by Renée Dahlia
“I know this looks like I’m running off again.” Priya finished doing up the buttons under her armpit on her evening gown.
“It does feel like a pattern.”
“Did you read the article?”
“No. What article?”
Priya breathed in deep, then exhaled loudly. “Fraud Finder has written another article accusing Carlingford. This time of tax fraud. I have to meet with Ashwin to figure out what to do.”
“Surely that’s his problem? I’d like to discuss our future.”
Priya’s nostrils flared. “As would I, however, Fraud Finder specifically mentioned the War Widows Charity and it feels like a personal attack. I’ve resisted putting any resources into finding who is behind the by-line until now.”
“Perhaps it is time.” Rosalie tried put her personal emotional response to the side; shoved into a dark corner in her heart in the same place occupied by her parents. They didn’t care for her and maybe Priya didn’t either. She pressed her fist against her heart and shook off the ugly connection. Priya was nothing like her flippant parents who cared about themselves more than anyone else. It was obvious that Priya was the opposite; she cared about everyone else before she thought of herself. This issue with the paper mattered to Priya, and Rosalie gasped.... Then by extension, the issue with Fraud Finder mattered to Rosalie as well.
“I will accompany you. Mrs Patel can alter my meetings.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t. I want to; besides my bank is a major contributor to the War Widows project and I’d like to help figure this out.”
“Then it’s about protecting the bank’s interests?” Priya tilted her head and narrowed her eyes a little.
“No. It’s about you and me.” Rosalie was too old for this insecure argument. She wanted to settle down with someone, and no one matched her like Priya. They had always had a fierce chemistry; as proven six years ago and reiterated last night. She hungered for Priya, despite all their little dramas and miscommunications. There had been a few lovers in her past who might have welcomed a domestic arrangement with Rosalie, yet it’d never felt right. Not until now...with Priya.
“I want to help you because you matter to me. That’s why I signed the bank up to your charity.” A shiver raced down her spine as Priya’s beautiful brown eyes widened.
“You don’t believe in the cause?”
“Yes. I do. Of course I do. I also believe in you. I want you to achieve wonderful things for the women of London, those who’ve been hurt by the war and forgotten by our government. I know you care and you’ll do the best you can for them. And I want to stand beside you when you do it.” It was a declaration from her heart. Why did it feel like she spoke from the pit of her stomach? Why did it seem like she’d gone too far? Again.
“Thank you.” Priya’s simple acceptance stole Rosalie’s breath, while Priya’s carefully blank expression didn’t seem to register Rosalie’s declaration. Did she understand, or was she just distracted by work? Priya was a puzzle that Rosalie would never get bored with; she could spend years listening to her and trying to understand what was going on in that brain of hers.
“Let me call Ashwin and we can organise a time to meet.”
“You are most welcome to use my telephone any time you want.” Rosalie relied on a polite phrase, when all she wanted to say was that everything she owned, all she had, was Priya’s to use as she wanted. If Priya needed to build their relationship slowly, then Rosalie would try and ignore her desperation and wait. Patience. She’d waited so long already; she was forty-two years old and still without a life partner. For six long years, she’d waited for Priya to be ready, because she’d known from the first time they’d touched that Priya was the woman for her. The one she wanted as a wife; if not legally because that wasn’t possible, then a wife of her heart. It was a long time to wait for someone, and so often Rosalie had wondered if she shouldn’t give up. Settle on someone else. Someone less challenging, less empathetic, less... well, less Priya. Rosalie had been willing to watch Priya sow her wild oats, in the same way Rosalie had done in her twenties. It was only fair. And then the war had broken out and everything had changed. Did Priya regret not having that time to play and discover her own desires?
Priya’s arm brushed against Rosalie, bringing her skin to life again with delicious prickles, as she walked out of the room. Rosalie rubbed her arm, and began to follow, only to stop herself. She would dress for work instead.
***
It was hours later when Priya stood outside her brother’s office building with Rosalie hovering at her shoulder. Ashwin had been away from the office all morning, dealing with an issue at one of their factories, so while Priya had met with Uncle Will and Mother, she’d also taken up Rosalie’s offer to visit the library and compile all of Fraud Finder’s articles. Now they both stood outside Ashwin’s office and Priya really wanted to know what Rosalie had discovered. Her own meeting had gone well enough; Mother had her usual confidence that Carlingford would prevail in any type of conflict. She’d been trained in the business by Grandfather Carlingford who’d started the whole enterprise, and she’d always had a good sense of self-confidence. Both her and Uncle Will had the same gregarious charm, while Ashwin and Priya had clearly inherited Father’s cautious legal view on the world, wanting to ensure all the angles were covered before a decision could be made. Her parents made a perfect partnership; charm and diligence together complimenting each other’s skills. Uncle Will and Uncle Sanjay had a similar relationship and one that had evolved over time. Sanjay was Father’s older brother and he’d always been a little frightening when Priya was little because he was so tall and important and he looked down his nose at everyone, while Will, Mother’s brother, was a joker. It’d taken Will years before Grandfather Carlingford had accepted that he was clever enough to help run the family business, and Mother always said it was unfair. She would’ve loved the chance to flirt with life, and instead she studied to prove she was as worthy as her brother. Priya came into the world surrounded by strong personalities and she’d always found it easier to let them manage the major decisions while she did her own thing, often unseen. It didn’t matter to her heart though, as she still held all the responsibility of their decisions and she had worked hard to make her opinions heard.
“You were right. There is a pattern to his articles and it’s certainly easy to see them as a personal attack.”
“You didn’t find any clues as to his identity?” Priya knew it was a forlorn hope. Fraud Finder was clever enough to stick the boot in without mentioning himself. He didn’t need to.
“Perhaps?”
Hope fluttered and flared in her chest. “Really?”
“Men like Fraud Finder think they are so clever that they don’t realise what clues they are leaving behind. He knows things about Ashwin that only someone who went to school with him would know.”
“Then we simply ask Ashwin who he went to school with that works in the newspaper industry.” Priya breathed out and smiled. They might actually discover who held enough of a grudge against Carlingford Enterprises to create a petty newspaper campaign against them. For a second, Priya paused; she’d gone from worrying about the underlying truths in the articles to realising that perhaps Fraud Finder wasn’t as forthright in his reasoning for writing as she’d first assumed. There was more to it than the simple fact that Carlingford had built war machines. Mother often said that she assumed everyone else was as empathetic as her, and it wasn’t always the case. It was Mother’s opinion that people tended to make selfish decisions, and even the outwardly empathetic choices that Priya made were selfish. She, selfishly, didn’t want to have to carry this weight and she wanted to life a live where the decisions she had some say in could be made without hurting people. Priya agreed with the need to release her guilt and the weight of it, if not with the selfish sentiment of her cynical mother.
Ashwin opened the door and ran his hand through his hair. Her b
rother looked dreadful as if he hadn’t slept in days and his light brown skin was pale with his brown eyes seeming bigger, slightly sunken, in his face. The rough shadow of his stubble reflected the shadows under his eyes too.
“Come in. Come in. I’m sorry I’m late. It’s been a dreadful day.”
Priya stepped into his office and noted the empty coffee cups on the table. “Ashwin. What happened?”
“There was nearly an accident at our Liverpool yard yesterday. I went as soon as I heard and arrived late last night. I spent all day interviewing the staff.” Liverpool was a three hour train ride from their London office; and given the state of Ashwin’s exhaustion, she could easily believe that he’d barely slept since hearing about the accident.
“Oh no. What happened?”
“One worker fell from some scaffolding and is very lucky to be uninjured.”
Priya’s problems with her charity become irrelevant, put into perspective by a potential injury at their work. Stopping incidents like this were the key to preventing people dying at work, and they’d seen enough death in the past few years that this was a significant issue for Carlingford. Ships could be built without hurting people, and they could be built quickly.
“Were all the processes followed?”
“No. I’m furious; the new foreman put a one-legged soldier up on a scaffold when we’ve specifically said that returned soldiers who are managing injuries need to make their own decisions about what they are comfortable with. The injured worker stated he didn’t want to work on scaffolds.” Ashwin breathed out and glanced at Rosalie. “We employ returned servicemen and women, and we have a duty of care to them.”
Priya nodded then turned to face Rosalie. “It’s one of the ways we are working to help returned soldiers. Too many soldiers have been constantly rejected from work because of their long term war injuries; missing limbs and facial injuries are the most common ones.”
“When the war broke out, we promised those who fought that they’d always have a job with us when they came back. It’s been a challenge finding ways to employ some of them given their long term health issues...” Ashwin’s voice faded off.
“But worth while.” Priya watched warily until Rosalie nodded.
“You both share the same value set; that your business can help people.”
“Yes. That’s why I’ve been on trains all day visiting the hospital, the factory, and the family. You know we will look after the injured worker and his whole family. It’s the least we can do.” Dark shadows ran under Ashwin’s eyes and he rubbed the corners of them. Ashwin sat on the edge of his desk, obviously shattered by the injury, and Priya gave him a quick hug.
“I trust you to put in place more steps to ensure our staff stay safe.”
After a long time, Ashwin pushed Priya away. “What did you want?”
“It can wait.”
“Priya.” The warning in Ashwin’s voice made her roll her eyes.
“Fine. Fraud Finder published another defamatory article about Carlingford this morning. He claims we are using our philanthropic work as a tax dodge.”
Ashwin pursed his lips. “Technically you could make an argument that he’s right.”
“Excuse me? I’ve seen the accounts. It’s all above board.”
“Legally yes. Morally? Ethically? We use the charitable spending to lower our profit margin and that in turn lowers our tax burden. It’s not fraud because the government has set the laws that allow it, but is it right?”
“For two people who run a major company, you both have a lot of qualms about how you go about it.” Rosalie laughed and Priya spun to face her. To hear Rosalie make a jest of the question Priya had grappled with her whole life stung, and her whole body stiffened.
“We’ve always tried to run Carlingford for the good of the majority. Someone once said that with great power comes great responsibility and we’ve been brought up to understand how many families rely on Carlingford for the weekly wage. We have a responsibility to ensure every worker goes home safely with enough money to feed their family. Today we failed at that commitment.”
“Then it’s not much of a stretch to see why Fraud Finder’s articles and accusations feel real. They’ve come on a day when you already feel like a failure in your duty of care. Empathy runs in the family, it seems.” Rosalie’s pragmatism didn’t really help.
“Empathy isn’t a curse. It’s a blessing. We’ve been given an opportunity to help many people; through creating jobs for them and giving them chances to improve their lives, and through our charitable work to help those who can’t work.” Priya could feel her blood start to heat up and the tips of her ears burned.
“I know. It’s incredible.”
“Excuse me?” Priya stared blankly at Rosalie as one compliment shifted the whole argument. What exactly was she trying to say? That trying to run their company with a strong ethical base was a waste of time, or that their efforts were worthwhile?
“It’s truly amazing to see what you’ve built with from the foundation your grandfather gave you. Too many people born into wealth waste the opportunity by throwing it away on parties.” Rosalie’s voice deepened to a low alto pitch.
“Like your father?” At least Priya understood that part of Rosalie’s argument; and with a short nod, she realised that perhaps Rosalie held a tinge of jealousy about Priya’s family and maybe that was the reason she prodded Priya about the one insecurity she had. They’d need to talk about this and resolve it if they were going to have a relationship together; they couldn’t spend their time together jabbing at each other’s hurts. Not if they mattered to each other.
“Yes. You don’t know how lucky you are to have a family who love you and support you, and a worth ethic that builds something that helps other people. Please value that.”
Priya nodded. “I do value that. Ashwin. I’m going to call Eliza and have her take you home. You look exhausted. Fraud Finder can wait until tomorrow. He’s not going anywhere.” Priya ducked outside Ashwin’s office and marched up to his secretary to get a call placed through to Eliza. After her initial misgivings—which had more to do with her own complicated relationship with wealth than anything to do with Eliza—she’d found it easy to accept Eliza. She had a lot of time for the dancer who made her brother happy, and if there was any time when Eliza could step up and learn how to help Ashwin with the pressures of his job, now was it. Ashwin really needed someone he could trust with his burdens, a true partner. A little lump formed in her stomach; was it Ashwin who needed that, or Priya who yearned for it for herself? She pushed the thought away to focus on the moment. Priya hadn’t given much thought recently to Ashwin’s upcoming nuptials; she’d had too much of her own issues on her mind. She was strongly tempted to use his engagement to distract her from the discussion she needed to have with Rosalie. No. It would be cowardly of her to do such a thing, and she firmly believed she was forceful enough to tackle problems head on. If there was one thing she’d been taught by her family it was that in business, a quick response always worked out better than any attempt to evade or avoid a problem. Why wouldn’t it be the same in a relationship?
Chapter 16
Priya stood in the hallway of her family home beside Rosalie. Should she invite her to stay, or say good night?
“Would you like to come to my house for dinner?” Rosalie asked. After driving Ashwin home, Priya left him in the drawing room with Eliza, quietly chatting over a pot of tea and it’d taken all of Priya’s energy to leave them alone. The idea of a pot of tea and a comfortable sofa was highly appealing. From the moment she’d woken up in Rosalie’s bed this morning to now, every second had been filled with information and she really needed some quiet time to mull it all over.
“Are you certain? I‘ve already taken up your entire day.”
“Yes, I’m completely certain.” Rosalie didn’t hesitate and Priya let her confidence wash away the niggling doubt. Rosalie hadn’t been at the bank all day because she’d been chasing down in
formation about Fraud Finder for her, so Priya nodded because she understood the sacrifice of one day’s work. It wasn’t easy for the boss to step away for a day, and especially when the boss was a woman with all the pressures of being surrounded by men who wanted to prove Rosalie wasn’t up to the task. The memory of their discussion around how Rosalie had almost lost the job she’d earned to her useless father flickered and Priya swallowed. What did it mean that Rosalie would put her job at risk for her?
“Like I said this morning, my dearest wish would be to spend my evenings with you. Every evening.” Rosalie’s voice didn’t waver; the only thing wavering was Priya’s own heartbeat.
“Are you saying?” Priya didn’t want to articulate it aloud. Did Rosalie truly want a proper relationship, like that of Uncle Will and Uncle Sanjay, where they lived together? As spinsters. A giggle caught in the back of her throat at the ironic term sapphic women had used for centuries to disguise the true nature of their relationships.
“Yes. I’ve spent many years trying to find a long term companion—”
