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‘Now I know you’re talking about someone else.’
‘That’s because you still think of yourself as Violet Harper, downtrodden daughter. You’re Violet Amberton now, my rebellious, runaway bride. She’s a whole different woman.’
‘In that case, I think I like being Violet Amberton.’ She leaned a little closer towards him and he brought his arm down, wrapping it around her shoulders. She seemed to fit there perfectly.
‘Good. I like you being her, too.’
‘Will you really come with me to the Highlands?’
‘Me?’ He felt a twinge of surprise. He hadn’t said anything about going himself, though he felt ridiculously pleased at the invitation to join her. He gave a small tug on his arm, pulling her closer. ‘All right. Just as soon as things are more settled at the mine.’
‘How is it going?’
‘I can show you if you like. We’re travelling back that way.’
‘Yes, please.’ She nodded eagerly. ‘I’d like to see the reason we got married.’
He winced inwardly, although it was a fair comment, he supposed. He had married her for the mine, for the money to expand it at least, even if that didn’t feel quite like the reason any more.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, he helped her down from the carriage, gesturing towards a ramshackle collection of wooden, shed-like structures on a rock-strewn plateau halfway up a hillside.
‘It’s not as chaotic as it looks, I promise you.’
‘I didn’t expect a palace.’ She looked around with interest. ‘Is your office in one of those??
??
‘Not so much an office as a desk, but in that small shack at the end, yes. The rest are where we store the equipment.’
‘Are those all entrances to the mine?’ She pointed towards a few holes in the hillside.
‘Yes, there’s four altogether. It’s safer to have several escape routes.’
‘I see.’ She peered inside one of the sheds, looking around as if she were genuinely interested. ‘How many people work here?’
‘At the moment, about thirty. Only men though. I don’t allow women or children. They spend three hours in the mine, then I insist on an hour outside. I pay good wages and I make sure it’s as safe as it can be.’
She nodded thoughtfully. ‘You said you wanted to expand. What is it that you want to do? More tunnels?’
‘Not yet.’ He gestured down into the valley. ‘But if we build our own blast furnace, then we won’t have to take the ore to Grosmont for smelting. We can do our own smelting and puddling and then sell it as wrought iron instead of pig. We’re not far from Rosedale and we can use their supply line to transport it directly to the ports. I’ve already struck a bargain with the owner.’
‘Is it expensive to build a furnace?’
‘Extremely, in the short term, but in the long run, we can reinvest in the estate. If we build it in the valley away from the villages, then it won’t ruin the countryside or the air either. It’ll be a good thing for everyone, I hope.’ He turned to face her again, unable to stop a feeling of happiness from bursting out of him suddenly. ‘I’m glad that you’re home, Violet.’
To his surprise and delight, she didn’t hesitate to answer. ‘So am I.’
Chapter Thirteen
Violet awoke to the sight of a turquoise-blue canopy. Smiling, she let herself sink deeper into the comfort of a generously proportioned, lavishly cushioned four-poster bed. She was in the blue room, her mother-in-law’s old chamber, reclining on a feather-filled mattress that surely had to be the most comfortable place in the world.
According to the clock on the mantel it was well past eight o’clock in the morning, but she had no desire to move, let alone to get up. Given the chance, she’d be more than happy to spend the rest of the day lying there. Even if something seemed to be missing...
‘Mrs Amberton?’ There was a small knock on the door, followed by the sound of Eliza’s voice.
‘Come in.’
