“Who wouldn’t want to be accepted by the ton, invited everywhere?”
“Me. I like to see my friends, though I have few of those left. But the social whirl bores me. And I expect Holly doesn’t like it much either.”
“But that’s the point of all this work, this wealth, to give you a better life.”
“Is this better? And you continue to pursue wealth when we have enough, more than enough. Why?”
“Because it’s so easy. Once you have capital, making more money is a matter of giving orders.”
“But what is the real cost?’’ She let her hand drop. “You look confused.”
“I treat everyone fairly.”
“Everyone who works for you. But what about the people who support your industry, the boys who sort the coal, the miners who die in flooded mines?” She ended with her hands clenched together in front of her as though she had prepared this speech and was only waiting to give it.
“I can’t control all that.”
“But you can do something. You can buy a mine and run it well. Show the world what can be done if you care.”
“All that takes time. Fredrick and I are working on a project that will help even more. No more being kicked by horses when a steam engine can move fleeces and coal and a thousand other things.”
“I understand that and I understand your ambition. I don’t admire your personal goal.”
“I want to make your life better.”
“And I want you to make everyone’s life better in so far as possible.”
“So this conversation is about your charitable works? I said you can spend your whole allowance on the poor and I will give you more.”
“I do—and you do—but I can only help educate and feed them. You can actually change their lives.” She stroked his cheek and made him want to do as she wished.
“But what do you want for yourself?”
“To see you and Holly married to people you love, not ones who will raise your social status. I want you both to be happy.”
“I’m happy.”
“You think you are but even you must see that your sister is not.”
“Short of a fortune hunter, she may marry anyone who pleases you.”
His mother tilted her head and smiled. “Good. I shall hold you to that promise.”
“Does she actually have someone in mind?”
“How like you not to be able to see. That’s all, Spencer. I will give Holly the good news.”
He left the room thinking he had never been so summarily dismissed in his life. It was as though his mother had called for him and now, the lesson over, she was sending him away. He wondered how she had been patient with him so long.
* * * * *
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Holly asked.
Roxanne craned her neck to look up at the sign that hung over the sidewalk on Grey’s Inn Road and almost strained it when Holly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the path of a team and wagon. They pushed the door open, ringing the bell over the entry.
“This is the business of Fenster and Son, Solicitors. We’ll just go up and see. You may wait in the carriage if you wish, Holly.”
“Abandon you now? Certainly not.”
When they reached the landing, a dour clerk in a rumpled suit scowled at them over a ledger. “Wot do you want?” he asked, emitting a strong scent of garlic and onions from his lunch.
“I want to see Mister Fenster, my father’s solicitor.”
“The elder or the younger?”
“It must have been the elder.”
“He’s dead.”
“Then I’ll see the younger.”
“No, you won’t. He’s in court.”
“When will he be back?”
“’Ow should I know?”
Roxanne blew out an impatient breath. “May I make an appointment for tomorrow?”
“He takes appointments on Wednesdays.”
“The day after tomorrow. Very well, what time?”
“Between one and two.”
“I shall come back at one on Wednesday then.”
“There’ll be a line.”
“Put my name down. Miss Roxanne Whitcomb.”
She thought the name made the clerk curl his eyebrows as though her reputation had preceded her. But that was probably just her imagination. What could this law clerk know about her?
“Well, he was less than helpful,” Holly said as they were handed back into the carriage and she brushed some dust off the hem of her dress.
“I think we need reinforcements,” Roxanne said as the carriage moved forward.
“Would Fredrick come?”
“No, I mentioned it to him and he shrugged it off. He’s too busy with his work.”
“What about Spencer?”
“Even worse. He thinks I’m deranged.”
“That leaves Captain Harding and Sir John.”
“I don’t want to involve Sir John and Harding’s so busy.”
“Let me ask him. After all, he will be sailing back to Exeter soon and we won’t see him again.”
“You sound as forlorn as Harding. Can you believe Tanner doesn’t realize Harding is in love with you?”
“No, or he wouldn’t let him run free in the house. I’m sure he thinks Harding hasn’t the gumption to ask for my hand.”
“And does he?”
“Oh, I hope so.”
* * * * *
Tanner was still brooding in his study when his butler, with an impassive face, announced Captain Lucius Vance. Tanner didn’t read faces all that well but for Thorton, impassive translated to disapproving.
After a moment’s thought, Tanner decided to make Vance come to him rather than to join him in the drawing room. “Show him in here.”
Was that because he felt more in control in his study or because he did not think Vance rated the drawing room? He could not say but he did rise to shake his hand and indicate a chair on the other side of his impressive desk.
“I hope I do not interrupt your work.” Vance glanced at the stacks of letters on Tanner’s desk.
Tanner took a moment to decide if that was a gibe or not. Probably, but he did work and would not be embarrassed by that. “Correspondence can always wait. May I offer you some brandy or sherry?”
“Thank you but I can stay only a moment.” Vance sighed and crossed his legs.
“And your errand?” Tanner prompted.
“Well you may wonder, for I hesitate to carry gossip even when there does seem to be a pressing need to inform you of certain matters.”
“And I hesitate to listen to gossip at any time, so are we at an impasse already?”
“Reluctantly, I must overcome my distaste and warn you of some danger to your sister’s reputation.”
Tanner sat up straight. “Indeed. What is the nature of the danger?”
“She is often in the company of my ward, Roxanne Whitcomb.”
“I am well aware of it.” He was also aware of how much Rox hated Vance.
“And by your tone, I take it you don’t approve.”
“Of course I approve the friendship. Miss Whitcomb has done nothing to gain my censure.” Tanner expected a diatribe on the park incident.
“The gossip about her father hangs over her like a dark cloud.”
Tanner stared at Vance, whose eyes did not meet his except for an occasional glance. Vance was assessing the effect of everything he said to Tanner.
“A cloud called to mind by your return to London at the worst possible time.”
“I agree. I counseled her mother to wait, to miss Roxanne’s come out because it might cost her dear, but she would not listen. My regard for my wife is such that I bowed to her wishes even though I did not agree.” Vance opened his hands as though he had been helpless in the matter.
“So it was her idea to come?”
“I had to make an appearance to deal with the legal matter of handing over the remnants of Fredrick’s estate to him, but I w
ould have kept out of the public eye for that. Now I hear the sad tale of her father’s suicide on every corner.”
“Perhaps a slight exaggeration. But what has all this to do with Holly?”
“Roxanne turned down the only sure suitor for her hand that I could think of, my cousin Ian Stone. In fact, she incited an incident between Stone and you at Vauxhall Gardens.”
“I incited the incident. Miss Whitcomb had nothing to do with it.”
“Be that as it may, I expected her to have to wait for marriage until the gossip died down again. I even speculated taking her back to Paris with us, hoping some foreign connection would not mind or not have heard—”
“I understand what you mean. I’m still waiting to hear how Holly comes into it.”
“Merely by association with Roxanne and the man she is about to make a misalliance with.”
“Captain Harding? I assure you, Miss Whitcomb has no interest in Harding. Besides, they were acquainted before she came to London. If there were anything between them, he would have acted on it before.”
“I may have seen this Captain Harding you speak of but I know nothing against him. It is Sir John Marbrey that I fear she will marry.”
“Fear? But he is well-respected, a paragon among the ton. I have never heard a word against him. So if you have some sordid—”
Vane waved his fingers languidly. “Nothing like that. Sir John’s misfortunes, alas, are not of his own making. His son is a gamester and you can well guess where that has led. The daughter-in-law has so far managed to hide the damage what her husband’s proclivities have caused. Sir John is done up and all that has be mortgaged will be lost. He’ll be left only with his entailed country house and nothing to maintain it.”
Tanner rose and strode to the window, seeking the right questions to ask. “How can you suddenly come into this knowledge when you have been abroad for two years?”
“When it became clear that my ward had a preference for Sir John, I made inquiries and was shocked at what I found out.”
Tanner swung around and stared at him. “Then tell her this yourself.”
Another big sigh. “There’s the problem. Miss Whitcomb, in her grief over her father and her lost fortune, has decided to blame me for every evil that has befallen her. I don’t care what she says of me. I have no stake in the ton and prefer to live abroad anyway. Once my obligations to my dead friend are fulfilled, Miss Whitcomb may marry as she chooses, for good or ill, but I do not wish her to attempt such a misalliance on my watch, so to speak.”
“She cannot marry without your permission, so don’t give it.”
Vance nodded. “She cannot legally marry without it and that puts me on the horns of a dilemma. Do I give it and have her marry a pauper or withhold it and risk a scandalous elopement?”
Tanner folded his arms and stared, hoping to get Vance to make eye contact at least once. “So you want me to tell her.”
“Would you? Coming from me, the news would either be thrown back in my face or she would run headlong into marriage just to thwart me.”
“What makes you think she would marry Sir John if she knew?”
Vance looked thoughtful for a moment, as though composing a speech. “You have some brief acquaintance with my ward. You know she is self-sacrificing. If she has a flaw it is that she is too noble. If she thought Sir John was ruined, she might just decide to marry him anyway and share her small portion with him.”
Tanner had to admit in his own mind that this reading of Rox’s character was accurate.
“What matters if the news comes from you or me if you think she will try to rescue him anyway?” He sat on the window ledge and waited.
“I think she would not hate you for delivering such news. She might actually listen to your good counsel where she would never heed mine.”
Tanner recognized the truth of that statement but had the strange feeling the truth was being subverted and used against him in this case. “You ask me to play a villain to both Miss Whitcomb and Sir John.”
“I ask you to save her from her better nature. And there is the matter of your sister’s reputation. The news of Sir John’s ruin will seep out over the next few weeks and my ward will once again be the focus of gossip among the ton. Every place your sister goes with her, she will also share this unfortunate notoriety. If you won’t do this to save Roxanne, do it for your sister.” Vance ran a hand over his brow as though he was out of argument.
“I will consider what you have said.” Tanner stood up to signal the interview was over but knew better than to promise Vance anything.
“That is all I ask.” Vance, too, rose. “I know I said I could stay only a minute but I realize I have taken much of your time. Be aware that I regard you in esteem. Your foundry and others like it were instrumental in the victory in the recent war. Even though I did not take part in the last battle, I value those who made our success possible. If you were to consider marriage to my ward, I would be receptive to your request. I simply do not wish to see her make a misalliance and be in want again.”
Vance turned and walked toward the door. Tanner stared at him but could find no flaw in his speech, though it went counter to what he would have expected from Vance. Had the man just offered Rox up as a sacrifice to get his way in this?
“I will remember what you have said and I will speak to Miss Whitcomb. I trust that you will hold this interview and what you know of Sir John’s situation in confidence.”
Vance turned with his hand on the doorknob. “You have my word on it but the tradesmen and the servants know, so the rest of the world will not be far behind them. Please act today.”
Tanner walked toward him. “Sir John is an honorable man. Once he knows, he will not contemplate marriage.”
Vance’s brow wrinkled with worry. “But if they are betrothed when he finds out, will Miss Whitcomb follow her heart or her head? I think you know the answer to that.” Vance shook his head again and left.
Tanner blew out a long sigh. He felt he’d been asked to be the firing squad for an innocent man. He passed the interview back through his head and could not see anything that Vance was doing wrong. And yet he had the feeling he was being used.
Of course he was being used to deliver the blow that Vance did not want to, but was it for good or ill? He could only talk to Rox and let her decide what to do. The biggest surprise was Vance’s ready consent to the notion of a match between him and Roxanne. That felt like a trap in some way he had not figured out yet. Was it a lie? Would Vance later withhold his permission once Sir John was no longer a contender or did Vance see some advantage to having Rox married to a very wealthy man?
Tanner found himself reluctant to think of Vance even as a distant relation. If Tanner and Rox married and the man ran aground, wouldn’t he be compelled to rescue him for the sake of Rox’s mother? In the end, Tanner wasn’t so disturbed about how much Vance knew regarding Sir John’s affairs but how much he had clearly studied Tanner’s business.
He found himself wishing for counsel and there was none. If Rox had overheard this interview, she would put the proper spin on things. So the only way to figure out what she thought was to deliver this unwelcome news to her. But he decided he would have to withhold the bit about Vance being willing to sacrifice Rox to him. That would only hurt her.
* * * * *
As soon as Roxanne returned Holly home from their morning of shopping, Tanner rode his chestnut hack toward Manchester Square and left it with a groom in the stable. Early in the day, he’d sent a note round asking if Rox would like to ride and found a reply on his return with an emphatic yes.
He let the knocker fall, hoping he could be more vocal on horseback than in the drawing room or that Rox would have forgotten her bizarre fears of yesterday. He now had two things to say that he would rather not be distracted from.
He was shown into the drawing room where both ladies were present.
“This is the first time you have called since the dinner,” Agatha c
hided.
“I’ve been busy with Fredrick’s designs. He’s amazingly talented.”
“So have I been busy,” Rox said. “But a ride in such weather is not to be missed. Who knows when the rains will keep us indoors?”
Agatha rose and said something about having tea ready for them when they returned. Rox led the way downstairs and to the back door, where her mare was now saddled and waiting as well. His chestnut touched noses with Mist and pawed the ground in his eagerness to be off.
Suddenly Rox blushed and Tanner realized she might have the notion he was going to propose again. He had done nothing as a preamble to that suspicion. What sort of idiot would attempt it on horseback anyway? She had no reason to think, after their last encounter, that he thought better of her, yet he could see that her hope stirred. Perhaps he should have offered to take her driving instead. He helped her mount and she let him.
As they walked the horses sedately into the street, he said, “First of all, I want to apologize for my interference in your… For my criticism of your riding.”
“You were sorely provoked and one of the more charming things about you is that you are not cool but do lose your temper when annoyed.”
“Charming? Now you are flattering me.”
“You make me feel less guilty about losing my temper. So that was the first ‘of all’. Is there a second item on your agenda?”
“It pains me to admit this, and I have seldom had to say such a thing to anyone before, but you were right.”
She looked puzzled now rather than flustered and she was trying to smile at his backhanded compliment. “I was? About what?”
“Sir John. It would be unwise to accept a proposal from him.”
“But he has not proposed.”
“He hinted that he would.” He watched her glance back and forth between him and her mare, a strain for her since he sat somewhat higher in the saddle. Then he realized he was blocking her view of the street and he should stop distracting her until they made it safely across.
Once they passed through the park gate and set the horses on the bridle path, she said, “But he hasn’t. Why are you warning me away from him?”
“It’s all a show. He owes more than he can ever pay and his affairs are in the hands of his son and daughter-in-law.”
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