The Rich Man's Bride

‘Plus the inheritance you thought I lusted after,’ she reminded him tartly. ‘Did you really believe I was after Dominic—of all people—for his money?’

Ryder shrugged. ‘No point in lying. Until you put me right on the subject, I admit that I did, briefly. I couldn’t see what the attraction was otherwise in someone you’d known as a baby.’

‘At least you’re honest! Didn’t your aunt leave you anything?’

‘Aunt Augusta said I made too much money of my own to need hers. And she didn’t leave Eddy anything because he was the heir to the estate, so Dominic got the lot.’

Anna eyed him searchingly. ‘Do you hanker after your old life, Ryder?’

He shook his head. ‘Oddly enough, no. I enjoyed the cut and thrust of it at the time, not to mention the money that bought the smart flat and the sexy cars. But secretly I always envied Eddy. I would have exchanged it all in a flash to be in his shoes, running this place.’ Ryder smiled bitterly. ‘Then suddenly I was doing just that, in the last way I would have chosen. So, Anna Morton, the moral is to be careful what you wish for in case it’s granted.’

‘Amen to that,’ she said soberly as they went downstairs.

‘Mr Ryder won’t use the dining room these days,’ Mrs Carter apologised as Ryder seated Anna at a small table in the morning room.

‘This is much cosier,’ Anna assured her.

‘And much nearer the kitchen,’ added Ryder.

They ate perfectly grilled trout with lemon, served with small buttered potatoes and a green salad. Mrs Carter eyed Anna’s empty plate with approval when she arrived with their pudding. ‘Mr Ryder tells me you’ve had pneumonia, of all things, a young girl like you, Anna, so you need plenty of good food inside you to make sure you get over it properly. I’ve put cheese on the side table so I’ll just take these plates and leave you in peace.’

‘Thank you for a delicious meal,’ said Anna warmly. ‘This tart looks wonderful.’

‘I froze the raspberries myself in the summer, dear, so you enjoy a nice big slice with some cream.’ Mrs Carter smiled, pleased, as she bore her tray out of the room.

‘You heard what Martha said,’ commented Ryder as he served Anna. ‘You need to eat.’

‘Not hard to do when food like this is put in front of me.’ She helped herself to cream.

‘I hope you appreciate the eco-friendly menu. The potatoes and raspberries are home-grown and I caught the trout myself last season. That’s a very odd look you’re giving me,’ he added.

‘I was just wondering—but it’s none of my business,’ she added hastily. ‘Let’s talk about something else.’

He looked down his nose at her. ‘Are you wondering, by any chance, if the double death duties left me so stony broke I can’t afford to serve a decent meal?’

‘No, of course not.’ She bit her lip, flushing, wishing now she’d stayed at the cottage, broken window or not.

‘The simplicity of the menu,’ he said very deliberately, ‘is not due to lack of funds, Anna. It’s the kind of food we often eat. If I’d known it would worry you, I would have asked Martha to serve lobster and tournedos Rossini.’

Anna put down her fork without tasting the tart. ‘Perhaps I should have had supper in my room after all. You know perfectly well I wasn’t criticising the menu. And your funds, lack of them or otherwise, don’t interest me in the slightest—Squire.’

Ryder looked at her in silence for a moment. ‘I apologise for the cheap crack, Anna. Please eat the tart or Martha will be upset.’

‘I wouldn’t upset Mrs Carter for the world,’ said Anna pointedly and picked up her fork again.

‘Point taken,’ said Ryder. ‘But, just to put the record straight, I’m in a better position than some men who inherit this kind of place, due to the money I’d earned—and invested—in my banking days.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s good to have it as a cushion, I admit, but even without it I’m not destitute. I’m running the estate with the money left after the debts were settled, though I’m doing it rather differently from Eddy.’

‘In what way?’

‘By seeking new sources of revenue. When your grandfather retired, Eddy was all for selling off the shoots Hector used to organise, but there’s good money to be made in that area, so once I’ve hired a new gamekeeper I shall reinstate them. The facilities for catering are still in the barns and that kind of thing is pretty popular with jaded businessmen at weekends. I’ve also been approached by a television company to use the house as the setting for a period drama. Eddy would have hated that, but I jumped at the chance of more revenue for the estate.’

Anna nodded. ‘Sounds like a good move. By the way, did you show my grandfather how to play the market?’

‘Guilty as charged,’ he admitted. ‘Not that he needed much teaching. He was a natural.’

‘Do you still do that kind of thing yourself, Ryder?’

‘Sometimes, when it’s a cast-iron certainty.’ He smiled reminiscently. ‘I used to worry about Hector, but he’d just smile that slow smile of his and promise to be careful.’

‘Did he ever lose much money?’

‘To my knowledge he never lost a penny. A canny man, your grandfather.’

‘That he was. You know he left me the cottage?’

Ryder nodded. ‘He told me when he started the renovations.’

‘He left the equivalent in money to Dad and Tom and they’re worried that I got the poor deal.’ Anna shrugged. ‘But I earn enough to cover the running costs of the cottage. I’m a provident sort of female. And, contrary to some people’s belief,’ she added significantly, ‘money has never been my sole interest.’

‘Rubbing salt in my wound, Anna?’

‘Hard as I can!’ She smiled a little. ‘Though I shouldn’t when you’re being so kind, Ryder.’

‘The least I could do in the circumstances,’ he said, shrugging, and got up. ‘Martha will have coffee ready by now, so I’ll save her a journey.’

Anna felt a sense of intrusion as she took a good look round the pretty, comfortable room she’d never been in before. The kitchen had been the only territory familiar to her in the old days. Ryder had often taken the young Mortons in there for cake and drinks at the kitchen table, with Dominic delighted to be part of the group while his nanny enjoyed a cup of tea with Mrs Carter. She sighed. It all seemed so long ago, like something in another life.

‘What are you thinking about?’ asked Ryder, when he came back with a tray.

‘I was wallowing in nostalgia. It’s funny that Dominic, the youngest, will be the first of us to get married, after all.’

‘True. And I’m afraid this is tea, not coffee,’ added Ryder. ‘Martha thought it would be better for you after your shock.’

‘She’s absolutely right,’ said Anna gratefully. ‘I’d love some tea, if you’ll pour it.’

‘You feel shaky?’

‘Not in the least. I’m just afraid to touch that teapot. I saw one just like it valued at a frighteningly high price on one of the antiques programmes the other day.’

‘Really?’ Ryder eyed the pot with new respect. ‘We don’t use it normally. Martha obviously thought you merited the best china.’

‘I’m honoured!’

‘Hannah was the last one to merit the honour. Martha took to her in a big way.’

‘I suppose Dominic’s getting married in New York?’

‘Yes. Though when he brought Hannah on a visit to show her the ancestral home she was so taken with the Manor she was all for having the wedding in the village church with a reception right here at the house. But her parents, naturally enough, wanted her to be married from her own home.’ Ryder eyed her speculatively. ‘Talking of weddings, why aren’t you married yet, Anna?’