“Can I ride with you? I planned to meet Mr. Bromley at noon. I could help you organize this morning.”
Olivia bit her bottom lip. “Um, well, my friends planned to help…”
“Are they meeting you today?”
“Well, not today,” she hedged.
“Livvy, it doesn’t make sense for me to take a separate conveyance to town. Plus, this would be an opportunity for you to meet Mr. Bromley. I would value your opinion of the man.”
“You would?”
“Yes, of course, I would. You have been running the estate, and even though I do still feel there needs to be a proper estate manager to handle the day-to-day, there is no one more qualified to assess Mr. Bromley’s experience than you.”
Olivia crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Humph!”
“Livvy, we both know that it would be improper for you to still live here and manage the estate. If anyone knew the extent of the work you have been doing, it would be a scandal. Please meet Mr. Bromley. He comes highly recommended.”
Olivia sighed and blew out a long breath. Her eyes narrowed. “Be ready to leave in twenty minutes. And don’t forget your coat.” She left the room in a swirl of skirts.
Max sat down and scooped a mouthful of eggs. Blasted woman. Would he ever gain her trust back? “She didn’t even eat anything,” he muttered.
“She never does,” Mr. Galey replied. “Only tea and sometimes toast in the mornings.”
The fact that Mr. Galey knew intimate details about Olivia’s morning routine made Max scowl. It was none of his business about their relationship, he reminded himself. She was not his in any way. If only he could convince his heart of that simple truth.
Chapter Ten
Olivia glanced overto examine Max’s profile as they walked up the street toward the bookshop. The cold air had reddened his cheeks, and his brown hair whipped about in the wind because, of course, he had forgotten his wool hat. The disarray of his appearance made him look young and so roguishly handsome. Her heart squeezed in her chest.
He tugged her closer with one strong arm around her waist. “Here stay close and let me block this biting wind.”
Olivia frowned and stepped away. She did not want to be seen huddled next to a strange man on the street. Marbury was a small enough town that everyone knew everyone else’s business. She reached into her pocket for the key to the shop.
“It’s just there.” She pointed. “Between the tea shop and the bakery.”
Max nodded and stubbornly took hold of her elbow to guide her across the street. The only traffic was a couple of carts filled with wooden crates rumbling down the cobblestone street. High Street was one of three main streets through town that had long ago been paved. Because of this, High Street was the main shopping thoroughfare, with the bakery, haberdashery, milliner, butcher, cobbler, tea shop, and bookshop.
They stopped in front of the shop. The cold breeze whipped fallen leaves in a frenzy around their feet. Max stomped his feet. “For goodness’ sake. Let’s get inside.”
“Poor thing with your thin blood.” She smirked at him and pulled out the large iron key.
“What is that?”
“The key to the shop, of course.”
“It looks like a key to a sixteenth-century gaol.”
Olivia ignored his comment and slid the key into the lock. It only made it halfway before sticking. She pulled it out, flipped it over, and tried again. It wouldn’t go in all the way. Turning it back, she tried to keep it as straight as possible while inserting it into the lock. It made it in but would not turn in either direction. She blew out a frustrated breath.
“Here, let me try.” Max made a grab for the key.
She elbowed him away. “No, I can figure it out. There must be some trick.”
“Stubborn,” Max muttered. “Just remember that I am freezing to death out here. You know, with my thin blood.”
She gave the key a gentle jiggle and sent a small prayer to the heavens before turning the key to the left. It worked, and the key’s scrape in the lock created a horrible high-pitched squeak that hurt her ears as it opened. “It sounds like it needs some grease. Here we go.” She gave the dark blue door a shove, and they entered the tiny store.
Olivia shivered. “Would you mind starting a fire in the grate? Then we can light all the sconces and be able to see what we are doing.”