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“Those rumors of my honorable nature could have been exaggerated.”
“I’m willing to take a gamble. I have firsthand knowledge of your skills and the speed with which you complete difficult renovations. You know me tobe the sister of a duke, and therefore solvent enough to satisfy your most outrageous salary request. Which is . . . ?”
The lady wanted a business arrangement. Very well, he could keep things strictly professional, and profitable in the bargain. He named an outrageous sum of money, more than he would earn in two years at sea.
She swallowed. “That is acceptable.” She didn’t even try to bargain lower.
“You’d pay me that much?”
“It’s a high salary, but there was a small inheritance included with the property, and I intend to sell the collection of bawdy books, anonymously of course. You’ll be paid half up front, and the rest after you complete the work. That is if you’re able to do so. You have less than a fortnight now.”
The sum would put his dream of owning property within reach. There was nothing else to hesitate about. Save enough money to buy his own plot of land and become a thorn in his grandfather’s side at the same time. It was irresistible. He’d always enjoyed a challenge, and working long and hard was nothing new.
“I accept.”
“Very good. I would ask that you follow a few simple rules, the first being that you will refrain from calling me princess.”
“Whatever you say, pr—Your Ladyship.”
“And I would ask that we keep our working relationship dispassionate and professional.”
“That’s not a problem for me, if it’s no problem for you.”
“No mention of kisses, unforgettable or otherwise.”
“I can control my lips if you can control yours, Your Ladyship.”
“And you’re to wear a coat at all times.”
“Can’t do that last one. Carpenters don’t wear coats. We’d split the seams out of all of them.”
“I want you to remain respectable if you’re in my employ. My mother might decide to visit the shop.”
“Most ladies enjoy the view.”
“Will you listen to yourself?”
“I’m only speaking an established truth.”
“This is serious, Wright. Foxton wants this property, and I have a feeling he’ll stop at nothing to attempt to purchase, or steal it, away from me. I will rely on you to function as a sort of guard, as well. Will you move into the premises?”
“Happy to. It will be far more comfortable than the room I’m sharing with Tiny right now. The giant doesn’t leave much space for me.”
“You may use Aunt Matilda’s room. It’s the largest and most well-appointed.”
“Those pink velvet bed hangings will have to go. Not very manly.”
“Remove any furnishings you please, the décor will have to be completely redone when the property becomes a clubhouse. I’m determined to save the shop from Foxton’s avaricious clutches, Mr. Wright. I believe that the world needs a clubhouse to support the goals of ladies far more than it requires another polluting factory.”
“Hear, hear.”
“I view Foxton as a symbol of every man who hasever stood in the way of female goals and ambitions. Every man who attempts to control us, cut us down to size, and take our property and our very freedom.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Foxton was a symbol to him, as well. The villain who had exiled his parents to the countryside and stolen their futures away.
Ford and his grandfather shared a name, and they shared a blood connection, but that was where any similarities ended. Foxton was obsessed with money and power to the exclusion of all else. He was a monster who valued gold more than his own family.
This was Ford’s chance to set up a blockade in the path of his grandfather’s ruthless ambitions. And he’d be helping freethinking lady knitters in the process.
