Rebel Enchantress by Leigh Greenwood Page A

the rooms on the third floor would be suitable,” Nathan said. Delilah could see the tension in his jaw as he spoke.
    “You mean to house a common servant under the same roof as your own family!” It was not a question. It was a screech of disbelief.
    “It’s only a temporary situation. She will return to her brother’s home as soon as the debt is repaid.”
    “It would be better if you had taken his oxen.”
    “I have assured Reuben Stowbridge and his wife that his sister will be safe while she is here. I can only do that by keeping her under my own roof. Don’t you agree?”
    “No, I don’t,” Serena snapped. “And to think you’re forcing this wretched girl on me the very day my beloved brother was laid in his grave. You have no consideration for my feelings, Nathan Trent, and no respect for your uncle’s memory.”
    Delilah felt a twinge of sympathy as Serena dabbed ineffectually at her eyes.
    “I’m not as gullible as your friends, so you can put away that handkerchief and stop pretending an affection you never felt,” Nathan said with brutal frankness. “After what you said when you heard the conditions of his will, I’m surprised you didn’t shovel the dirt over him yourself.”
    “I would have if it would have changed anything,” Serena said, dropping all pretense. “Ezra was hard and cruel. I don’t suppose you’ll be any different.”
    “That will depend on your attitude toward me,” Nathan stated. “Miss Stowbridge would like to know her duties.”
    Serena directed a hate-filled glare at Nathan before turning her cold gaze on Delilah. “You can help Lester clean up, keep the rooms dusted, lay the fires, and empty the grates. You ought to have some experience in that, even in a farmhouse.”
    “Is that agreeable?” Nathan asked.
    Delilah nodded her head. She recognized deep-seated enmity in Serena Noyes’s eyes, but she also saw fear. What hold could Nathan have over this embittered woman?
    “Your uncle would never have settled for a servant girl in exchange for his money,” Serena hissed, a look of scorn and triumph mingling in her eyes. “He’d have taken the oxen, the plow, and the farm if necessary, but he’d have had his money. That’s how he built Maple Hill.” She pointed an accusing finger at Delilah, a look of loathing on her distorted features. “She’s how you’re going to lose it.”
    “I don’t intend to lose my inheritance,” Nathan said.
    Delilah could see him struggle to hold back the words balanced on the tip of his tongue.
    “You’re just like your father,” Serena almost screamed. “There’s no Buel in you. You’re all Trent, soft and weak. If Ezra had left Maple Hill to me, I’d have thrown the wretches out months ago.”
    “Even Uncle Ezra believed in giving people a chance,” Nathan said, dismissing the subject. “Now I think you ought to show Miss Stowbridge to her room.”
    “Put her where you want. I’ll have nothing to do with it.” Serena Noyes turned and stalked away.
    Nathan forced himself to breathe deeply and slowly. He wanted to get out of the house before the wave of exasperation, which had been building inside him all day, swept away the last of his self-control. But after his aunt’s disgraceful display of hostility, he couldn’t leave Delilah without some explanation. He weighed his words carefully.
    “Aunt Serena expected to inherit Maple Hill. She hates me so much she can hardly stand to set eyes-on me.”
    “Then why doesn’t she leave?” Delilah asked. They had started to climb the ornate staircase situated midway in the hall.
    “Uncle Ezra left me everything, even the linen and china. I’m to provide a home for her until her daughter marries.”
    “Can’t you give her an allowance and let her live somewhere else?” Delilah knew this was none of her business, but she couldn’t imagine Nathan sharing a roof, even one as large as Maple Hill, with such a shrew.
    “Another of Uncle Ezra’s conditions prohibits