AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Matthew still looked uneasy, but he gave Reginald an awkward nod. “As you wish.”
“You know what has happened to me now. How are you?” Reginald asked.
That’s the worst question I could’ve asked. He’s precisely as I left him.
Matthew Smythe smiled wryly. “I’m still with Buckingham. My dear Emmy, though, has found new employment. She makes a shilling more a week now.”
Emma leaned her cheek against Matthew’s shoulder and gazed at him through her eyelashes. “I doubt the Marquess cares terribly about my extra shilling.”
“I care a great deal,” Reginald replied. “That’s quite good for your family.”
“It must seem like such a small amount to you, though,” Emma replied. “I mean, just looking at you…”
“Well. My father really paid for…these,” Reginald said, gesturing to his clothes. “He’s trying to dress me nicely, so I can fetch a pretty wife.”
“Ah, yes. Lady Marcella, was it?” Matthew asked. “I recall you mentioning her in your letter.”
“I suppose there are stranger ways to attract a lady’s attention,” Emma said. “I met Matthew because he fell on a patch of ice in front of the cemetery.”
“Emma.”
Emma leaned forward and smiled conspiratorially. “From the way he complained, you’d have thought the fall nearly killed him and that he was bound to that same cemetery.”
“In all my experience as a clerk, I’ve yet to encounter anyone whose words are sharper than my own wife’s cruel tongue,” Matthew said dryly.
Reginald remained silent, smiling as his old acquaintances seemed to warm a little.
“You’ve only yourself to blame,” Emma replied. “You knew I had a cruel tongue when you married me, and I do recall once telling you that I’d be most satirical in my descriptions of you.”
“So you did,” Matthew agreed, grinning. “Spoken like a practiced rhetorician.”
Emma beamed at him, looking quite pleased with herself.
“What do you think of my offer?” Reginald asked.
The mood between them seemed decidedly less uncomfortable, so Reginald assumed that would be the best time to reveal his reason for coming to visit. He’d meant what he said when he sent Matthew a letter, asking for his help, and there was no point in delaying.
“I am not at all qualified for the position you propose,” Matthew said.
Reginald had anticipated that Matthew wouldn’t be quick to agree, and he’d come prepared to meet his arguments.
“Are you not a clerk? And did you not keep your master’s books for many years?” Reginald asked. “Keep them very efficiently, I might add.”
“Of course, but that was because Buckingham refused to hire another man to keep the books. For a time, at least. He eventually did.”
“Only because he found some poor, young man who had no other job prospects and who would work for an unseemly small amount,” Reginald said. “That was precisely how you described the incident.”
Matthew sighed. “Yes, and if Buckingham fired that young man tomorrow, I would reluctantly be forced to keep the books once again or else find employment elsewhere.”
“He does treat you dreadfully,” Emma replied, glancing at Reginald. “See? I’ve been trying to pressure my foolish husband into accepting your offer.”
“That’s because you think I’m more skilled than I am,” Matthew argued. “I know that—that I can’t possibly be suited for this job.”
“If I were a merchant, you’d agree to keep my books and figure my expenses,” Reginald replied.
“You aren’t a merchant,” Matthew said. “It’s as simple as that. You need some very learned man. Certainly one who is more learned than I.”
Reginald frowned. “But Itrustyou. For me, that’s quite crucial. This is a delicate situation. With the Marquisate bankrupt, I must find some way to repay the debts, and I must find the source of those debts. I don’t know what it is.”
