“Miss Whitcomb is more durable than most. The question is… How did she put it? Do you have the courage to be seen with her?”
“Of course I do.” When Holly dried her eyes and left the room, Tanner found himself staring after her in surprise.
Harding bent his gaze on Tanner. “I don’t know what you’ve said to Miss Whitcomb but I’d keep my distance from her if I were you. She’s detailed several ways she may kill you and has already consigned your soul to the devil.”
Harding left Tanner blinking in shock. For a second he’d almost thought Harding meant to call him out, but the threat had been from Rox. How like her.
Fredrick laughed. “That sounds more like Rox. Sorry, but your face. You’re not angry?”
“Not at her anymore. What business was it of mine to censure her behavior? I agree with her judgment of me.”
“You must be the only man in the world who would rather have a woman damning your eyes than to see her crying.”
“I can’t imagine Rox crying or in despair.”
“As to that, I’m sure she hides it well. I have given her enough cause. Well, this is no day for business, I think.”
“No, I want to discuss your designs.”
Fredrick reached for a leather case. “I brought them with me.”
“I meant your designs on my sister.”
“Ah, I have no such designs. I’m as surprised as you that she would seek comfort in the arms of a total stranger rather than confide in her brother. But I never have understood women.”
“Apparently neither have I.”
“I should be going.”
“No, bring your drawings into the library. I have to get my mind off women or I’ll go mad.”
Tanner felt vacant when he led Fredrick into the normally restful book-lined room, but as the drawings rolled out in front of him he was able to lay aside the scene with Rox and how he could have handled it differently.
“So you can see that the stronger the steam vessel the more power, and if we alternate the piston bursts we don’t lose as much energy.”
“And this is all in aid of pumping water?”
“Oh, lord no, though that is what I started doing, mine drainage. The merchants need a faster way of getting fleece to market in the Southwest. They used to raise all they need but now fleece must come from all over. Then the wool, if not used where it is cleaned and spun, must go to factories for dyeing and weaving. I want to make a compact steam engine that will move wagons of fleece.”
“On the roads.”
“If they were in better repair. But currently there are small sections of rails in various areas. They used to be wooden but more and more are cast in iron. Now rail wagons are pulled by teams of horses. If we replace those with small engines capable of moving those carts, all we need is a supply of coal.”
“And those same carts can carry coal.”
“Yes, and more coal than fleece, because it’s less bulky. The bounds are limitless.”
“You are speaking of a steam railway.”
“On a small scale and using rights of way already established. You must have track-moving carts in your factory.”
“Yes, drawn by teams.”
“Ten horses could be put back into agriculture with one such engine, which does not need to rest. And the fleece can be shifted to steam carts with carriage wheels to run on the roads where there are no tracks. Unfortunately, I don’t bring anything to this table but my plans and offer of hard work,” Fredrick finished up rather breathlessly.
Tanner nodded and smiled. “Will you work for me initially? The ownership remains yours but we must proceed with this. It’s too important not to.”
“Gladly. When may I see your smelting factory?”
“Now.”
“But it’s Sunday.”
“The only day it is quiet. Let’s go.”
As Tanner showed Fredrick around the smelting area, chain-making shop and the shed with the great molds where they forged anchors, half his mind was still on Rox, how beautiful she had looked when he condemned her for galloping in the park. He had never seen such a flush to her cheeks. No other young lady of his acquaintance would own to having a fit of temper and she had actually warned him that arguing was one of her avocations.
When he thought about the gallop like that, it seemed a small thing. She had raced a horse in the park and would be regarded as fast by everyone in the ton. What business was that of his? He tried to tell himself it was because Rox’s reputation might reflect on Holly but he had more than enough applicants for Holly’s hand. They had been reluctant to show much interest in her in public but the notes kept arriving. That might mean each of them planned to wall her up at a country estate and simply take advantage of her income.
If he admitted the truth, his anger was because of how Rox would reflect on him if she accepted his proposal. Perhaps it was his fault. He had proposed to her but when she seemed hesitant, he had given her the space she said she needed. If only he had pushed her to accept him before the ride with Sir John, none of this would have happened. She would have accepted his offer and there would have been no ride, no bet, no race. Was this ride with Sir John a way of discouraging Tanner’s interest? It had not put Sir John off but it had stopped Tanner in his tracks.
He thought of her bright eyes and defiant smile. She had looked more alive today than at any time since he’d met her and that was saying much. He could not convince himself that she would have accepted his proposal or that even if she had, she would have foregone the race, would have restrained her emotions. She was not the wife for him. Or perhaps it was simply that he was not the husband for her.
By the time they finished their inspection and preliminary plans, it was time to drive home and change for dinner. If he was still received by Lady Sherbourne, he would have to contrive a moment when he could apologize to Rox for his presumption and try to figure out if there were any tatters of their friendship left.
* * * * *
Lady Sherbourne received and greeted Tanner as though nothing had happened. Rox cast Tanner a cold, indifferent look as Holly sat beside her on the window seat. His mother began a close dialogue with Lady Sherbourne. That left Tanner with no choice but to make conversation with Harding until Fredrick came down from changing.
Rox stood up when Sir John was shown into the drawing room.
“Sir John, so good of you to come,” Agatha said.
“It was the least I could do since I was the agent of Miss Whitcomb’s disgrace.”
“Keep nothing from us,” Agatha said. “We are all friends here.”
Rox nodded. “Only tell me it is complete and that I may shake the dust of London from my hem.”
“Not by any means, at least not among the gentlemen. They admire you immensely.”
Roxanne tilted her head, trying to make sense of this upshot. “And none of the ladies liked me before anyway. How ironic.”
Sir John took her hands in his. “Hold your head high and smile. You did well to tell your groom the horse was a gift. Of course, now an offer is expected from me and I should make one even if you choose to refuse it, but we have time enough for that later.”
“So I may sponsor Roxanne to those entertainments for which we already hold cards?” Agatha asked.
“To fail to appear would be social suicide.”
Tanner watched Rox’s face go pale and freeze. Sir John had no idea what that one word did to her. Surely he knew the circumstances of her father’s death. How then could he mention suicide so carelessly? The man was insensitive in the extreme.
“Holly may accompany you,” Tanner said. “That is, if you agree, Mother.”
“Yes, of course.”
“May as well all sink together,” Tanner said and downed his sherry.
His mother looked at him in surprise, then smiled. Sometimes he did say the right thing. Fredrick and Harding chuckled.
“But it’s not funny,” Agatha said. “Whatever made you do it, child?”
&nbs
p; “I’m not sure. Suddenly with the mare under me ready for a run, it was three years ago and the world was as bright and sunny as it had ever been. I have had so many failures recently that running free and winning seemed the only thing I wanted. And then I remembered why I am where I am today.”
Holly reached her hands to hold one of Rox’s and smiled at her.
“Thank you all for standing by me.” She squeezed Holly’s small hands. “You have taught me what friendship is. Now let us forget today and enjoy good company no matter what tomorrow brings.” She glanced up uncertainly at Tanner near the end of this speech but looked away too quickly to read any expression in his eyes.
He was not sure what message he wished to convey.
They were a normal party for a time, talking and laughing as they dined, Rox perhaps more so than the others but she was faking it. He could tell. When it was time for the ladies to move back to the drawing room to allow the men to enjoy their port, he excused himself and caught up with her in the hall.
“What do you plan to do now?” he asked.
She turned and looked vacantly at him. “About what?”
“Your marriage, your reputation.”
She shook her head. “Believe me, Tanner, those are the least of my worries.”
“What else could concern you?”
“I had best not tell you, for I have a feeling you would never believe me.”
“You just reaffirmed our friendship. What is there that you cannot share with me?”
She seemed to be in the midst of some internal struggle and he tried to let his sympathy show in his eyes. Finally she licked her lips, which had gone a bit pale.
“I suspect Vance of murdering my father and rewriting his will.”
Tanner choked on the apology he had been memorizing. “What start is this?”
“I have not been permitted to speak to Mother and I believe she is his prisoner.”
“She must have married him of her own free will.”
“I doubt that.”
“Then why?” Tanner felt as though the floor were tipping under his feet.
“I don’t know but I will find out if I can get her alone. Also, I must call on our solicitor to see if I can get any information out of him.”
“By yourself?”
Rox hesitated. “I suppose I must. Fredrick does not take me seriously.”
“Take my advice and forget this fantastic plot you have imagined.”
“But Tanner, I told you my father was not the sort of person to kill himself.”
“No one is until driven into the last ditch.”
“Only a coward would do such a thing and he was no coward.” A flush of anger crept into her cheeks.
“But if your father gambled it all away…”
“I don’t think he did. I think that’s a lie Vance made up to explain stealing all our money.”
“Rox, you’ve become unhinged.”
“Don’t help me then. See if I care. Just watch out for Fredrick.”
Tanner staggered back and bumped into a table. “What has Fredrick to fear?”
“Vance, of course. If Fredrick dies before his birthday, Lucius Vance will get everything.”
“You told me there isn’t anything to get.”
“He may have lied about that as well.”
She turned to leave him but he grabbed her arm. “This is a flight of fantasy. You are setting yourself up for disappointment. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
She stared at his hand until her let her go but she would not look him in the eye. She was determined to ignore his advice. “No, I’m just seeing clearly for the first time in years. It’s the only possible explanation. If that is all you have to say, that I am unhinged, I will see you later. I knew how you would be, what you would say. Why did I ever confide in you?”
There were a thousand things he wanted to say to her. He wanted to protect and care for her. He wanted to marry her before it was too late. He was sorry for his angry treatment of her. But before he could well decide where to start, she turned on her heel and left him, apology and protestations of love undelivered like a stillborn baby.
Chapter Ten
The next day, Spencer sat brooding in his office at the foundry when his foreman came in to get the materials list Fredrick had left. “What do you think, Randall? Will it work?”
“It’s brilliant, sir. I can have two workmen build a mold in a few days’ time.”
“No, not yet. I want the inventor to be in charge of that.”
“Not your idea then?”
“No. I’ll let you know when I am ready.”
“But you could have had this same idea yourself. We could go ahead and build the thing while he is still looking for backing and it’s yours.”
Tanner stared at the drawings, not wanting to make eye contact with the man while rage boiled within him. He had known this foreman since his father’s day but this was the first time the man had said anything that left him stunned. “Are you suggesting I steal this design?”
“It’s the way of the world, sir.” Randall shrugged and made for the door with the list.
Spencer’s rage boiled over when he realized Randall had quoted his father. “Not my world.” He got up and snatched the list from Randall. “You are dismissed.”
“What?”
“Discharged.”
“But I worked for your father for thirty years.”
“And you shall have your pension but I won’t consort with a thief.”
“Just how do you think your father acquired all his wealth? By the sweat of his brow? Not likely. He stole and swindled his way into this foundry and that beautiful house.”
“If that’s the case, it will require looking into.” Tanner waited until Randall had cleared out then went down to the floor to recover the drawings and appoint the foundry foreman as temporary manager.
He tried to get back to work but could only review the considerable evidence that his father was less upright than he had hoped. Finally, he went home with Fredrick’s plans safely in his possession, hoping he had not put them at peril. He must see his man of business tomorrow to figure out what part of Fredrick’s designs could be patented for him.
There were so many men working on steam engines that they must move fast to get a patent before someone else did.
* * * * *
“How did it go today?” his mother asked from her seat at the escritoire in the green-and-gold morning room. She was writing checks. Probably her quarterly contributions to her benevolent societies. It was unusual for him to seek her out in the middle of the afternoon, so well she might ask.
Tanner seated himself in a chair he drew up to the desk. “I won’t bore you with the details but his designs are innovative and I plan to bring him into the business.”
“So you’ve forgiven Roxanne?”
“I had no right to condemn her. Indeed, I owe her an apology and missed my chance last night. But she is having trouble facing reality.”
“You think she should marry Sir John?”
“No, he’s too old for her. She’d run the show and she’s too young for so much responsibility.”
“So were you when you took over the business. I hope you did not tell her so.”
“She did not ask my opinion. I have never been good at admitting when I am wrong but I see now the need for it.”
“Good. Apologize to Roxanne.” She patted his hand and turned back to her desk, apparently considering the interview over.
He got up and walked to the window that looked down on a small rose garden. After his father died, Tanner had the garden made for his mother to remind her of the country. “I need to talk to you about something else. The business.”
“Your judgment has never erred.”
“I fired Randall today because he suggested I steal Whitcomb’s designs.”
“Oh, Spencer. You would never have considered such a thing.”
He turned and saw her hand arrested in the
air, the ink drying on her pen.
“No, but would Father have done it as Randall claimed?”
She looked at him a long moment and tossed the pen back in the holder. “Yes, which is why Randall thought he was on safe ground to suggest it.” She shook sand on the bit of paper in front of her then tapped it clean.
“So our fortune is made on the backs of working men.”
“And women. You smile at me for my charitable works but it is the only way to salve my conscience about our fortune.”
“I should do something about it.”
She rose with a sigh and came to stand beside him. “There is plenty you have done already. You pay the workers a living wage, you’ve improved conditions in the foundry and wool mill. You see that their children are educated and you pension them when they are sick or old rather than letting them go.”
“You seem to know a great deal about what I do. Why have you not spoken sooner?”
“Because you seemed to be finding your own way to the correct path. You are not your father, no matter what anyone says.”
“And the ‘anyone’ is Holly. I am sorry for that. Advise me now in how I can put things right with her.”
“Start by letting Holly have her head. Why does she have to marry this year? She’s only seventeen. She doesn’t like any of the men of the ton and feels more comfortable in the company of Roxanne and Captain Harding.”
“He has his uses.”
“I know you are using him to entertain the girls when you cannot guard them but when you say it like that, it seems so…”
“Mercenary?” Tanner sat on the windowsill, wishing he had broached the subject of his father a long time ago.
“Somewhat.”
“I have come to the conclusion that Father was not an honorable man.”
“He didn’t break the law as far as I know but he didn’t tell me much about the business.”
“I can see why.”
“He never confided in me and I was glad for it. He was a hard man, an uncompromising man. It frightens me that I see a little of him in you sometimes.”
“How so?”
She laid a hand on his arm. “You’re climbing a ladder, the one society has dictated, and you’re dragging Holly and me with you without asking if that’s where we want to go.”
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