer to his home than New York.

This was all good.

Blake, Alex and Ned seemed to be getting on all right since experiencing the closure of the funeral.

So that was all good too.

The only issues to be had were Dair’s.

Primarily his father continuing to try to get in touch with him, his mum and his sister.

With Helena laid to rest, Dair needed to stop procrastinating with that. Hear what his father had to say, not that there was anything he could say, but he owed the man at least that respect.

And then he could make a decision about how he felt about it.

He’d look at doing that when they returned to Edinburgh.

He’d also finally taken the time to listen to Signe’s podcast.

He was no solicitor, so he couldn’t say for certain, but it didn’t seem like she’d broken the non-disclosure agreement. It was well known they were together, same with their divorce. The woman harping on about how much they loved each other could also be construed as common knowledge.

He sent it to his attorney regardless.

In the meantime, probably due to more photos of he and Blake making the rounds, mostly arriving at and leaving Helena’s memorial, Signe had done another podcast.

This one was more popular, had more followers, and as such, meant Dair had received numerous communications from mates who had heard it or of it.

He hadn’t had the chance to listen to that one.

But from what he heard in the first, Signe was definitely playing the star-crossed lover, trying to paint him as the other half of that, and as such, erase Blake out of the picture altogether.

He’d shared none of this with Blake. There was nothing she could do about it. And she had more important things to concern herself with. Primarily wrapping her head around the running of an estate, all her new assets, finalizing the inheritance and hopefully considering a permanent move to the UK.

But now, he had his sister, who was wearing an expression he did not like.

“All right?” he asked.

“No.”

He already knew that, but he waited for her to share.

She stopped at the horse he’d just finished saddling and started stroking his neck.

“Rix is meeting me, Davi, so…” he prompted when she didn’t seem inclined to speak.

She let out a harassed breath and launched in.

“I’ve debated mentioning it at all, but since you all are leaving tomorrow, and leaving him here, well, there’s no way to ease into this. I should be telling Blake, or maybe Ned, but I dinnae want to disturb them. They seem to be doing okay, but?—”

“Tell them what?” he interrupted to ask, since his sister had descended into awkward havering.

She made a face and said, “Our illustrious butler, Jeff, made a pass at both Dru and Cadence while they were here.”

Dair didn’t move.

“Doesn’t take a genius to work out he’s looking for his next meal ticket, no insult to them. They’re both gorgeous, and this time, age appropriate, but I reckon he’d have a go at all the single ladies, including Mum, if given a shot.”

“What do ye mean, made a pass?” Dair asked, and his sister focused more fully on him.

“I mean he said a few things to Dru, which weren’t hard for her to translate since she might not speak the King’s English, but she speaks English.

She rebuffed him, repeatedly. It didnae take, and Sully got wind of it, so he had a word with him.

It ended for Dru after that. Cadence is younger, and he cornered her in a hall?—”

At these words, abruptly, Dair left the horse tethered and saddled as he stalked by his sister toward the doors to the stable.

“Dair!” she called, and he could hear her running after him.

He didn’t slow.

But he did speak.

“He try it on with you?”

“He’s been giving me looks, but I can take care of myself,” she told his back, still chasing him.

And she continued to do it until they hit the study inside the house.

The three Sharps and Christine, all bent over an open book on the desk, looked right to him when he did.

As her gaze caught him, Christine recoiled.

Ned straightened from the ledger they were poring over.

Alex’s chin went into her neck.

Blake’s brows pinched and she was the only one who spoke. “Are you okay?”

He addressed Christine. “Kindly find Jeff and bring him here.”

Understanding dawned, though he doubted it was specific, before Christine proved his doubts true and asked, “What’s the lad done now?”

“Can ye just bring him here?”

She nodded before she scuttled away, passing Rix as she did.

“Saw you headed in here,” Rix remarked. “I thought we were meeting at the stables.”

“Aye, we were,” Dair agreed. “Something must be done first.”

“What’s that something?” Blake gained his attention with her question.

He looked to her. “Sully had to intervene for Dru, seeing as Jeff was making a play for her.”

Alex’s body went visibly tight, as was her voice when she asked, “He was what?”

“Once Sully did that, he cornered Cadence in the hall.” Dair looked to his sister to finish sharing the dire news.

However, the room had already electrified.

“It was physical,” Davi shared cautiously, considering the atmosphere was zapping with intensity, and Dair felt his blood pressure spike at this addition. “She pushed him off. Gage heard about it. And then Gage had a word. No other events were reported after that.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Blake demanded.

“Because you’re mourning the sudden loss of your mum” Davi pointed out.

“I’m a woman and a former mean girl,” Blake bit off. “I can multitask, mourn Mum and tear someone a new asshole, both at the same time.”

Dair nearly smiled.

That was his girl.

“How about you let me handle this, darling?” Ned requested.

“Um…no fucking way, Dad,” Blake shot back just as Jeff strolled in like he owned the place, Christine bustling after him.

Christ, this bloke was a twat.

“You summoned?” Jeff drawled.

“Might wanna rein it in a notch, bud,” Rix warned, his voice rough with anger.

“I might?” Jeff asked like the suggestion was ludicrous. Then, as they all stood there, staring at him, he threw himself into a chair that was probably a priceless antique. He did this crosswise, his legs over an arm, completely at home. “Why might I want to do that?”

“I know you used the estate’s cars when Mum wasn’t here, and when she was, and therefore do not own your own vehicle,” Blake began, her voice not rough at all, but smooth as pulled silk.

“So I suggest you phone a friend to come collect you before Dair and Rix escort you to your rooms so you can pack.”

Jeff raised a lazy brow. “Am I going somewhere?”

“As I’m firing you from a job you never really had”—she indicated the ledger with her hand—“even though Mum paid you like you were a butler so the estate would cover your…” she paused for drama before she emphasized, “ fees …make no mistake, I am indeed firing you. In case you’re curious, I’m doing so for gross misconduct. ”

Jeff smiled a slimy smile. “Your mother had no complaints about my conduct.”

Alex made a disgusted noise.

“Seriously suggest you get smart fast,” Rix warned, and his tone had deteriorated.

Jeff righted himself in his seat, put his elbows to his knees, but tipped his head back so he could keep his attention focused on Blake.

Even though she’d proved she could hold her own, both Dair and Ned closed in on her back.

“This is the way I see it,” Jeff began. “None of you are going to want the reputation of Helena Coddington-Sharp, Lady Norton, an esteemed Marchioness, to be besmirched by news leaked that she was fucking a twenty-eight-year-old and she’d been doing it since he was twenty-four.”

Bloody hell.

“So,”—Jeff sat back—“the way I see it, I’ll be staying as long as it takes me to find another position I enjoy, a place where I want to live, and I won’t be doing it at my current salary.

Instead, you’ll give me an increase, that of twenty-five percent, with no duties, free access of the Defender, room and board provided…

all I can eat, by the way…oh, and, let’s say, a million pounds deposited into my account. ”

No one spoke or moved, and Dair suspected he wasn’t the only one keeping himself in check so he didn’t punch this arsehole in his larynx. Rix was likely doing the same. And perhaps Ned too.

“Is that all?” Jeff asked when the silence lingered.

“If you could leave us for a moment so we can talk,” Blake requested.

Jeff crossed his legs and smiled. “I think I’ll stay right here. If you want privacy, you can go somewhere else.”

“Christ, I’m finding it hard not to thump the fuck out of this asshole,” Rix said.

Aye.

He was correct.

Rix was feeling it too.

“If you touch me, that’ll be leaked as well, unless I get another half a mil,” Jeff replied.