“But why then would they not discourage him from pursuing a penniless debutante? Moreover, why would he give me an expensive mare?”
“I don’t know. At least you found out in time.”
“That may be just gossip. We should not jump to conclusions.”
“The way you did yesterday with much less evidence?” Oh no, why had he brought that up?
She glanced up at him, loosened her reins and gave the mare the signal to trot. “You just apologized for interfering in my life yet you seem to be at it again.”
He felt himself grimacing. “Ironic, isn’t it?”
“The ironic part is that I begged you to help me find out about my own affairs and you refused. Yet you meddle in Sir John’s finances and perhaps will engender some unfavorable gossip for him by doing so.”
“I did not meddle. I was told this in confidence.”
A frown marred her brow. “By whom?”
“By your guardian Vance, who requested I drop a word in your ear. He did not think you would listen to him.”
“A poisoned word.” Her agitation communicated itself to the mare and if not for Rox’s firm hand on the reins, the horse would have bolted into a gallop again. “And you said what?” she asked.
“That he should tell you himself.”
“Very well, you are acquitted of meddling, but I would not have believed him. Why did you?” She spun away from him onto a cross path and for a moment he thought she was going to let the restless mare have her head, but Rox kept her to a steady trot.
“Why would he lie?”
“Knowing Vance only slightly, I can’t imagine, but he does have a reason for everything. This is absurd. Sir John has unlimited resources, properties all over. He cannot be done up as you say.”
“Your father squandered his whole fortune without you being any the wiser. Is it out of the realm of possibility that Sir John’s son and daughter-in-law have beggared him without his knowing it?”
“But unlike me, he can get an audience with his solicitor and find out what’s going on. You would know if you were ruined.”
“But I’m an accountant.”
She stared at him and he wondered what she was thinking. “He actually called at your house? Why did he divulge this to you and no one else?”
“He appeared this morning before I went to the city. Vance told me for Holly’s sake as well.”
“Sir John has not been paying addresses to her.”
“You know that but you are frequently all in company. Vance thought it prudent to warn both of you.”
“Through you,” she mused.
“It’s my job to protect her from fortune hunters.”
Rox shook her head. “Which is why you are dangling her in front of them. She needs another year or she will do something desperate just to get out from under your overbearing ways.”
“I am not overbearing,” he shouted.
She turned her head and leveled a condemning gaze at him from under the brim of her forage cap. “Examine your conscience. I think you will find that I am right—at least about that.”
Roxanne had more to say to Tanner but he kept a bit ahead of her horse so that she would have had to shout to make herself heard over the creak of the leather saddles and the jingling of the bridles. If he wished to pout, so be it. She was not going to let him destroy her pleasure in this fine day.
Perhaps he would not ask her to ride again. That was a bleak thought but she could go with a groom, and certainly Sir John might take her again. She was half dreading to see Sir John today. Though she now had an answer for him, she almost hoped he would not ask the question.
Tanner maintained his silence until they returned home and since he knew how much she liked to argue, she thought he had done it just to punish her.
“I have done my duty,” he said as he helped her down from her mare. “Now you have to decide what you are going to do.”
“You have not given me enough information to make a decision.”
“I have warned you.” He mounted his horse again and left her in the stable yard.
Roxanne saw the curtain in the morning-room window move and looked up to see her aunt watching her. She went upstairs to discover tea had been laid.
“What did you say to Mr. Tanner?” Aunt Agatha asked.
“The truth.”
“Oh, well that explains it. I’m sure he’s no longer a possibility.”
“I’m not sure he ever was.” Tanner would never change. He would always assume he was right and she was wrong. His last bit of interference had tipped the scales but probably not as he expected.
“No new invitations in the post today. I really think that if Sir John offers for you, you should accept him.” Her aunt looked up at her to assess her reaction to this suggestion.
Roxanne took the cup her aunt handed her. The kindly woman seemed to be hanging on her unspoken words. At least Sir John was kind and honorable. He didn’t always listen to her either but he didn’t argue with her. “Yes, I shall make no impediment.”
“Really, you agree with me?”
“That’s not unprecedented.”
“It is lately.”
What had she just decided? Sir John did not argue with her, but wasn’t that one of the things she liked best about Tanner? That he argued?
Her throat almost closed so she took another sip of tea. “Is Fredrick home?”
“Mr. Fredrick just drove into the stable yard,” Greeves said.
“I must see him.”
“Sit and finish your tea first.”
Roxanne had small hope of convincing Fredrick to confront the solicitor before his birthday, but she had to try. It wasn’t just his fortune and future at stake. It could be his neck as well. Fredrick did not listen to her either. He cared about her but he too thought he was always right and shrugged off her fears.
Why had she chosen to fall in love with Tanner, who would be just as difficult a cross to bear as Fredrick? Perhaps love wasn’t a choice. It seemed to sneak up on her and plant itself in her heart deeper with every meeting with Tanner. Rooting out her love for him would be difficult but she must if she meant to retain her identity.
It was imperative someone take action to save her mother and Fredrick. How could Tanner be so impulsive in small matters like beating up Stone or strangling Dalrymple and not take action when her family was at stake?
He demanded proof. She wasn’t going to let the proof be her brother’s dead body. Someone had to listen to her. If not, she would protect them herself.
Chapter Eleven
Roxanne was staring at a coddled egg with disfavor the next morning. Though the bread was toasted perfectly and the tea well-made, she could not enjoy the smell or sight of food. Without a visit from Tanner to anticipate, the day had started out dull. Then she heard a carriage pull up to the front steps.
It was unprecedented for a gentleman to call before noon yet Sir John was waiting for them when they left the breakfast parlor. She took it from the dampness on his coat that it was raining. And she had been so abstracted she had not even noticed.
“May I have a word with Mr. Whitcomb?”
“You’ve missed him,” Agatha said. “He went out already.”
“Then Miss Whitcomb?”
“Certainly, Sir John. You may speak to her in the morning room.”
Roxanne preceded him into the room, wondering which tack she should take in replying to his proposal.
“You know why I am here.”
She turned to face him. “Yes, I do.”
“Will you accept me as your husband?”
“I admire and like you, sir.” She could see his face fall and followed his gaze to her hands, which she had clenched tightly in front of her.
“But you do not love me.”
“How you put words in my mouth. I do not love anyone that way. Perhaps I am not of a romantic nature.”
“Then you consider my proposal?” He came toward her and took one of her hand
s, forcing her to stop squeezing them together.
She hesitated then swallowed her pride. “Unfortunately, I am not free to follow my will in this. My guardian Lucius Vance informs me that he alone can make that decision for me.”
“I had thought your brother would be the man to apply to.”
“When Fredrick comes into his majority in a few days, I think he should be able to speak for me, but I do not know the terms of my father’s will.”
“Then I must apply to Vance?”
“I counsel you to wait.” She laid her free hand on the damp sleeve of his coat. “Vance has a wicked tongue and has been spreading rumors about the soundness of your finances.”
He turned an astounded gaze upon her.
“I apologize for conveying this gossip to you but felt you should know.”
“Then I may have to call him out after I ask for your hand.”
“I beg you not to do that. He is a hardened soldier and might kill you just for spite.”
“You forget, I used to be a soldier as well.” He patted her but Roxanne felt far from reassured.
Sir John left with a look of determination that almost seemed romantic. Roxanne began to feel like a character in a novel and she did not like it. Characters often simply had things happen to them and tried to make the best of bad situations. She had much rather take some action to prevent disaster.
But what? It wasn’t fair that women were so powerless. Even if they owned money, they could not do what they liked with it. Her own maid had more freedom than Roxanne did.
Aunt Agatha crept into the room. “Did he offer for you?”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes, trying to blot out Sir John’s determined gaze.
“Did you accept?”
“Yes.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“I asked him to wait a few days before making any announcement since Vance is still my guardian.”
“That seems prudent. You outrun my expectations.” Her aunt hugged her, making Roxanne feel even more powerless.
She should never have come to London. She’d enjoyed life more in Exeter, where she at least did useful work keeping house and growing vegetables. Probably the hired boy had not weeded the cabbages or beans and they would have nothing for fall.
“What’s the matter, dear? I know he is only a knight, and the daughter of a baron should have been able to look higher.”
“Baronet. Father was a baronet.”
“Don’t quibble. Considering the mischance of your mother’s appearance, I think we are lucky to get Sir John for you.”
Roxanne hated that she had played the Vance card on sweet Sir John and she also felt as though she had just sent a man to execution. Perhaps Tanner could intervene between Sir John and Vance but would he even listen to her after she had just chided him over interfering in her affairs? Could she dare to ask for his aid after what he had said to her? Rather, after what she had said to him. And why did they argue at almost every meeting?
He didn’t take her seriously, her fears and worries, so he made her feel belittled even though she was doing everything she could to solve her problems. She would like to be willing to rely on some strong hero. And she would love that hero to be Tanner instead of Sir John but she had turned down Tanner’s offer to slay all her dragons.
Since Fredrick was unresponsive, it looked as though she was going to have to make do with herself. She should at least apologize for her latest rant at Tanner. The mess of her life was not of his doing and should not be his concern.
He usually came in with Fredrick on the way back from the foundry. It was often late since they were working on the engine casting after the daily work was complete. Perhaps she could have a word with him then. To think, she had hoped he was going to propose to her again yesterday. Or had he been thinking of it and had she ruined it?
Clearly she was not a suitable wife if she drove him away, yet she couldn’t be that mercenary person she had thought she could. She had discovered she could not marry for money and now she realized she couldn’t marry just to gain protection. If she married Sir John, she would be the one defending him against interfering family.
She wrote another note to her mother and sent it round but she no longer expected a reply. She hated doing nothing, would much rather take action than wait, especially when she had nothing to wait for. She went over her problems but saw no solution to any of them. If she even had a plan, that would be something. But other than trying to sneak in to see her mother, there was nothing she could do. And Fredrick’s birthday was the day after tomorrow.
* * * * *
This was what Tanner loved, making his way home through the dark streets after a day’s work well done. It was a long walk across the bridge from Southwark clear to Mayfair but he could so seldom find a hackney in the neighborhood of his foundry at night. And it made no sense to keep a team standing about when he never knew how long he would be.
The rain had washed the air and made the city smell crisp, if not clean. When they got to his house, if Whitcomb decided to stop in, they could raid the kitchen and wine cellar.
He was focusing too much on cold beef, cheese and a Bordeaux when something crashed into his shoulder. Fredrick went down beside him, similarly accosted. Tanner grappled with his attacker, kicked him in the knee and wrested a cudgel away from him.
A stream of foreign invective startled him but he spun and flogged one of Fredrick’s assailants as hard as he could with the club, knocking the man senseless. Fredrick was almost unconscious but still gamely punching away at the other thief.
Tanner dropped the block of wood for fear of hitting Fredrick and wrenched the footpad off his friend. Several punches to the gut took the man out of the fight. The first man was struggling to his feet but one move from Tanner sent him hopping away. How cowardly to flee and save his own skin.
Fredrick struggled to his feet, heaving and blowing, but collapsed against Tanner. Clearly, getting him medical help took precedence over finding the watch to arrest the footpads. Tanner threw Fredrick’s arm over his shoulder and grasped his belt with his other hand, pretty much carrying his whole weight up St. James Street in the hope of finding a hackney.
There, he hailed one that was trolling for theater-goers but the driver demanded Tanner pay in advance, having assumed they were drunks. Of all the nights for such a thing to happen. If her brother was disabled, Roxanne would never forgive him.
* * * * *
Roxanne stood staring out the window into the darkening street. “They are at the foundry very late.”
Her aunt looked up from the book she was reading. “Perhaps we should send the carriage for them. The streets are dangerous.”
That her aunt was worried did not bode well. “My brother might not like to know I don’t trust him to take care of himself, but I don’t.”
“Yes, imagine his stagecoach being held up on Houndslow Heath. What is the world coming to?”
”What?”
“He made light of that incident but he could have died,” her aunt confided. “The day of your ball too. It made him terribly late. He didn’t want to worry you. Oh, bother, now I have.”
“That’s why he told you, so that you would not rant at his poor planning? He never said a word to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you see that could have been Vance?”
“Nonsense.” She went back to her novel.
A hackney drew up at the house steps and two figures lurched out. Had they been drinking all this time and come home inebriated?
Though she wanted to run down the stairs to meet them, she restrained her impulse and waited for their explanation. The drawing room door opened and Tanner supported her brother in, followed by Greeves. Fredrick’s clothes were torn and bloodied and his forehead bore some injury.
“What happened?” Roxanne ran to mop blood from Fredrick’s brow. Someone had tied an inadequate handkerchief around it. “Greeves, go get a basin and towe
ls,” she ordered.
“We were attacked by footpads in St. James.” Tanner wiped his bloody knuckles on his leg and unclenched his hand enough to seat Fredrick on a chair by the table.
“Are you sure they were robbers?” Roxanne asked as she removed the bandage and examined the gash on Fredrick’s forehead.
“Of course.” Fredrick sounded winded. “Who else would they be?”
“Some of Vance’s cohorts. I have to find out what will happen if Fredrick dies before his birthday.”
“Oh, give it a rest,” her brother complained. “The thought that he has designs on my life is fantastic. This could have happened to anyone. You should have seen Tanner spring into action. He defeated two of them while I was still struggling up off the paving stones.”
“I’m sure a wonderful time was had by all,” Lady Agatha said. “Shall I call the doctor?”
“It’s just a cut above my eye and a bruised hand.”
“It could have been far worse,” Tanner said.
Roxanne paused to stare at her aunt, who seemed extremely calm at the sight of such carnage when a simple social faux pas laid her prostrate. Roxanne shook her head to rid it of the suspicion her aunt was practiced at theatrics and turned to Tanner, cataloging his injuries, the ones that were visible.
“Yes, I know it could have been worse. You could both be dead.” She felt her lips tremble as she held her fresh handkerchief to her brother’s brow and scanned Tanner’s bruised cheek and cut chin. “We should never have dragged you into our affairs. If something happens to you, your mother will be bereft. Holly will never forgive me. I shall never forgive myself.”
“Are you actually worried about me?” Tanner asked.
“Of course I’m worried.” Roxanne forced her hands to remain steady. “If you had not been with Fredrick, he would have been killed.”
Cook came from the kitchen to take charge of bandaging Fredrick’s head. Roxanne watched as Tanner hesitated and raked the side of his hand across his chin.
”I see by your silence, I am correct,” she whispered.
He took her elbow and drew her back toward the window. “Most likely it was just a random attack.”
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