by Dawn Brower
Nerves shot through her when he didn’t deign to greet her. He continued to stare at her as if expecting something from her, but she didn’t know what. The urge to babble filled her. She wouldn’t give in to it though. If she did it would only show her grandfather how right he was to dismiss her as inferior. Instead she slowly walked into the room and kept her back straight. She would not show him any weakness.
Finally he set his pen down and sighed. “What is it now, Aletha?”
Why did he automatically assume… She shook that thought away before it fully formed. “I would like to discuss my future with you.”
He lifted a brow. “I didn’t think there was much to discuss. You’ll find some blue blood to marry, have a child or two, maybe be part of a charity or two. What is there to discuss?”
She would not roll her eyes. “How…archaic,” she said drolly. His thought process was completely absurd. “I thought I might contribute a little more than a few children to the world.” How dull did he expect her life to be?
“What else can you do?” He shrugged. “That’s your lot in life.”
“This is a new era grandfather. Women have more rights, more say, than they did in the past. The 19th amendment ensured that. I’d like to think that it shows a woman is worth more than her ability to birth children. There were a lot of women that fought for the right to vote. To take control of their lives.”
“I fail to understand what this has to do with your future,” her grandfather replied. He had an arrogant tone to his voice. “That sort of thing is for other women. You’re a debutante. Society has different expectations for you.”
She threw her hands up in frustration. “That’s the type of attitude they fought against every step of the way. I want a chance to prove I’m more than a pretty face with a hefty dowry to offer.”
“Why bother?” He picked up his pen and started writing. Her grandfather clearly wasn’t in the mood to continue this discussion. “In the end you’ll still end up married with children to occupy your time. That’s what a female is best at.”
Aletha was tired of hearing that lame excuse. She blew out a breath and prayed for patience. This was nothing new. She could handle it. She would handle it. “I have a proposition. I would like you to consider it.”
“I don’t have time for this,” he said in an attempt to dismiss her.
“Grandfather,” she said sharply. “Listen to what I have to say. Completely. If at the end you think it won’t work then I’ll leave and we’ll never discuss it again.”
He let out a disgusted breath. “All right. I’ll listen but I’m not making any promises.”
Of course he wouldn’t. “I don’t expect anything less from you.”
“Quit stalling girl. I have important work to do. Say your piece and then go.”
“I have ideas that could contribute to this company. Give me one chance to prove to you that I have good business sense. If I fail…”
“If you fail we lose money,” he interrupted her. “That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
She wanted to stomp her foot and scream at him. Why wouldn’t he give her a chance? If it were Christian he’d pat him on the back and tell him what wonderful ideas he had. “I think we can expand the company to England.” She would continue with her proposal and he would listen. “Instead of shipping the candy on steamers and losing some of the freshness we can manufacture it there. The cost…”
“Would be astronomical,” he said. “We would need a new factory, equipment, employees… It would probably take months maybe years for us to see a profit.”
“But once we did it would be a good one. It’s a risk I think would put Carter Candy Company above every other manufacturer.” Please let him see how it could work.
“I’m not saying it’s a good idea,” he began. “But I’m willing to consider it. You’re going with your family for that wedding. While you’re there scout locations. Meet with a solicitor and figure out what would need to be done to make it work. This is just an idea without anything to back it up. I need more information before I can consider it.”
Aletha almost jumped up with joy. She would not show any emotion though. “I can do that.”
“Now go,” he said as he waved his hand at her. “You’ve interrupted my day enough already.”
She didn’t bother to respond to his remark. He was giving her a chance to prove to him she could be an asset to the company. She’d make sure he saw her for more than her gender.
Two days later…
Aletha closed the lid on her trunk and locked it. They were leaving tomorrow morning to travel to England for the wedding of William Collins and Victoria Grant. She still didn’t understand why they decided to marry at Christmas or in England. William Collins was an American who lived on a plantation in South Carolina. He wasn’t going to move to England even if his future wife hailed from there.
“Do you have everything ready?”
Aletha glanced over her shoulder at her mother. “It is.”
“Good,” Esther Carter Dewitt said. “Now come down to the sitting room. There are some things we need to discuss.”
Aletha groaned. She knew that tone. Her mother had a lecture planned for her. She had a feeling it had something to do with her visit to the Carter Candy Company. “I’ll be down soon.”
“No,” her mother said. “You’ll come now.”
There was no stalling her mother. Aletha sighed and fell in step behind her mother. She went down the stairs and then into the sitting room. A maid stood before a teacart. “That will be all Matilda. We’ll pour our own tea.” Her mother waved her hand dismissively. “Aletha be a dear and pour.”
Of course her mother wouldn’t actually do it herself. She didn’t do anything for herself if she could help it. Aletha went to the teacart and poured tea. She dropped one lump of sugar into a cup and handed it to her mother, then went to prepare her own. She put a splash of milk in her tea and then took a seat on the settee. She took a sip of her tea and waited for her mother to speak.
“Your grandfather stopped by earlier today. He mentioned some nonsense about you wanting to take an active role in the company.” Her mother sipped her tea. “Surely he is mistaken. Why would you want to do something that’s meant for a man?”
She should have known her mother wouldn’t want her to work. “I like it.” She sipped her tea. “Grandfather has agreed to give me a chance. I’m not going to waste it.”
“I’d like you to reconsider.” Her mother pinned her with her eyes. “This isn’t done in our family.”
“Nothing you have to say is going to change my mind.” She pasted a smile on her face. “This is what I want.”
Her mother pursed her lips in displeasure. “Fine. I won’t argue with you about it. It’s unlikely it will go anywhere any way. Your grandfather isn’t the type to let a female work in his company. I’m certain he is just humoring you.”
Aletha feared she was right, but she still had to try. There had to be a way to make him see how important this was too her. Maybe she could arrange something extra special for the wedding. There were going to be a lot of important guests there. William Collins was connected to England’s high society. He had family members attached to dukes. There had to be a way to astonish them.
“Either way I’m going to see this through,” she said. “I’m glad that you’re not going to stand in my way.”
“I don’t know where you’ll find the time. It’s Christmas and we have a wedding. There won’t be much room for you to work on this while we are there.”
She was right. There wouldn’t be a lot of time in-between. Aletha would work through it all. Where there was a will there was a way. She still hadn’t finished all her Christmas shopping. Luckily there were some wonderful shops in England. She finished her tea and set the cup down. “If you’ll excuse me mother. There is something I need to look into before we leave.” She had an idea for the wedding, but she wasn’t certain it was possible. The fact
ory would have to work overtime to make what she had in mind. If she could pull it off though…this would be the perfect thing for the wedding reception. It would be something that the guests would never forget…
Chapter 2
One week later…
The sun was high in the sky, but there was a distinct chill in the air. Aletha shivered as a cold breeze rolled over her. She strolled toward the gangplank so she could exit the steamship. The crossing over the Atlantic had been delayed slightly when they ran into a storm. For a few terrifying moments she feared she might not make it to England... After the disaster of the Titanic she didn’t take anything for granted when traveling over the ocean.
Their steamship got off in a port on the coast of Bristol. Her family was going to take a train to London for shopping before the wedding. She had a trip planned to visit a few potential places for the English location of the Carter Candy Company. So she had wired before she left to have an autocar prepared for her. Having plenty of money available smoothed the way sometimes… All right it helped more often than not.
“Load my trunks to the back of the car,” she ordered a servant. “The rest will be transported to the train station with my family.” Aletha pulled on her gloves. Luckily, she’d learned how to drive so she could do what she had to. Her mother had been appalled when Aletha had taken lessons. She should have her errands done in a few hours and then she could relax at the hotel she booked for the night. Tomorrow she would take the first train to London. The wedding was in a few days so she couldn’t dawdle in Bristol.
She stepped into the car and started it. Thankfully, it turned over on the first try. Aletha drove the car away from the port and headed down the road. The directions she received weren’t cryptic, but still, she hoped she wouldn’t manage to get lost. She hated when she failed to keep a scheduled appointment.
About fifteen minutes later she parked the car near a factory. She stepped outside the car and walked around the building. It had been closed and abandoned before the start of the Great War in 1914. She’d have to look inside, but the outside of the building seemed sound. The roof appeared to need some work, and a few of the windows were in need of repair, but the rest was solid.
“Miss Dewitt?” a male asked.
She turned to meet his gaze. He had simple brown hair and uninteresting dull brown eyes. There was almost nothing remarkable about him. She’d probably forget about him if she came across him in any other situation. Aletha felt a little bad about that fact. She didn’t notice anyone unless she had a reason to. “Mr. Baldwin?”
“Yes,” he said and nodded his head enthusiastically. “Sorry to keep you waiting. It took me longer to get here than I originally intended. Do you wish to see inside the building?”
Aletha wouldn’t be able to get a good idea about the building without examining every aspect of it. She nodded. “Yes, I would.”
“Follow me,” Mr. Baldwin said and gestured toward a door. He pulled out a key and unlocked it. The door creaked as it swung open. Mr. Baldwin stepped inside and Aletha went in behind him. “As you can see the building had been empty for some time.”
“Yes,” Aletha said and wiped her finger across a window seal. Dust settled on her fingertip from the action. “But it appears to still be sound.” She turned toward Mr. Baldwin. “The owner is willing to sell it?”
“Indeed,” he said. “They no longer wish to hold on to the property.”
She took a walk through the building and examined every inch of it. The building would work for what she had in mind for the English branch of the Carter Candy Company. She didn’t want to overextend her hand. She couldn’t approve the sale without her grandfather’s approval. She would wire him the information and await for him to make a decision. That is all she could do for the moment. Aletha turned to him. “There are still several other properties I need to visit. After I’m done looking those over I’ll contact you.”
“I should warn you there are other individuals interested in the property. I wouldn’t wait too long to make a decision.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “If we wait too long and miss the opportunity to purchase the property then it is our loss.” She walked toward the door and exited the building. “Thank you for your assistance today Mr. Baldwin.”
“It’s been my pleasure,” he bowed. “I look forward to speaking with you again.”
“I’ll try not to keep you waiting long.” She smiled at him and then turned away from him. There was something about him she didn’t like. Maybe it was his plainness or perhaps she was too judgmental. Aletha wasn’t sure. She just knew she wanted to put some distance between them as fast as possible.
Aletha got into her autocar and turned the engine on, then drove away from the building. There would be someone waiting for her near the train station to take the vehicle from her in the morning. She would send a telegram to her grandfather and then go to the hotel. Maybe have an early dinner and spend the evening in her room reading. She had no desire to socialize. Besides what company could possibly be had in a quaint inn?
She put the car in park and went inside to send her telegram. After she was done with that she drove to the hotel and handed the keys to a valet. Her chores were done and hopefully she had taken the first step into proving to her grandfather she could be an asset to the company.
After she checked in she went to her room. Her trunk was already waiting for her there. The service was good at the hotel any way. She settled onto the bed and closed her eyes. It had been a long day and the trip had only just began…
Rafael, Conte Leone strolled along the platform of the train station. He’d had business in Bristol that hadn’t gone as he’d hoped. The night in the hotel hadn’t been much better. It was time to head to London. He couldn’t put it off any longer. One of his closest friends, William Collins was getting married and he wouldn’t miss it for anything. William was depending on him to be there and he would not disappoint him.
The train whistled in the distance. It would come in to the station soon and then he could board. The trip from Bristol to London shouldn’t take long, but he wanted to be on his way. He didn’t care for weddings. They made any unattached gentleman uncomfortable and all unmarried ladies craving a wedding of their own. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to that aspect of the festivities.
He leaned against a nearby pole and closed his eyes. Rafael wanted to go home. His responsibilities in England left him bitter. His mother, Lady Pearla Montgomery Leone, had many properties that needed attention in England. His father, Damian, Marchese d’Bari had too many duties in Italy to see to her property. Many of his mother’s holdings were a part of Rafael’s sister’s, Sofia and Gabrielle’s dowries. So far neither one of them had married. He couldn’t blame them. Marriage was a noose around the neck, one he had no intention of willingly stepping into.
The train rolled to a stop before the platform. Steam billowed all around it. Rafe pulled out his timepiece and flipped open the lid. So far everything appeared to be on schedule. Passengers disembarked the train and bustled to wherever they were heading. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for them to call all aboard. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. A flash of green… He turned to see what it was but it had disappeared or had never been there to begin with.
Minutes ticked by as he waited. They moved by at a snail’s pace. He would make them move faster if he had the ability. Another whistle echoed around him and then finally the announcement he’d been waiting for. “All aboard,” a man bellowed and the sound reverberated around him.
Rafe picked up his lone satchel and stepped toward the train. He handed the worker his ticket and moved toward the first class section of the train. He hadn’t bothered with his family car for this trip. It wasn’t necessary for something so quick and innocuous. If he planned on doing a lot of travel he would have had it brought out when he’d departed London earlier in the week. Though the trip would be quick, Rafe was weary.
He regretted his decision to not take the car. If he had he could rest for the swift trip back to London.
He rushed past other passengers and moved through the car until he found his seat. He pushed his satchel under his seat and plopped down. At least he had a window seat. He could lay his head against it and close his eyes for a little bit. If he was lucky he’d be able to drown out the sounds around him and pretend he was alone. Rafe hated crowds. He wasn’t all that fond of people in general.
“Pardon me,” a lady said interrupting his doldrums. “Might I trouble you for some assistance. I’m having difficulty with my bag.”
He allowed his eyelids to flutter open and he barely held in a gasp. The woman’s accent said she was American, like William, but not from the same region as his friend. He hadn’t wanted to deal with her but his manners were too ingrained to ignore her completely. Now he was glad his mother had drilled them into him as a young boy. The woman before him was positively enchanting. She had dark blond hair highlighted with bronze and gold. Her eyes were so dark blue they almost looked black at first glance. Then the light hit them just right at they sparkled like fine sapphires. She had perfect bow shaped lips that were a lovely pink. Her face had a delicateness to it that made him want to protect her.
Rafe sat forward and said, “What seems to be your dilemma?” That sounded positively stupid. “I mean what can I assist you with?”