Love Engineered by Jenna Dawlish Page A

serious question, yet she noticed he wore a small smile. She tried to ignore how much she liked him sitting so near.
    “Well,” she said seriously. “The latest dispute was immediately before I came to London a week or so ago. It was between two farmers. They are brothers and they both purchased six rare breed cows; each paid half of the amount to buy the animals. One of the brothers cared for the animals whilst the other refused to help. Eventually after much protest and threats, the first brother sold the animals because he grew tired of caring for them alone. The second brother, upon hearing of the sale, demanded half of the money. But he wouldn't pay him.”
    “And what happened?” asked Jane, who by now was listening intently to their conversation.
    “The first brother said he'd never pay him half of the money because he didn't deserve it after all of the work he put into the animals. The animals were sold for much more than the brothers had originally paid. Eventually, a few weeks later, they asked me to resolve the issue.”
    “How exactly?” Charles asked.
    “I spoke to both of them on their own, and heard their cases. Then, after thought and prayer for guidance and wisdom, I gave them my opinion.”
    “Which was?”
    “That the first should pay the second a third of the money he got for the sale of the cows.”
    “A wise decision,” Jane commented.
    “A fair judgment,” Edward agreed.
    Charles said nothing for a few seconds, his eyes full of amusement. “It must be nice for you to get away from such petty matters when you're in London,” he said eventually. She had hoped he would express his opinion of her judgment. But he was frustratingly silent on that matter.
    “I do not find them petty.” She shook her head and spoke in an earnest tone. “They are very important events in my tenants' lives. The two farmers I spoke of have little land, they are elderly and the cows they bought were a huge investment for them. No, I wouldn't call that petty.”
    He stared at her for a few moments. “Perhaps you are right. I wouldn't wish to upset you, as a guest in my house or a friend of Jane's.”
    He took a sip of his tea and stood up as though to go and sit with Jane, but Louise stopped him, saying, “Mr Lucas, do you not have disputes amongst your workers? You must have had some?”
    “Yes. And I see what you're going to argue. You're about to compare my work to yours, and tell me that we're just the same, that we must deal with similar issues.”
    “But surely we both have the authority to resolve such things, and I would never dare say that any aspect of ship building, or bridge construction, or anything else is petty. The whole item cannot be built without extreme care to the details. In the same way, farming cannot be run without care to each detail, however petty it seems or however small the herd.” She spoke the last words in a soft, gentle tone. If it were anyone else but him she would have put them in their place. But there was something alluring about arguing with him. She bore him no malice for having spoken what he thought. In fact, she would say anything, have any conversation with Charles Lucas, famous engineer, whatever the subject matter. But most of all she knew that he couldn't have any idea of the complexities of running an estate as large as Glazebrook, any more than she knew how to build a bridge across the Tamar.
    He didn't reply, and withdrew to the fireplace to gather his thoughts. If the truth be known, to put as much space between himself and her. An engineer and a landowner; there couldn't be a greater difference. Perhaps he was biased. Of course he was. He knew he should not allow his previous dislike and experience of landowners to prejudice him, but he couldn't help it. He looked back at her – there was something about her that made him want to talk to her, made him want to believe she was different. He shook himself. What was he afraid of? That he might be attracted to