Before Beth could respond, Althea interjected, “Come now, Pen. That is not very fair, is it? None of Michael’s friends look questioningly at you, despite how your relationship began.”
Pen blushed and looked down at her hands. “You are right, Althea. You have my apologies. As does Ford. I did not mean it as critical, more that I shall feel awkward thinking of his creations. But that is no excuse.”
After an awkward silence, Penelope turned back to Beth. “Mayhap the three of us should have a viewing party of Ford’s work one day soon.”
“We can have a private party at some point,” Beth said. “He also takes them to the demi-monde parties at Sarah’s for custom orders, albeit anonymously. All orders go through Sarah.”
“Excellent. I shall be on the lookout for one of those.” Penelope nodded.
When Beth began asking Penelope about her stepfather’s connections in the world of blacksmithing, Althea smiled at her cousin. Ever resourceful, she always seemed to know who in her network could help another. It was an amazing skillset, and Althea wasn’t sure Beth recognized her own worth sometimes.
She’d hoped the school would help with that. It had to some extent, but she still worried about her cousin’s happiness in the strict London society. Perhaps they’d have been better served retiring to the country. Surely, they would not need as much saved to live simply there. But Althea knew she’d go mad. It would feel too similar to being kept isolated and quiet by her husband.
Unlike Thomas, Evan always asked her about her business. He seemed interested in learning how she managed it, rather than wanting to offer advice simply because he was a man and therefore knew better.
Wondering what he would think of the school, she felt almost sure he’d support it as much or more than she did. She wondered about Penelope’s experience there, and how it differed from Beth’s. Her cousin had mentioned at least one class they had attended together. She supposed it was an advanced class, as their introductory courses would have been separate from what she’d understood when she’d sponsored Beth.
Not that Althea would have stopped her cousin. The whole point of sending her was to support her open-minded attitude. That was why she’d been shocked at Penelope’s responses. But the girl had apologized, and her enthusiasm over Ford’s creations was certainly mollifying. Given Beth’s lack of anger at Pen’s comment about Ford, Althea suspected her reaction might have been inflated by her frustration at Evan. She took a breath to calm herself, vowing to be more tolerant of simple reactions.
Damn Evan for interfering in every aspect of my life, even when he’s not part of it.She would ignore him until he apologized for his assumptions and overreaction.
Chapter Fifteen
The sennights after Charlotte’s offer of funding were busy. Althea and Beth made one pilgrimage to Bath, a covered delivery wagon full of goods plodding behind them. Althea was that confident the partnership would be finalized. Correspondence until that trip had been by special messenger, hastening the process with letters discussing plans so the formal documentation would hold no surprises for any party. Emily had been in business long enough and shop rents were low enough in Bath that she had not needed an independent investor to increase her inventory for London sales.
After unloading then reloading the wagon with some of the fabulous products from Emily’s suppliers, they returned. More would come directly to London in the coming months.
Althea rushed to rearrange the store while it was still the slow season as September became October, crops were harvested, and the days grew shorter.
Having so much to do kept her from missing Evan. Or so she told herself throughout the days. At night, she tossed and turned. She told herself she did not need him or want him if he was going to so easily doubt her. But her heart disobeyed, hurting even as her mind remained focused on independence.
Was she so easily dismissed? Of course she was. He had the world at his feet, more offers for intimacy—fun as he called it—than he had hours in a day. She had been a challenge, the uptight shopkeeper who thought she didn’t like sex. But did the others keep his interest intellectually? Were they as eager for his guidance in and out of the bedroom? It seemed they wanted his money more than his thoughts, and that saddened her. Even more so because she had misunderstood and appeared like them and possibly hurt him.
His silence screamed that he wanted nothing to do with her. Then Beth’s words from before Bath echoed in her head.Cheltie never chases. He doesn’t need to. You will likely need to go to him… ’Tis clear he wants you and will flex on the terms. Use the negotiating tactics he would.
But how?
Finally, she stayed home one full day, having forsaken her Tuesdays and Sundays at home for a fortnight. As it was Friday, Beth was home, and Althea searched her out to see if they could plan another fun day together like they had with Penelope. She needed something engaging to prevent her from obsessing about Evan or the store.
At the door of the front parlor, she halted abruptly and stared.
Her younger cousin was seated by the fire, muttering to herself as she jabbed a needle back and forth through fabric.
Althea could not remember the last time she’d seen Beth attempt needlework. Nor could she tell what Beth was attempting to sew. She knew it had been many months, because this frustrated jabbing was impossible to forget. Why would Beth resort to a pastime she hated? “Beth? What is amiss?”
Her cousin did not even look up. She jabbed again, then yelped and brought her hand out from beneath whatever it was she’d been attacking and sucked it into her mouth.
Althea perched on the edge of a chair facing the younger woman. “Talk to me.”
“I like to have fun. With other people. Naked fun. And now. That man.” She shook her head and looked back down at the needlework in her lap. Althea rushed to rescue whatever it was, tucking it beside her hip on the chair.
“What man?” She waited a beat, but no answer was forthcoming. “Ford?”
Beth made a wordless growling sound, which Althea interpreted as confirmation.
“So does this mean you and Ford did not…ahem, were not intimate?”
“Ha!” Her cousin’s laugh was short and bitter.
