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Henry was caught off guard, both by the man’s sudden appearance in his office and the unwelcome reminder of that long ago afternoon. He rarely thought of his failed attempt on the London marriage mart eight years before. Had not allowed himself to. He exchanged a subtle look with Delia, who did a decent job of holding back a smile at his undoubtedly shocked expression, and she quickly excused herself.
He glanced at the young man before straightening a stack of blank envelopes that most certainly didn’t need it. “Of course. How are you?”
“Quite well, actually,” he said with a chuckle and took the seat on the other side of the desk. “It’s been ages, and I was barely out of short pants when last we met.”
Henry met Reginald’s gaze. Along with similar shades of dark blond hair, the Fox siblings all had sapphire-blue eyes. The effect was momentarily unsettling. The young man who sat before him had once been a gangly youth Henry had played several games of chess with. But he had grown into his height and acquired an air of confidence that was usually accompanied by financial success.
“I know you are a busy man, so I won’t keep you too long this morning,” he began before turning sheepish. “It’s just that I’m in a bit of…a pickle.”
Henry’s shoulders relaxed a little at Reginald’s visible discomfort. This was personal for him, then. Good.
“What sort of pickle?” Henry silently ran through the usual: an unhappy mistress, an unpaid gambling debt, a wayward wife. But Reginald wore no ring…
“It’s my sister,” he burst out. “I think she’s in trouble.”
Reginald Fox had three sisters. That didn’t necessarily mean—
“It’s Georgiana. Lady Arlington,” he added unnecessarily.
Henry pulled his hands back from the envelopes and placed them on his lap, where Reginald couldn’t see them tighten into fists. “What makes you think that?”
“I heard from her secretary that she has gotten a few upsetting messages recently. After the death of her husband about a year and a half ago, she inherited two garment factories my father once owned. They had been part of her dowry, you see.”
Henry recalled that the late Mr. Fox had been a stockbroker but invested in a number of different businesses around London.
“My sister decided they needed to be improved. She’s become something of a reformist,” Reginald said with a little laugh. “At first we all thought it was a splendid idea. It kept her busy. Happy, even. Especially since she and her husband never did have any children.”
Henry shifted in his seat. Though he had taken great pains to ignore any information about the Arlingtons over the years, it had been nearly impossible since returning to London. It seemed that everyone knew the viscount had died without an heir, leaving his beautiful younger wife a wealthy widow.
“Anyway,” Reginald continued, “she’s made a name for herself with all the changes she’s implemented. And her workers love her for it. She pays them the highest wages in the business and enforces safe conditions. I suspect she aims to build a little empire.”
“That’s impressive,” Henry said reluctantly.
Reginald flashed him a smile. “Don’t let her beauty and perfect manners fool you. My sister is quite industrious.”
Henry grunted. He wouldnotcomment on that.
“In any case, not everyone has welcomed her reforms.”
“Her competitors,” Henry guessed.
Reginald nodded. “They complain that her changes will put them out of business, but it’s all nonsense. They want to be able to continue exploiting people without consequence, and my sister is making that increasingly difficult. She’s planning to expand her operations, and it’s caused talk. Plain old gossip I can abide by, but I’ve been informed that some of it is far more nefarious. These men are growing more disgruntled by the day.”
“Has she been threatened directly? Aside from the messages?”
“Not that I know of,” Reginald admitted. “But I think she’s holding things back, so as not to worry any of us.”
“You mean, your other siblings?”
Reginald nodded. From what Henry remembered, the five boisterous Fox siblings had been uncommonly close. One might even be tempted to call themmeddling. Their father was usually tied up in his work, so when their mother died a few years after Ollie, the eldest, was born, Georgiana had stepped in as a de facto parent, though she had been little more than a child herself. But that had been years ago.
And she is no longer Georgiana to you.
Henry felt a slight tremor in his hand and refocused his attention on Reginald.
“Louisa, our youngest sister, has been particularly anxious. Her husband is related to one of Georgie’s rivals and says there’s good reason for caution, but she won’t back down. Georgie’s convinced she can pressure these men into changing their businesses for the better, but she doesn’t understand that they don’t share the same motivations.”
Henry tilted his head. “What do you mean? For success? Power?”
