He looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Actually, Nora, I’ve been thinking of asking Rook for a loan so I can pursue another avenue over here. The factory is so complicated and involves such a tremendous amount of work.”
“What about the writing machine?”
“We have pen and ink. Do we really need a... machine?”
“How long have you felt this way?”
“For a while.”
“We don’t even need the factory any longer,” Mama said. “You are marrying a man of considerable wealth. He’s certain to care for your relations—especially as he seems to be caring for his father’s by-blows.”
“You’re not going to take advantage of his generosity.”
“We’ll see, my girl. Besides, you’ll be a countess. You can’twork.”
Leonora felt as though the rug had been pulled out from under her, only to discover a huge hole to tumble into. She was finally coming to the realization that her brother and mother had never truly embraced the search for investors with any enthusiasm. For them, continuing the business wasn’t the true purpose of this visit. The true purpose was to hunt for a husband—not as a possibility but as a final outcome. It was the reason that Sam had secured all the invitations to balls. The reason her mother had insisted on strolls through the park. They didn’t care about the company or her father’s legacy. They cared about the life of leisure her marriage to a wealthy lord would provide. And its entry into elite circles.
The betrayal felt like a punch to the gut that sucked all the breath from her body.
As though her final words were an edict that would not be disobeyed, her mother rose from the chair. “You will marry or be cast out.”
Then she strode from the room, leaving nothing but humiliation and duplicity in her wake.
Leonora turned her attention to Sam. “You do understand what this business means to me. How hard I’ve worked to see it succeed.”
To avoid her gaze, he began spooning sugar into his coffee, and his leg jiggled, hitting the table, causing it to vibrate. “I don’t want to manage the business. It’s never beenmydream.”
“What is your dream, Sam?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not that.”
Studying him, she wondered if she knew her family at all. “Rook is not a bank, and I’ll not have you or our mother taking advantage of his generosity.”
She had no plans to take advantage of it either.
“I’m not going to marry him, Sam.”
He looked toward the doorway, as if fearing a witch might come charging through to cast a spell on him that would turn him into a toad. He shifted his gaze to her. “But doing so will solve so many of our problems. Mother will get her entry into New York society. I’ll have the means to pursue my own interests instead of yours. And he’s going to give you the money to do what you will with the factory.”
“But he doesn’t love me, Sam. He’s marrying me because of scandal.” To prove to Society—and even more to himself—that he wasn’t like his father. “If I leave, the scandal will go with me. If I stay, he and others will always know that he was forced into marrying me. The odd girl who everyone laughs at. I can’t do that to him. Not when he’s so decent and deserves the sort of woman who can host balls with aplomb and carry on interesting conversations about the weather.”
Regret filled his eyes. “I don’t want the business, Nora. I think we could get a pretty penny for the landand the factory. I talked with a couple of men before we left... on the off chance that we had no success over here.”
He might as well have tossed his hot coffee in her face. Not only because of his lack of faith but because he’d taken action without telling her. “You’ve spoken to someone about selling it?”
“I needed to know its value so I could accurately assess if it was better to sell or keep.”
“It’s more valuable long-term. I can prove that, but I need time. I’m still determining how to make the tallying machine work as I envision it. But with it and the writing machine...” She trailed off because she could see her brother growing more melancholy with each word she uttered. For him, hanging onto the business was as unpleasant a notion as marrying out of obligation was for her. She couldn’t ask him to do it, to follow a path that would never lead to happiness.
“I haven’t the means to purchase it from you straightaway. But if I can get investors, will you hold onto it until Icanpurchase it from you? I’ll manage it. You’ll get a portion of the profits, as will the investors, and I’ll have a salary.” She needed an income. “Once I’ve saved enough, I’ll buy you out. I should think it would only take a few years. Then you can chase your own dreams.” She reached across the table and placed her hand over his. “Please, Sam. You owe me this. You duped me into believing we were on a mission to save the company, while all along you just wanted it to languish. I know I can make it a success.”
“I don’t think Rook will be happy about you returning to America.”
There were a lot of aspects of the plan forming in her mind that Rook wouldn’t be happy about, but in the end it would all be for the best. Eventually he’d come to understand that. “I’ll handle Rook. Just swear to me that you won’t sell the business—Father’s dream—to anyone except me.”
He nodded, sighed. “Five years, Nora. I can give you that. If it’s not profitable by then, we’ll sell.”
“Thank you.” She immediately stood.
