“I am.”
“Have you got more coin from your duke to give me? We’ve got quite an arrangement going, don’t we? Next time, I’ll come directly to your house,” he slurred.
“There will not be a next time,” Harriet bluffed. She knew her father would run out of money over and over again for as long as he lived. And as long as her sisters remained unmarried, they would be at risk. But she had one card left to play. “I am going to give you something. Something that should last you quite a while. If I give it to you, you are not to return. You must leave, and leave for good. Do you understand?”
“You cannot drive me out of my own home,” he laughed.
“I cannot. But I can offer to take over expenses.” Harriet had no idea if her dictionary could cover the cost of the house. That issue could be solved later. She could ask Alexander for an allowance if she needed to, perhaps. Either way, her father didn’t need to know that. “And I can offer you this.”
She slid the ring off her finger, reluctantly. She loved the ring. Loved having something from Alexander, even if she couldn’t have him. Had her sisters been in any less danger, Harriet could not have parted with it.
Her father watched with rheumy, unfocused eyes as she handed it over.
“This should last you many, many months if you sell it to the right person. It’s not Rundell Bridge and Rundell, but the stones are real.”
He looked down at the ring, inspecting his loot. Harriet hated seeing it in his hands. She itched to snatch it back. Instead, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“You will leave now. You have a half hour.” Her father’s nostrils flared, as if he was set to argue. “If you do not, I will call my husband here and he will handle you as he sees fit. I do not suspect it will be pleasant.”
Her father sniffed, closed his fist around the ring, and dropped it into his pocket. He took a bracing swill of gin—he’d either found the hidden bottles or, more likely, replaced them—and stood, unsteady on his feet.
He swayed and lurched around the room, gathering his things without word. When he got close to the door, and therefore Harriet,he leaned in close, his hot breath fanning over her. “You are the worst sort of woman—an evil one. You mean to force me out of my house yet again, but one day your pretty little husband will force you from yours. I’ve heard talk at the clubs. He’ll be through with you soon. And then your threats will mean nothing. I will return here, and you—you’ll have nowhere to go.” He laughed at the idea, which made him wobble a bit.
Harriet remained rooted to the spot until he made it out the front door. As soon as he did, she ran over and bolted it behind him, not that it meant anything. Then she turned and sagged against the door.
She was still leaning against it a few minutes later when it started to pound. Her heart rate matched the banging. He was back.
“I know you’re in there, Father!” came a voice from the other side. Philippa!Philippa?Harriet rushed to open the door and came face to face with her sister, each of them equally surprised to see the other.
“He’s gone,” Harriet explained.
“Oh,” Philippa answered, following her in. Philippa was looking around curiously. She hadn’t been back in ages. Maybe since before she’d gotten married. She’d hated the house, and with good reason. Harriet yelled up the stairs for Caroline and Frances and then set off for the kitchen. Philippa followed her.
“Why did he leave?”
“I gave him my ring,” Harriet said, not wanting it to be true.
“Harriet! You didn’t have to do that!”
“I had nothing else!”
“Lord Stirling would have given you money! Hell, he offeredmemoney this morning!”
“He did?”
“Yes, he told me I could go to his man of business at any time should I need anything.” Harriet felt like someone had hit her over the head with an andiron.
“You saw him this morning?”
“Yes, he came to my house—you didn’t know?” Before Harriet could answer, or indeed ask any more questions about her husband’s whereabouts, Caroline and Frances descended upon them. And then any hope of communication was over.
Harriet sat in a daze. Why had Alexander gone to her sister to offer her money? He’d never offered Harriet an allowance of any kind. In faith, she hadn’t needed one. What did she have to buy? Surely, Philippa was not doing anything untoward with him. Philippa would never. But was he attempting it? She hadtoldhim that the estate was reverting to the crown, that Philippa could not agree to a sale. If he wasn’t there about land, what was he there for? There were only so many things a man could want from Philippa’s company. Harriet tried to assure herself there was some other reason Alexander had been there.
What an embarrassment. Harriet had offered herself to him, and not only had he turned her down, he hadn’t brought it back up again. Instead, he was out there begging for favors from her sister. Her sisters’ chatter grew quiet as they noticed her lack of participation in the conversation.
“Harriet?” Caroline asked. “Are you quite all right?”
Harriet shook off the expression on her face and put a smile back on. She was not going to tell her sisters about her humiliating ordeal. Philippa knew enough and was clearly trying to prevent her from feeling pain. Which was kind of her, although she wasn’t sure why Philippa hadn’t simply lied about the entire encounter.
