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“I’m not a bastard,” said Ford.
“You were conceived out of wedlock. Your father seduced my innocent daughter. I would have sent her to the countryside to give birth and she could have adopted you out, but she had the ludicrous idea in her head that she was in love with her seducer. I couldn’t understand it—a girl who’d been given every opportunity, every privilege and still she rebelled.”
“They loved each other.”
“Stamford. How pathetic that Joyce named youafter me. Such a transparent bid for reconciliation. She wanted my money, you see. Because your father couldn’t support her.”
Beatrice advanced on Ford, eyes sparking with fire. “Is it true? Is he your grandfather?”
“Yes, but I can explain everything.”
“You lied to me. I thought you wanted to help me, to help the ladies. I thought you were helping me out of kindness, out of love for this house, love for... for me.” Her voice broke and he fought the impulse to throw his arms around her and kiss away her tears.
“I did want to help... I do... If you’ll allow me to explain,” he said.
“You think he loves you, Lady Beatrice?” Foxton gave a mirthless laugh. “Fortune hunters don’t fall in love. His father married my daughter thinking that I would allow her to keep her dowry. Like father, like son.”
“That’s not true. Beatrice, you know me.”
“Do I? Ford... do I know you?”
“A lovers’ quarrel, how tragic,” said Foxton. “He didn’t tell you that he was helping you renovate the property because he wanted revenge on me?”
“I didn’t want revenge before, but now I do,” Ford said bitterly. “I want you to know you can’t own everyone and everything. You won’t force her out of this house, the way you forced my mother out and cut her off mercilessly.”
“But you see, I can own everything and everyone.” His smug voice made Ford want to smash something. “If you run home, Lady Beatrice, you’ll be there before your mother rises and all of this can be forgotten.”
“If I sell you the property,” she said.
“That’s right. Clever girl.”
“You can’t control her,” Ford ground out. “You don’t even rule your daughters. Every year they meet in secret, defying your decrees, clinging to their love for one another in the face of your tyranny.”
Foxton frowned. “They do?”
Too late, Ford realized his mistake. He’d spilled his mother’s secret in the heat of anger, and his aunt would surely pay the price.
“They haven’t met for years,” he lied.
“You’re lying. You said they met every year. Is it soon?”
His mother’s coach would be arriving in London in a matter of hours.
“I don’t think you two quite realize what this means,” said Foxton. “Now I have further ammunition. It’s plain for anyone to see that you’re lovers. If you don’t sign this property over to me, Lady Beatrice, I’ll have Mr. Wright expelled from the navy.”
“You couldn’t do that,” said Beatrice.
“Try me. And if that threat isn’t enough, I’ll inform your mother of what I saw here. And I may inform the scandal sheets, as well. I don’t think your little knitting society would survive the taint of such a salacious scandal, do you?”
“You won’t get away with this, Foxton,” Ford said.
“I think I will. The choice is up to you, Lady Beatrice. Your reputation. His career. All I want is this property. I just don’t understand why that’s so difficult for you to comprehend. I’m building a factory here and there is nothing you can do to stop me.Nothing. Do you hear me? I’m willing to let this man sail away. I’m willing to let you continue being a debutante. I’ll keep your dirty little secrets.”
He twisted free of Ford’s fist. “You have until noon today to make your decision, Lady Beatrice. I’ll return with the papers for you to sign.”
He walked out the door with one last smug smile.
Beatrice clutched the doorframe. “Ford, were you using me? Was this only about seeking revenge on your grandfather?”
