But celebrations and joy aside, being at the nuptials still meant a full day away from the office for him. Work would be piling up.
Then there was the matter of the ongoing argument with the neighbors. Those barrels had better be out the front of number fourteen when I arrive tomorrow morning.
His lips formed a tight, forced smile. It was the best Francis could muster in his current state of mind. He trusted that the Saunders Shipping head clerk had found someone to move the barrels late last night. And for Francis’s threatening legal letter to now be in the right hands. Good old adverse possession. That will give them something to think about.
The spot out the front of number fourteen had been left vacant long enough for him to consider it his. Now was the time to press his claim.
“You look like someone who has swallowed a frog,” said a voice to his right.
Francis snorted at his sister’s unkind observation. Eve, who was seated between him and her husband Lord Freddie Rosemount, gave him a nudge. “What is the matter with you this morning? I thought you would be thrilled to see our cousin Maggie get married. You look such a grump.”
He sighed. Of course, he was happy for Maggie. She was getting on with her life. Everything she had ever wanted was coming to fruition.
His plans, meanwhile, were mired in the ongoing battle with his next-door neighbor, and the warehouse he coveted.
“I am happy for Maggie. Piers is a good man. They are well suited. I just don’t have time for all this,” he replied.
“You mean family, love, and all the good things,” muttered Eve, with a sarcastic huff.
Francis kept his gaze trained on the wedding service, praying it would all be over soon. He didn’t want to admit it, but Eve’s words stung. It wasn’t nice having family members brand you as being cold and lacking emotion.
She doesn’t understand what it is like for me.
His unfeeling heart did a little dance of joy as Piers Denford leaned in and kissed Maggie, his new bride. Francis joined in the applause.
See? I am not made of stone. Why, even yesterday I stopped to help a poor delivery girl who needed my gallant assistance. She appreciated that I was a warm-hearted man.
He turned to Eve. “I value lots of things. It’s just that I have other priorities at present. Family and the rest of it is, of course, important. Just not right at this minute.”
Tears brimmed in his sister’s eyes. Francis flinched. He hadn’t expected his words to give rise to that much emotion.
Eve gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Please don’t make the same mistake that Freddie almost did. Don’t lose your soul in an effort to prove yourself to the world. No one says you can’t have it all. You have as much right as any man to be loved. But you have to understand that love is as abstract a concept as time. Neither can be planned. They simply happen.”
When had his sister become such a font of wisdom?
Can I have it all? A woman who loves me and also understands my drive to succeed. Does she even exist? I have never met anyone remotely like that.
Lost for words, Francis remained long in his seat while Eve took her husband’s hand and they rose. A smiling Freddie Rosemount gently brushed his thumb over his wife’s face and whispered, “My sweet, you are just like my mother. She always cries at weddings.”
At the sight of such open, unrestrained affection, Francis tore his gaze away. He had a horrible suspicion that Eve had it wrong. He wasn’t cold or unfeeling.
Of one thing he was certain, as he attempted to swallow down a lump of emotion. He had two frogs in his throat.
Francis’s faint hopes for his day to improve were dashed not long after he arrived at Denford House for the wedding breakfast. His cousin Alex Radley, the Marquis of Brooke, cornered him. “Who died? Or is that supposed to be your happy face?” asked Alex.
Francis downed the last of his glass of wine, pausing for a moment to compose a suitable response. No matter how hard he tried, his smile simply wouldn’t work. “I have a large number of worries on my plate at the moment. None of which are being resolved by me having to spend an entire day away from the shipping offices.”
Alex slowly shook his head. “Is this about the new tenant next door? The one who has taken over the warehouse you wanted? Uncle Charles was telling my father all about it earlier and how angry you were.”
Wonderful. Just what I need. Papa is getting around telling everyone that I am being a petulant child. And letting them know all about my business plans.
“What did my father say?” replied Francis.
Alex slipped an arm around him and gave Francis a friendly squeeze. He suffered the indignity with little grace. There were few people tall enough to be able to actually put their hand on his shoulder without it looking awkward, so being hugged wasn’t something he was particularly used to or comfortable with.
“He says you and some chap that represents the Basden Line are conducting your own private war over some bits and bobs. I didn’t believe it at first, but from the look on your face, I can see that you have indeed sunk to that level of pettiness.”
There was no doubt that his cousin was supremely amused at hearing this tale. But if Alex dared chuckle, there was every chance Francis was going to punch him.
