“I’d be honored, m’lord.”
A few more coins landed on the lad’s palm along with her invitations. After the servant dashed off, Rook leaned back, stretched out his legs, and crossed them at the ankles. He reminded her of a large cat settling in to watch the mousehole.
“I suppose your brother is carrying a handful of invitations inside his coat pocket to dispense as well.”
He spoke with the apathy of someone asking if she’d like milk with her tea. It was a tone she’d heard numerous times, and truthfully it stung a little coming from him, and yet she also detected the barest hint of displeasure dancing along the edge of his words. “No, he isn’t. But together we were going to distribute the ones I brought. I needed him to make the introductions. That’s Sam’s skill. Talking to people. He has a knack for catching their attention and holding onto it.”
“I’ve spoken with him a couple of times since the dinner at King’s. He’s not wont for discussing your business. To be honest, the impression I had that first night was that he has very little knowledge when it comes to your enterprise. That you’re the one managing things. Have I the right of it?”
She had a momentary tightening of her gut at the thought of being unfaithful to Sam, but this man deserved the truth if he was considering investing. “He was so young when Father died. Two and twenty. Only recently graduated from the university. Unprepared for the responsibility.”
“He was older than I was when my father challenged me to begin looking after the family estate. Which I succeeded at while finding a way to get out from under his thumb. Are you too kind to say your brother is lazy?”
It seemed cruel to label him as that. “He just never had a chance to spend time learning the family business before it was handed to him.”
Rook tipped his head slightly. “You don’t have primogeniture in America. Was the company divided between you and your brother?”
“Why all the questions? Why does any of it matter?”
“If I’m going to invest—which I’ve not yet decided to do—I want to ensure someone capable is at the helm. I want to understand the structure of the company. I need to have confidence that it will turn a profit.”
“It will. It may take a little time but I’ve no doubt that lawyers, exporters, importers, and others will see the advantage of being able to produce a list or correspondence that can be easily read.”
“And you might be a bit biased if half the business is yours.”
Why was he harping on about this?
“Well, it’s not. It all went to Sam.”
The smallest spark of triumph lit his eyes, as if he’d suspected all along that was the case and merely wanted confirmation.
“What went to you?” he asked solemnly. “A dowry?”
“No. Father’s pocket watch. I carry it in my reticule, because it is far more valuable to me than the business.” Although truth be told, she’d have liked a share of the company as well, even if it was only a small share.
“May I see it?” he asked.
It was so personal, and yet she had a strong urge toshare it with him. Removing it from her reticule, she extended it toward him.
Leaning forward, he took it, placed his elbows on his thighs, and studied the golden timepiece and its thickly chained fob with the intensity that only a few minutes ago he’d been studying her. Turning it over, looking at it from every angle. He held it near his ear, listening to its consistent ticking.
“Is this the timepiece you took apart?” he asked quietly, reverently, as if he’d been handed a treasure that awed him with its magnificence.
“Yes.”
He lifted his gaze to hers. “It’s of a good quality. Speaks volumes of his faith in your abilities that he trusted you to reassemble it rather than taking it to a watchmaker.”
Once he returned it to her care, she noted how it had absorbed some of his warmth, and she closed her fingers more securely around it.
“No doubt one of the reasons the management of matters has fallen to you,” he continued. “It does rest on your shoulders, doesn’t it?”
This man seemed not to miss much. “We don’t advertise that fact because... well, because not everyone would be as accepting of a woman holding the reins when losing money is at risk.”
“However, you don’t intend to lose money.”
“No, I do not.”
A silence followed. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and she didn’t feel a need to fill it with words. A good deal of peace was found in simply sitting here with him.
