A Lord for Olivia by June Calvin Page A

double their wages.”
    â€œDouble? Now who would pay that?”
    Olivia looked away briefly. “Everyone around Flintridge has an abundant harvest this year. Laborers may name their price.”
    â€œThen pay them more.”
    â€œMost of them prefer to work for a man when they can.”
    Jason shook his head, baffled. “Then we shall simply purchase hay.”
    â€œIf you had attended more to estate matters, you would understand how dearly that would cost us. The estate must be self-sufficient insofar as possible, if there is to be any profit in what we sell. Without our hay, we will have to sell off much of our livestock, thus ruining my breeding program, not to mention your stud.”
    â€œThen all the more reason you need me, Miss Ormhill,” Edmund insisted.
    Olivia laughed softly at his naiveté. “You might master ascythe, Lord Edmund, if you did not cut off your leg first, and to pitch hay up to a wagon . . .”
    â€œUnconscionable,” Lavinia objected. “One cannot allow a gentleman to work in such a way.”
    Olivia continued without responding to her, “But one man’s labor will not solve my problem. I have many fields left to cut, and hay lying on the ground. I need an experienced crew to load and unload the hay wains as quickly as possible and make up the hay cocks, for such a harvest as this year’s will spill over our barns, I am sure.”
    â€œAnyone could load a hay wain,” Jason yelped. “What a piece of work you are making of this. It is just a matter of stacking it up as high as possible, after all!”
    Olivia turned back to him, a challenging light in her eyes. “Then you accept Lord Edmund’s proposition to substitute a year of his labor instead of this marriage scheme?”
    Jason frowned. “No, I do not! I only meant you can hire any strong man to bring in the hay. It would be unseemly to put Lord Edmund to work in our fields. He is a gentleman.” Jason almost shouted, “And your future bridegroom.”
    Olivia shook her head. “You’ll vex me about this scheme forever, won’t you.” Her aunt’s warning, combined with her brother’s attempt to force Lord Edmund into a duel, made ending the impasse between her and Jason imperative. She put one finger to her lips and tapped them, thinking. “I know. You are so fond of wagers, perhaps you will enter one with me?”
    â€œWhat sort of wager?” Jason asked suspiciously.
    â€œVery simple. As you seem to believe anyone can load a hay wain, I propose that the two of you each load one. If you both, working separately, can load your wagon to the usual height, and have the hay remain on it until it reaches the storage barn, I will marry Lord Edmund. If you cannot, you consider yourself released from your pledge to my father. Also you will restore Lord Edmund’s property to him, plus what he had won from you before you began to drink heavily, and let him go on his way.”
    Jason’s eyes lit with triumph. “Done! By Jove, you shall have a husband by this time tomorrow!” Jason grabbed herin his arms and swung her about exuberantly. “Did you hear, Aunt Lavinia? Olivia has at last been caught!”
    â€œI suppose,” Lavinia said doubtfully.
    â€œYou agree to these terms?” Olivia asked Edmund as soon as she could free herself from her brother’s embrace. “Understand, I do not refer to merely loading the wagons up to the top of the sideboards. We would be forever at the job, and be overtaken by the rains, if we transported our hay at that pace. A properly loaded hay wain is almost a full story high.”
    â€œI understand, and accept most gladly, Miss Ormhill. I have only one question: what if one of us succeeds in loading the hay wain and the other does not?”
    Her brows arrowed together. “I hadn’t thought—”
    â€œThen allow me to propose a slight