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Henry noted that she made no attempt to dismiss a connection to Pettigrew. “It is possible that those letters and the man who followed you will be the end of it. It hasn’t stopped you from your plans, correct?”
Georgiana nodded. “I’m still waiting on the final paperwork, but once I sign everything, it will be mine.” She let out a heavy sigh. “This would never happen to a man. All my rivals own miles of properties around London and have their hands in all sorts of industries. Do you thinktheywould ever consider backing down from a deal? Absolutely not.”
“But you aren’t just buying up property,” Henry pointed out. “You’re threatening the entire system they benefit from.”
“Exploitis more like it,” she said. “I took a pay cut to raise my workers’ wages, which are well above my closest competitor’s, I won’t tell you what that translates to in pounds, but it’s not exactly an obscene amount of money.”
“But it means you can’t live in Mayfair,” he countered as he put the pieces together. “Or employ a full staff or host lavish events like the one we just attended.”
“Well, no. I suppose not,” she conceded. “But I never thought of it as a loss. For me, it was a relief to change house. And it isn’t as though I live in a shack now.”
Henry’s lips quirked. “Hardly.”
“If people like me did with just a little bit less, then the lower classes could be pulled out of poverty.”
“Perhaps, but there are many who disagree. They would say they deserve their riches and that the poor would fritter away any handouts they received.”
“I know that,” she snapped. “Believeme. And it is the absolute height of hypocrisy. Most of the people in that ballroom have never worked a day in their lives. They either inherited their money or married into it or both.”
“Like you.” Henry didn’t mean to say that aloud, but he hadn’t yet mastered that old bitter impulse inside him.
She flinched, then went quiet for a moment. “Yes. Exactly like me,” she finally said. “But at least I am trying to do something about it. If I didn’t run this business, someone who didn’t give a damn would have bought it. And then nothing would have changed at all. My employees want to work, Captain. Many of those women are the breadwinners for their families. They want to earn a fair living, and they deserve to be treated humanely.”
Regret tore through him. Lady Arlington may have done him wrong years ago, but that didn’t mean she was irredeemable. And she did seem to be making a genuine effort to improve the lives of people less fortunate than herself.
The carriage slowed as they turned onto her street, and she glanced out the window. “Nearly there.” Her face was briefly illuminated by the streetlight, and Henry realized she had been blushing.
Christ. He really was an ass.
His arm shot out but stopped short of touching her. “Please allow me to apologize. I was unforgivably rude just now. And for no reason.”
She met his gaze, and those sapphire eyes cut straight through to the heart of him, just as they had all those years ago.
“What you are doing is admirable. And you’re right. If you were a man, this probably wouldn’t be happening to you. It may all come to nothing, but for now you have people who care about you very much and are worried for your safety. I realize that might seem silly to you, and you think my work is unnecessary—and perhaps it is—but just know that I am doing everything I can to put them at ease. That must mean something.”
She bowed her head and the blush deepened. “I hadn’t considered how worried my siblings have been. I suppose I thought they were being foolish.”
“It isn’t foolish to worry about someone,” Henry said softly. “It means you care. And it hasn’t just been your siblings. Poor Mr. Khan seemed greatly distressed.”
Her mouth curved as she looked up. “And Mr. Khan, of course. He really is quite the mother hen.”
Henry laughed. “Is he, now?”
“Oh yes. He’s forever fretting that I’m not eating or sleeping enough. Though I suppose that isn’t a bad quality to have in a secretary.”
“Mine is the same way.”
“She seems nice,” Lady Arlington offered, her eyes searching his own.
“Delia? She’s very good. And are you?” Henry asked, now feeling rather like a mother hen himself. “Not eating or sleeping enough, I mean.”
“Probably not. Mr. Khan thinks I need to go away for a few weeks. Somewhere warm,” she added.
“It’s not a bad idea.”
“Maybe. Once the papers are signed.”
She glanced out the window again. They had nearly reached her house.
