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“Look, I just don’t think your father is in too much trouble. He hasn’t said anything to me, and that is the truth,” Ryan assured her.
When Sian didn’t slow her pace, he caught her arm in a gentle but firm grip and forced her to stop and face him.
“What did he say?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“But it does matter if you are so worried about it.” When Sian didn’t look up at him, and kept her gaze trained on his boots, Ryan tipped her chin up.
His gaze slammed into hers when she did look up. The world around them froze in time. It hovered uncertainly as the atmosphere became charged with something Sian couldn’t identify. It hovered over their heads, waiting to descend upon them both. Ryan, with his gaze locked on hers, stroked her cheek.
“You can trust me,” he whispered.
Sian sucked in a breath. A flurry of delight coursed through her at that gentle touch. It was more than she had ever hoped to receive but left her feeling shaken and uncertain. It took effort to keep her feelings from showing on her face, and it helped to keep her mind focused on her parent’s problems.
“It isn’t like mother and father to argue like that. If the whole house hadn’t already been woken up by Wilhelmina’s arrival, we would have been woken up by the ferocity of their argument. Mother made it clear that we cannot afford to accommodate guests right now, but father said she – Wilhelmina – is his sister. He can hardly toss her out on the street. They were arguing about how much money it was going to take to repair her house.”
“Repair it?” Ryan blinked. “What happened?”
“It burned down. But I am not sure if father believes Wilhelmina’s story because he has said he is going over to the house to look at the damage.”
“Has he?” Ryan was intrigued, despite knowing this was Arthur’s business.
He didn’t try to warn Sian that her father wouldn’t like her discussing her family business in the street. He wanted her to take him into her confidence and talk to him about things she didn’t feel able to talk to others about – like now. If he was honest, he was shocked she was talking to him like she was already and with little prompting. The last thing Ryan wanted was to stop her. Not after he had waited so long to get her to talk to him at all.
“Not yet. He disappeared into his study and hasn’t left yet.”
“It is safe to say that your father has a few financial difficulties,” Ryan sighed.
Sian struggled to contain her tears. “I am not some addle brained female. This involves me.”
“How?” Ryan almost dreaded to ask.
“Because father has said that we have to be married off. He made it clear that we are all a burden. He has said he even wants a suitor found for Lucinda, even though she is barely seventeen. Yet, he is quite prepared to house Wilhelmina and him.” Sian glared down the road at Cedrick who was still heading straight toward them.
Ryan blinked at Sian and then lifted a dark look at Cedrick.
“Him?” He was horrified, shocked, appalled, and immediately annoyed at Arthur.
“I would rather die,” Sian hissed. “I am sorry. I know that is rude, but I refuse to apologise for that. I would rather die than be married to that.”
“Has your father suggested it?” Ryan demanded. He shook Sian’s shoulders when she didn’t immediately answer.
“Not in so many words, but Wilhelmina said that Cedrick is an estimable fellow and that it is high time he was married as well. Now father has made it clear that we are all to marry.”
“What do you know about Cedrick?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know anything about him. All I know is that there is something about him that is cold and calculating. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t like him.”
“It may be because Wilhelmina does like him,” Ryan warned. “Have you thought about that?”
Sian blinked and considered that. “I know I shouldn’t speak ill of a relation, or her friends, but I really don’t like either of them.”
“From what I hear nobody likes Wilhelmina much, and that is strictly between us,” Ryan warned. “She has a reputation for being far too forthright with her opinions and her intrusion into people’s lives and homes. There isn’t anybody’s doorstep she won’t just appear on so she can invite herself to dine, stay, etcetera.”
“Father won’t hear a bad word spoken about her. It is as if she has something on him, a hold of some sort. He refuses to stand his ground against her. She has turned up on our doorstep and invited herself to stay but insists that Cedrick stays too. Even if we had the room, what my father said last night about not being able to feed two extra mouths has just made the atmosphere in the house fraught. I just wondered if father is inclined to take you into his confidence because right now, we are all worried about just how dire things have become and he won’t tell us.”
“Has your mother not mentioned anything to you?”
