Meridith spent most of the morning penning thank-you notes to the zoology and park boards, for agreeing to her suggestion of letting the boys work for them.
She’d considered penning one to Drake, too, but chose not to because it reminded her too much of what Alena had said about writing to Peter. She knew that Alena meant a person should fully complete their thoughts or actions, and she wasn’t sure she could do that right now.
Drake’s visit the night before had been unique. For one, she had never invited anyone over for dinner before. Actually, she’d never wanted to invite someone over before. And yet she had wanted to invite Drake. Furthermore, last night had been the first time in a very long time that she’d felt like she belonged. She wasn’t just the little sister who was living here. Instead, she’d been an integral part of the entire evening. The conversations and laughter, just everything about it had been wonderful. Afterwards, while lying in bed, it had occurred to her that such evenings could happen in the future. Regularly, if Peter agreed to partner with Drake in his shipping company.
Why she hadn’t thought about that before last night was beyond her. Peter often invited business associates to dinner, just as he invited them to garden parties—the very place Meridith had first met Drake.
In fact, that could be the very reason that Peter wanted to see her now, to let her know that he invited Drake to another event. One that she would be expected to attend, too. Her heart skipped a beat at the prospect and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
She would agree to go. There was no reason not to. Furthermore, how else was she going to figure out if she was in love with him or not?
Upon arriving at the study door, she knocked and waited for Peter’s response before opening the door.
‘Hello,’ he greeted from where he sat behind his desk.
‘Hello.’ She entered the room and closed the door. ‘You wanted to see me?’
‘Yes, I wanted to let you know that a donation has been sent to the social program that you’d heard about from the Duke and Duchess of Turnbill.’
She’d been certain that he would make a donation and was overjoyed to know that he had sent one so quickly. ‘That’s wonderful, thank you.’
‘Thank you for bringing it to my attention again. I meant to provide our contribution earlier and it slipped my mind.’ He leaned back in his chair and gestured a hand towards the chair beside her. ‘There is something else that I’d like to discuss with you.’
‘All right.’ She sat, and tried not to disclose her excitement to hear what event she and Drake would be attending.
‘When our father died, I was at a loss as to how to fill a role that consisted of being both your brother and your guardian. I consulted our siblings and have appreciated their input and support over the years, but recently, I realised that I’ve never consulted you. Never asked you what you wanted.’
Surprised, but also pleased, she nodded. ‘All I’ve ever really wanted, was to make my own decisions about my life.’
‘Such as?’
‘Well, I didn’t want to be sent away to school, and I don’t want potential husbands paraded before me.’
He lifted a brow. ‘Every child needs an education, and despite what you think, we thought you might enjoy having friends.’
She sighed, having hoped this conversation might be different from those she’d had with Janine and Diana. ‘I know every child needs an education, but I could have obtained that here, and met friends that lived nearby.’
‘What about marriage? Is that something you want?’
‘Yes, someday I’d like a family of my own.’
He nodded. ‘It is my responsibility to help you obtain what you want, and I’m willing to do whatever it will take, but I wanted to talk with you before I came to any conclusions.’
A tiny shiver rippled up her spine. She was also confused. ‘Conclusions?’
‘Yes. Diana has come to the conclusion that you are quite smitten with Captain Taylor, and—’
‘Diana needs to worry about her own husband, rather than finding one for me,’ Meridith interrupted, quite miffed at Diana for talking about something that clearly did not concern her.
‘Do you not like Drake?’ Peter asked. ‘From what I saw last night, I—’
‘Yes, I like him,’ she interrupted again. ‘He’s a very likeable person. But that doesn’t mean I want to marry him. He certainly doesn’t want to marry me. He doesn’t want to marry anyone and told you that himself.’
‘People can change their minds.’
She held her breath against the way her heart began to race.
‘My responsibility is to you, Meridith, and though I am proud of you for what you did concerning the incident the other night, just as there were consequences for the boys responsible, there will be consequences for your actions. I’m concerned about yourreputation. Anyone who reads the papers knows you and Drake were alone together searching for Hugo.’
