Fortune’s Folly
Barbara Miller
Blush sensuality level: This is a sweet romance (kisses only, no sexual content).
Roxanne Whitcomb plans to spend her first season in London after a family scandal—her father’s suicide and her mother’s quick remarriage—finding a rich backer for her brother’s inventions. Better that than searching for a beau amongst the deadly dull ton, who do nothing but whisper and speculate about her situation. But then she meets Spencer Tanner and falls, dare she say it, in love. With a cit! But a handsome, rich, loyal and exasperating cit.
Tanner is attracted to Roxanne’s wit and startled by her volatility. But he assumes she’s like other women of the ton—in need of protection, in desire of convention. Tanner is inclined to wade in with his fists when Roxanne needs assistance, only to discover she is more than capable of rescuing herself. And to his surprise, this only makes him like her more. Or is it something else, something Spencer Tanner never expected to find amidst the fortune hunters in London? Something like…love.
Fortune’s Folly
Barbara Miller
Chapter One
Exeter, England, May, 1823
“Aunt Agatha says I may come to London.” Roxanne Whitcomb sat still for a moment at the small desk in their sitting room as she waited to see if her brother Fredrick had heard her, but so far she could see only the top of his curly brown head as he bent over the plans he had unrolled as soon as the breakfast dishes were removed. She cleared her throat, shook her short dark curls and repeated herself more loudly.
Fredrick finally looked up from the drawings that covered their dining table. “What was that?”
“Aunt Agatha says I may come. I can stay with her and search for an investor to partner with you on your steam-engine design.”
He smiled sadly and shook his head. “Rox, that is not what she expects you are coming for. She thinks you’ve finally agreed to her bringing you out so she can marry you off.”
“It may come to that.” Though Roxanne could not imagine leaving Fredrick to his own devices. He would forget to eat if Cook did not remind him.
He got up and came to lean over her chair and tug on one of her curls. “I don’t want you selling yourself to some jaded man of the ton just so you can convince him to fund my inventions.”
“What else am I to do with myself?” She looked around the neat-as-a-pin room that served all their needs. The upstairs bedrooms and back kitchen also shone with an early-morning cleaning. Only the kitchen garden might miss her attentive hand and Cook could hire a boy to help with that.
“Keeping house for me should not be your life’s work either. Do you mind so much we’ve had to lease the estate to Captain Vance and take up residence here in the gatekeeper’s cottage?”
“I mind that he married Mother and only a year after Father’s death. I think he exerted undue influence over her. What was the point of leasing the estate if he plans to live in London and Paris? We never get to see her or even hear from her.”
“At least we have a bit of money coming in,” Fredrick said. “In truth, I think Father’s friend only leased the place to give us an income. He’s the executor and must know our affairs are in a bad way. Besides, it’s easier to keep up this cottage, and the empty stable provides space for my workshop and forge.”
Roxanne cringed at the mention of the stable. It was indeed empty, all the horses having been auctioned at their guardian’s orders. That meant nothing to Fredrick but it had hurt Roxanne, who loved to ride. “It can’t be so that Mother would have the house she is used to. They are never there.”
Fredrick went to poke at the fire. “It was a bit of a shock, her marrying him. Shows the state of her desperation.”
“She didn’t have to do it to provide for herself. We could have taken care of her. I’m sure she doesn’t love him.”
“You can’t know her mind.”
“I know she was a strong woman before and passionately in love with Father.”
“Even a strong person can be broken by a suicide and the loss of everything.”
Roxanne flung her pen down. “She didn’t lose everything. She had us, but she just left for London then married him without even telling us ahead of time. It wasn’t like her.”
“They have been away,” he said to the fireplace. “You haven’t even seen them together. Perhaps she has come to love Vance.”
Roxanne watched him mend the fire better than she could. “I suspect love seldom enters into marriage.”
He turned to her. “I have no idea but this is all so different from the life you were meant to lead.”
“I like it here. I have a purpose, helping you with your work and reminding you to eat. I’ll leave Cook with instructions to annoy you until you do eat your dinner.”
“What I’m trying to say is I don’t want you to make a loveless marriage, not for my sake.”
“I’m disillusioned with marriage. I don’t care if I find a husband or not.”
“You’re disillusioned with Mother’s marriage. Perhaps I should come with you. London isn’t the safest place in the world.”
“Neither is Exeter and I go there by myself in the pony-trap all the time.”
“Don’t remind me. Can’t Cook do the marketing?” He hung the poker back on the stand.
“I shall be fine. Aunt Agatha would never let any harm come to me. Besides, you will be coming for your birthday anyway. There will be papers to sign when you come of age.”
“I suspect I will be inheriting a mountain of debt but I will come.”
“All the more reason to find you an investor. Now I must write an answer to her and pack my best clothes.” She turned to the small desk she used for correspondence and got out her best parchment.
“Don’t remind me. I should take better care of you. It’s just that I get involved in my work.” He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. “I know. I can take you shopping before you go.”
Roxanne laughed. “I’m not leaving this minute. Besides, you know whatever we buy here will never be fashionable enough for her. She will toss it out and buy me new.”
“Which is why I do not like to visit her often. I don’t like her spending her money on us. It makes me feel cheap.”
“But it’s not as though I want for anything. I think we go on quite well.”
“Spending all our money on my work. You would.”
“I would rather get a job and support myself,” Roxanne taunted.
He shook his head. “It simply isn’t done.”
“It’s done by most of the women I know, including Cook.”
“But not by a genteel lady.”
“I am barely a lady and certainly not that genteel.”
“Not when you are ranting at the tradesmen for trying to cheat us. You have a scary reputation locally.” He grinned at her.
“I am glad for it. I will not let anyone take advantage of us but we must get your inventions funded. That is why leaning on Aunt Agatha is necessary. We can pay her back when you are rich and famous.”
“I was wondering why we don’t just ask Aunt Agatha to invest in my high-pressure steam engine.”
“Can you imagine trying to explain it to her? And she’d never agree.”
“But if you are to fake husband hunting, is it not possible you will find yourself in a position where you must accept someone?”
“I may have to make that sacrifice if it is required of me.”
“I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me.”
“Fredrick, since I have not fallen in love with anyone in all these years, it seems unlikely I am romantic. A marriage of convenience might suit me very well.”
“But is this fair to Aunt, to have you pretending to
comply with her wishes while you keep your own agenda?”
“I can do both. I will be at my most subtle.”
Fredrick tried to rub the worry lines out of his forehead. “Rox, you are always frank to a fault and never subtle.”
“I can be clever as well.”
Fredrick strode over to lean on her chair again, making it creak. “What I mean is that I wish you would find someone, a husband. I don’t mean for his money but someone who would take care of you better than I can.”
She realized her brother really did care about her more than his inventions. She had to think of a way to allay his fears. “It’s a big city. The season is at its height. With a little good fortune I might just manage both. Now go back to work while I answer this letter.”
She hoped that she sounded enthusiastic about a trip to London. She would never tell her brother that need was the only thing that would force her into the ton again. Her only romance, if you could call it such, ended when her fiancé dropped her because of her father’s suicide. And he didn’t even confront her. He simply pretended he’d never offered for her.
She didn’t think she would ever trust a man again. But this was different. She would be the predator in this case, someone who took advantage and got enough financing to help her brother with his work. She had thought and thought but no other solution came to her other than to trade her life for his happiness. She knew that if they did not move quickly, someone else would a build a high-pressure steam engine and get the patent before Fredrick.
Chapter Two
Two weeks later, Roxanne was working her way around the edge of an elegant candlelit ballroom, scrutinizing the men and feeling not quite so predatory. She realized now she had no notion how to go about entrancing a man, even one she didn’t care about. They looked at her, some even with interest, but those were sure to be the ones her aunt warned her away from. How on earth could you tell a respectable man from a gamester or fortune hunter? They all had gleams in their eyes.
Due to her inattention she brushed elbows with a petite blonde girl in a white dress, who was hurrying from the room.
“Are you unwell?”
“No, I am fine.” The girl nearly ran from her on her tiny slippers.
“But you are crying,” Roxanne whispered.
“Take no notice. This always happens. They don’t like me, you see.” The girl paused to regard her. “You were looking for someone. Who?”
“A cit and a wealthy one.”
The girl’s fair brow wrinkled in concentration but her tears stopped. “My brother is a cit but I don’t think you should use that term.”
Roxanne followed her into the hall. “A businessman? Really? Perhaps he would be a candidate.”
“But cit is a term of disparagement.”
“Have I offended you then? I only wanted to find someone to invest in my brother’s steam-engine designs. Has your brother investments in mines?”
“I don’t think so. Our fortune came from wool manufacturing but lately it’s the foundry that Spencer is most interested in.”
“That’s no good then. I need someone who owns mines.”
“You came to London just to find an investor for your brother? Why didn’t he come himself?”
“Too modest. He has talent and brains but no ambition. Actually my aunt is bringing me out to find me a husband.”
“I’m Holly Tanner and I am looking for a husband as well, rather against my will,” she said. She wrenched open the double doors of a room at the end of the corridor and led Roxanne inside.
“I’m Roxanne Whitcomb.”
“Yes, I know.”
Roxanne stared up at row upon row of volumes, more than she could ever read. They’d had a library like this at Whitcomb Hall until it had been put to auction. She craned her neck to look around at a room bigger than her whole cottage and spun to admire so much literature, her cream-colored silk evening gown swirling about her. And this was just Mr. Tanner’s town house. What must his country estate be like?
She stopped herself. She could not possibly prey on Holly’s brother now that she had struck up an acquaintance with her. She would far rather have Holly for a friend and confidant than Spencer Tanner for a husband.
“So neither of us really wants to marry. It’s comforting somehow to know I’m not singular in that respect. Friends?” She stopped and waited for Holly to compose herself. The girl looked to be a few years younger, which awakened Roxanne’s sympathy.
“I have never had a friend before.”
“Am I too bold to call you friend already?”
“No, but what have the two of us in common if you are only looking for an investor and I am avoiding the prospect of marriage?”
“Dear Holly. I have no designs on your brother. I like you for yourself. We just seem somewhat alike in not knowing how to play this game.”
“And not even wanting to.” Holly moved nervously about the room, which said something for her agitation because it was a restful room. “Friends by all means, for I sorely need a confidant.”
Roxanne followed Holly with her gaze, try to calm her by example and distract her. “Do you think your brother might know anyone who owns a mine?”
Her new friend stopped and stared at her. “I can ask. For now I must hide from these people for a few moments.” She retreated behind a sofa, which was pointed toward the fireplace.
“Who are you hiding from? Who doesn’t like you?”
“Any of the girls also searching for husbands. They resent that I have a large income and may snag someone they want.”
Roxanne sat next to her. “When really you would never want to marry someone who only cared about money.”
“Exactly, because he would be like Spencer or worse. I know my brother cares about me but sometimes he’s so cold and he just doesn’t listen to me. Roxanne, you are Lady Sherbourne’s niece, aren’t you?”
“How do you know that?”
“From the receiving line. Don’t you recall? I was in it. This is my brother’s house.”
“I’m so sorry. I have a horrible memory for names. My head spins every time I meet a group of people. When my aunt quizzes me about them later, I never get them straight.”
“You don’t seem like the others.”
“Arrogant, you mean? Frivolous? I have no reason to be but I am angry that someone insulted you in your own house. You should tell your brother.”
“Oh no, I must not for he has a terrible temper and might ruin all. Spencer thinks I am having a wonderful time. The ball is for me so I can’t be complaining about the guests. If ever he gets angry he might do something rash.”
“He should do something rash if they are rude. Your brother should throw them out. And if you don’t like them or even want to get married, why not anger him and put an end to it?”
“Oh, you are too much like him.” Holly almost cringed. “Please promise me you will say nothing to him about those girls.”
“Of course not, if you don’t wish it.”
“So little is in my control, I thank you for that. I have my duty to Mother to think of. I could never embarrass her.”
“Shall we go out together?” Roxanne took her hand and patted it. “You don’t have to fear these predatory misses. I will stare them down for you.”
“I don’t think you should. Then they will gossip about you as well.”
“People always gossip about me. Why should London be any different?”
The door opened and Roxanne turned her head to watch a tall, well-dressed man enter. He had straight brown hair fashionably cut but his handsome, ordinary face was lent character by a scar over one eyebrow. He had something else, a sort of presence, a solidity like a stone wall. She had the feeling she could lean on him and he would never buckle.
Roxanne remembered him from the receiving line. Only then his smile had been artificial and now it was genuine. She could tell in an instant he truly did love his sister. That put him out of bounds. If he was a good m
an, there was no way she could take advantage of him.
“I thought I might find you here. Who is your companion?”
Roxanne smiled and stood. “I am happy I am not the only one to mislay names. I’m Roxanne Whitcomb.”
He approached with a broad grin. She offered her hand and he took it lightly. Then she thought that was forward, especially when he gazed at her long enough to memorize her face.
“It’s the eyes,” she said. “No one can decide if they are green or blue.”
He grinned again and dropped her hand. “Sorry if I was staring. You are Agatha Sherbourne’s niece. There are so many to remember.”
“And you are Spencer Tanner. At least I have that right. We were discussing if Holly would be allowed to come to tea tomorrow. We are only a few streets away on Manchester Square. And her mother, as well, if she wishes to come.”
She glanced at her new acquaintance and saw the girl’s eyes open wide in amazement. What was so startling about a polite prevarication? She would have invited them to tea given a bit more time.
“If they’d like. I will bring them myself.”
“You are invited as well, of course.”
“I will bring Holly. Mother does not go out much but I will ask her. For now, there is dancing going on and you are both missing it.”
He led them back to the ballroom, one on each arm.
“Who is your partner for this dance?” he asked Holly.
“I don’t have one.”
“You should dance with your sister, Mr. Tanner, so she sees how it is done.”
“Very well, then may I have the next dance with you?”
Roxanne went through the formality of checking her empty dance card and said, “It’s open.” She was sure he realized her ruse for he smiled again when he left her.
As Roxanne watched brother and sister perform the country dance, she racked her brains to remember anything Aunt Agatha had said about the Tanners. It was something to the effect of, “We may as well use the invitation. Everyone will be there. But they are in trade, my dear, and only one generation removed from the mill. Perhaps not even that. It is said that Tanner supervises his own businesses.”
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