“Good afternoon, and a merry Christmas to you too. I’d thought the offices would be closed for at least a couple of days,” replied Francis, blinking in the bright sun.
The clerk shook his head. “A very pleasant half-day holiday yesterday, but with another ten ships arriving today, it would be impossible to close the office up for any longer. But I am not here just to offer you my felicitations of the season. The superintendent is requesting your presence in his office at your earliest convenience. He will give you an update on the current state of the spice tender.”
Francis’s sleep-hazed mind cleared in an instant. This could be just the news he was hoping for—the initial chat where he would be promised the contract.
“Excellent. Tell the superintendent I shall see him shortly.”
He closed the door, then with fisted hands, he punched the air with delight. All his hard work was about to come to fruition. “The spice contract will be mine. Yes! Wait until I tell Poppy . . .”
His arms dropped to his sides. If he won the tender, then that meant she had lost. Victory would come at the cost of seeing the woman he loved suffer defeat.
They had made a private commitment to one another last night. How they would manage publicly and in business was going to take some careful planning. Poppy deserved to share in his victory.
And she has the right to hear about the contract from me, in private.
Things really had changed for him. Only a short while ago, seeing his rival vanquished would have brought him nothing but joy. Falling in love with Poppy had shown him the truth of his failings.
He had come to realize that he could be a success in business, and it didn’t have to come at the cost of losing his soul.
This was why she was a better person than him in so many ways. While he was only starting out on the voyage of self-discovery, she had learned to accept all sides of her personality. To understand her insecurities. With her love and support, he hoped in time to experience the same growth.
“I have to talk to her. She will be crushed by this news.”
It had never occurred to Francis that victory could feel so hollow. The spice contract had at one time been the only thing he cared about. Poppy had reset his priorities. Put things back to the way they used to be, the way they should be.
She now came first in his life. The woman he loved always would.
Chapter Forty-Two
Poppy was headed out the door when Francis appeared in front of number twelve. She gave him a wave. “You look like you took a nap,”
As he drew closer, she caught the worried, apprehensive look on his face. Something wasn’t right.
They met halfway between their respective warehouses. Francis nodded at Poppy’s buttoned up coat. “Where are you off to, young lady? I thought you were going to stay out of sight until your bruises had healed.”
He was so damn sexy when he tried to be strict with her.
I wonder how he is going to take the news about me being summoned to the superintendent’s office.
“Sailors don’t have the luxury of staying in their hammocks if they get hurt. I had fifteen stitches in my face when I helmed the Empress Catherine around the Cape of Good Hope two years ago.”
Lifting her hair, she turned and revealed the thin line of a scar which sat behind her right ear—three inches of blood and pain caused by a loose flying jib. She hadn’t shown Francis that scar before.
“Were you on your way back to me?” she asked, attempting to sidestep his question.
Francis reached down and took a hold of her hand. Poppy steeled herself. He must have heard that he didn’t win the contract.
Managing his disappointment while stuffing down my own glee is going to be tough.
“I received a summons to attend the superintendent’s office as soon as possible,” he said.
He did what?
“So did I.”
“What?”
“One of the clerks came to see me a few minutes ago. I was going to come and see you as soon as I returned.” She hadn’t wanted to speak to Francis before the meeting but had fully intended on heading straight to number twelve on her way home. They were committed to one another and there was not going to be any more lies or secrets between them. If she had won the contract, she wanted him to be the first to know.
