“Do you not miss the excitement of London?” asked Morgan as they strolled down the land toward the river.

Guy chuckled. “I pulled Stephen out of an inn a mere two days ago and nearly ended up in a fight. Is that not enough excitement?”

Morgan grinned. The earl knew full well what sort of troubles Stephen had found himself embroiled in and why Guy had made the move to the countryside. Having studied at Oxford together, Morgan knew all the ins and outs of Guy’s life.

“What of the women then? Do you not miss them?” Morgan made a point of surveying the empty fields. “I see no pretty faces.”

Guy considered the one pretty face he had seen. “There are a few.”

“So where is this perfect spot then?”

Guy motioned toward the line of trees that they would have to walk through to reach the river’s edge.

He glanced back at Stephen who was doing his best to move as slowly as possible, particularly as he was nursing a severe hangover. Rufus, a crossbreed dog of sandy color that had insinuated himself into Guy’s life a few years ago when he had found him wandering about the streets of London, ran between them, his tongue lolling happily from his mouth. The sizeable dog would never be a champion hunter or anything particularly useful but he was good company on an evening and never failed to make Guy smile at his enjoyment of life.

“Stephen!” Guy shouted. “Roo,” he bellowed at the dog who had run too far.

His brother winced.

Morgan chuckled. “Can’t hold his grog yet then?”

“He drinks enough for ten men and forgets he’s not even fully grown.”

“I heard that,” Stephen muttered. “I do not see why I must trek out at this ungodly hour to see some patch of land.”

“It is not just any patch of land,” Guy said, pausing so that Stephen could catch up with them. “It is part of our land and will make us a good sum of money.”

“Your land,” Stephen corrected. “Won’t ever be mine.”

“It will if I drop dead with no heir. You are the only other male relative on our mother’s side, after all. Maybe you shall be lucky.”

Morgan snorted.

“Either way, I am responsible for your livelihood and the livelihood of your offspring by the looks of it.”

“That was not my fault.” Stephen held up his hands.

Guy rolled his eyes. He had heard this argument before. “You could not keep it in your breeches, it is wholly your fault.”

“She was a seductress,” his brother protested.

Guy had met the woman his brother had managed to get in the family way. She was as young and as naive as Stephen in the ways of the world. And utterly terrified. With only a strict father to look after her, she feared being disowned by him. Between Stephen’s debts and sending the girl off to have her baby and have it housed with a loving family as well as ensure the baby and the girl were looked after in future, even with all his inherited wealth, things were tight. If he did not think up a new way to bring in more money, he could not promise anyone a bright future.

Which was where the mill came in.

Stephen began to lag behind again and Guy let him. He could not figure out how to make Stephen understand that this mill was for him too and that he should take an interest.

“The girl has been sent away then?” Morgan asked.

Guy nodded. “She should be gone to Ireland. She told her father it was a teaching position and I’m paying her accordingly.”

“She’s done nicely out of it then.”

“No. She has not. If you met her, Morgan, you would understand. The girl thought herself in love with Stephen. She gave herself to him out of love, not because she wanted to blackmail me.” Guy cursed under his breath. “What am I going to do with him? He does not seem to understand that there are consequences to his behavior.”

Morgan lifted a shoulder. “You and I were not so different at Oxford.”

“To be certain we drank and we had our fair share of women but we did not persuade them we were in love with them and we definitely did not get any in the family way.” He stopped and glanced back at Stephen who had grabbed a stick and was beating at the grass as he walked by like a boy instead of a man. “We understood duty.”

“He has never needed to understand, Guy. You took on duty for him.”

Guy let out a long breath. “My mistake indeed.”

“Hopefully this move out to the country will help. Give it time. You have been here a mere two weeks.”

Nodding, Guy led the way into the woodland that edged the river. “I hope you are right.” He nodded toward his friend. “Perhaps you will end up joining me.”

Morgan shook his head. “And leave the excitement of London? Certainly not.”

Morgan had inherited his title of earl as soon as he had come out of Oxford. His father had died alongside his mother in an awful robbery when he was young. Though Morgan understood the burden of duty and certainly did not have any problems with gambling or drinking like Stephen did, Morgan enjoyed a busy social life...and an active love-life too. Guy might have inherited excellent looks, but Morgan held all the charm.

“Just through here...” Guy paused at the sound of raised voices.

“I do not see what we can do,” said a young woman.

Guy put a finger to his lips, motioning to Morgan to stay silent, as he recognized the next voice. He peered through the gap in the trees to spy three women, all redheads. Miss Julia Chadwick was one of them, along with the young lady who had threatened him. He had to assume the others were her sisters. Since meeting Miss Chadwick, he had heard more of these ladies. They were all known to be a little odd.

“We have to do something. We cannot let him build here.” She turned. “Perhaps we can block his access.”

“This is his land,” said the other girl. “We can hardly do that. And what do you intend to do it with?”

Stephen stumbled up behind them. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

Miss Chadwick whirled at the sound of the voice and Guy was forced to step into the small clearing. “Miss Chadwick,” he greeted. Roo dashed through in a blur of fur, running in and out of everyone’s legs before settling down on a grassy patch to roll and rub himself against it.

Miss Chadwick’s gaze turned from the dog to him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, as your”—he motioned to one of the other girls—”sister pointed out, this is my land.” He smiled at the other redheaded ladies. They were similar in looks and build as Miss Chadwick, though neither wore spectacles or had that charming lock of hair that always swept over their forehead. “I assume you are her sister?”

A little color rose in the slightly taller one’s cheeks. “I am. Miss Emma Chadwick at your service. And this is Miss Catherine.”

The other sister, who was the youngest, he presumed, gave him a long look up and down, her eyes narrowed. Finally, she nodded to him. “A pleasure.”

“May I introduce Lord Radcliff, the Earl of Whitehurst, and my brother, Stephen.”

Stephen gave a mild grunt of acknowledgement. Foolish lad was probably uninterested by redheaded, slim ladies. He was too easily swayed by a little bosom and the flick of brunette hair. Guy could not claim to feel the same. Miss Chadwick was far more interesting than any heavy bosomed, dark-haired lady.

“I should probably ask what it is you are doing on my land, but I imagine it is something to do with otters as per usual.”

“Otters?” Morgan asked.

“Yes,” piped up Miss Chadwick. “Otters fish here and their burrows are not far from the river’s edge.”

“I see.” Morgan gave Guy a bemused look.

“A mill built here would be quite devastating to them.” Miss Chadwick looked directly at Guy.

“Who said anything about a mill?” Guy asked, struggling to keep a look of innocence on his face.

It did not surprise him that news of his plans were already swirling about the village. His arrival here had brought plenty of gossip, as would any duke, but the sort of change he was going to bring to the place was bound to be talked of.

“You deny you are planning to build a mill here?” Miss Chadwick challenged.

“I do not discuss my business affairs with women.” This earned Guy a sour look from every woman in the vicinity.

“Even if it means your business affairs are going to impact the environment?” She took several steps closer to him and squared her shoulders.

He could not help but grin. In another time, she might have been a warrior woman, ready with her shield and sword. Though slender, there was strength in her. Enough to bring many a man to his knees.

Not him, however. Not unless it were for pleasurable reasons, at least.

“Does it amuse you, my lord, that you are going to tear apart the otters’ home? I should imagine many a tree will be felled too. Trees that have been here for hundreds of years. That makes you smile, does it not?”

“It is not the trees nor the otters that make me smile.”

“Then it is I who makes you smile, is that it? That a woman should take an interest in such things amuses you?”

“Perhaps.”

Her eyes flared. His amusement came more from her fire than anything. Her passion for nature was admirable really. He could not quite understand it but it was more interesting than embroidery or playing the piano or reciting Latin, as many ladies were want to do. That Miss Chadwick found such a rare hobby interesting made her all the more intriguing.

“I will not let you harm the otters. Nor will I let you build a mill here,” Miss Chadwick told him firmly.

“The mill will bring work and wealth to the area,” Morgan put in. “We can move the otters elsewhere.”

“There are other ways to bring work and wealth. Ways that will not harm animals and nature. I would have thought you were a smart man, Lord Weston. Surely you can think of some other way to make as much money as your greedy heart needs?”

Her sisters gasped. Morgan chuckled. Even Stephen looked amused. Roo lifted his head briefly then laid down on the grass, ignoring them all.

He pressed a hand to the heart in question. “Ouch, Miss Chadwick. Whatever have I done to give you such a poor opinion of me?”

“You know full well what you have done.”

Guy shook his head. “Indeed I do not.”

Though he could guess. Their first encounter had not been perfect and he had riled her from the beginning. It would be whatever gossip surrounding him that had solidified her impression of him. He supposed he should do something to change her mind but he could not help himself, baiting her was all too amusing.

“You propose to be innocent then, of any wrongdoing?” She folded her arms across her chest. “You do not, for example, fight in bars or gamble, I suppose?”

“Ah.” Guy swung a look at Stephen.

“Ah?” Miss Chadwick asked.

“I see now, that is all.”

Apparently talk of his fight at the inn when protecting Stephen had made the rounds. It had likely been embellished tenfold. Still, at least Miss Chadwick was not swooning at his feet as women tended to do. Once one added duke on top of his looks, it was hard to keep them at bay. If Miss Chadwick had anything to do with it, she’d send him off to the deepest wildernesses of India by his reckoning.

“So are you willing to consider building elsewhere?” she asked, her tone hopeful.

“No.”

Her stance softened slightly, an aura of defeat about her. Miss Chadwick drew in a breath and looked about her. Her shoulders stiffened once more.

“I will fight you on this,” she vowed. “My sisters and I will not let this happen.”

The other girls swung their gazes about uncertainly. Miss Catherine finally nodded. “Um, yes, of course.” She nudged Emma with an elbow.

Miss Emma’s head snapped up. “Yes, yes, of course. We will…” She frowned. “What are we doing, Catherine?” she hissed.

“Fighting these men,” Catherine murmured.

Guy wrestled to keep his smile from expanding. He had already seen Catherine raise her fists at him once. The thought of these three young women trying to take them all on was quite the image.

“Now?” Emma asked.

Miss Chadwick turned and came back to her sister’s side. “No, not like that,” she said quietly. “But we are going to stop you from building. I promise you that.”

Guy shook his head. “I really wish you would not. You won’t win, you know.”

Miss Chadwick looked at him, her eyes full of determination. “I will. You will not build this mill here and you will not harm those otters. I will make sure of it.”

The look in her eyes left him in no doubt she would go to whatever lengths she could to save those otters.