Chapter Thirteen

 

Johnathan took a deep breath as he tried to regain his composure. Miss Huntington stood before him, her eyes wide with fear, something he had never seen in the woman before. Although he had little patience for women, he never enjoyed terrorizing them. However, he had done so, for he recognized the terror he saw in her eyes, not in the eyes of other women, but in himself. His father, the previous Earl of Lidenburg, was a harsh man, using both words and corporal punishment to discipline his children, especially his heir. He had said on more than one occasion that it was the only way to make a real man of a boy. Johnathan knew he was a rogue; however, he would never allow himself to be abusive.

“I am sorry,” he said in a quiet voice. “My temper tends to get the best of me at times.” Then he scolded himself inwardly for apologizing. She was the one who ran away and caused him to lose money, why should it be he who is remorseful for his actions?

“We shall speak of it no more,” she said, though her voice was shaky.

He let out a sigh and then for the first time took a look around the small shop. “Where do you live?” he asked suddenly.

“I have small living quarters in the back,” she replied.

“You live…here?” he asked incredulously.

“I do,” she replied with a lift to her chin.

“And what are your plans for this area?”

“I will open a millinery,” she said with pride. “I have already begun acquiring the materials. I hope to open the business in perhaps one month’s time.”

Johnathan looked around at the disarray around him and laughed. It would take much longer than a month to ready the area for business, that much he was certain.

“And what, pray tell, do you find so amusing?” Her green eyes bore into him with such intensity, he wondered if they would bore straight through him and out the other side.

“The front of the shop is, might I say, in complete disarray. You have far too much work ahead of you to expect to open in a month’s time.” He stopped when she vaulted from her seat in anger. “Please, let me continue.”

She crossed her arms over her breasts and lowered herself back into the chair. “Very well, please explain. I realize I am just a lowly woman who knows nothing of business matters.” Johnathan did not miss the sarcasm in her words.

“The point is, I have opened many businesses, and I see what needs to be done. I admire your determination, but the reality is that you have too much work ahead of you to meet such a stringent deadline.” He leaned forward. “Come back with me. Your home and life are not here.”

“No, my home and life are here. You speak of yourself, and think of yourself, only. Why do you insist I marry you, even though you know I do not love you?”

“I need heirs, and I need what your father’s business can provide.” It pained him to admit aloud the truth in his words. “You are how I will be able to obtain both, and I am not leaving until you agree to come with me, or I simply take you with me. This is no place for a woman such as yourself.”

A strange look of amusement came over Miss Huntington’s face. “Come with me,” she said as she stood and walked to the door of the shop.

Johnathan followed her out the door and stood next to her on the footpath just outside of the shop. “What…?”

She lifted a single finger to silence him and then walked across the road to one of the piers. A few ships bobbed in the water and numerous dock workers ambled about. Nothing else seemed of importance. “What? Are you planning on boarding one of these vessels and escaping on the high seas?” he asked with a laugh. The woman was simply too simpleminded for her own good. How could she even consider herself intelligent enough to be her own proprietress?

Miss Huntington smiled, brought two of her fingers to her lips and produced a high-pitched, very loud whistle that threatened to burst Johnathan’s eardrums.

“Whatever are you doing?” he shouted as he covered his ears with his hands. “Behave like a lady, this instance!”

Within only a few seconds, six men his age or younger with arms as big as logs and chests as wide as barrels approached and stood in a circle around the pair with their arms across their chest.

“Everything all right, Mrs. McMalley?” one of the men asked before giving Johnathan a glare. Though Johnathan was not afraid of any man, he was certain he would never have a chance against six men.

“Gentlemen,” Alice said in a loud, firm voice, “I would you like to meet a dear friend of mine, Lord Johnathan Blackmoore, Earl of Lidenburg.”

The men bowed with a quick, “My Lord” added to their movement. Johnathan had never seen men such as these act with such civility in the way these men did.

“I was just explaining to Lord Blackmoore how safe St. Mawes is,” Alice continued, “and how, with a simple whistle, gentlemen would come to save me from any harm.”

Johnathan glanced around the circle of sailors. “Gentlemen?” he asked incredulously.

One of the men stepped forward, his arm muscles flexing as he stared down at Johnathan from a great height. “That’s right. Gentlemen. Mrs. McMalley has deemed us gentlemen, and that we are. Ain’t that right, gentlemen?” He gave Miss Huntington a quick glance and then quickly said, “Isn’t that right?”

Johnathan looked at Miss Huntington, and another emotion was beginning to replace his anger. Respect. This woman was no fool. She had made certain she had strong men at her beck and call, and rather than them fawning over her as most men such as themselves did, they held her in high regard.

“Gentlemen, I believe Lord Blackmoore and I have much to discuss,” Miss Huntington said. “Thank you for your time.” She raised a single eyebrow at Johnathan, and for the first time, he realized she was not wearing her eyeglasses. As a matter of fact, she looked very little like the severe, yet clumsy, spinster he knew back in Exeter. Now, she was a proud and beautiful woman who knew how to get what she needed.

“I suppose we do,” he replied with a vague sensation of admiration.

***

Johnathan glanced over at Miss Huntington, who stood proudly with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. The green gown she wore hung over her body in such a way that he found it difficult to maintain his focus on the task at hand. He had to convince her to marry him, and soon. He had close to a month’s time to return her to her father’s home or the deal he needed so desperately would be gone. An hour had passed and he still had not convinced the woman to return with him. In all regards, he could simply throw her over his shoulder and carry her home as he had told her, but that would most definitely dissuade her from marrying him. Plus, if he attempted to try something so bold, he feared he would end up at the bottom of the sea when the ‘gentlemen’ caught up with him.

“I do have an estate here in Cornwall,” he said. “We can marry and live here during the summer, and then you can attend to your shop. Then we can be in London for the Season, if you enjoy such times. If not, we can winter at my home in Exeter.” Something in her eyes flickered, yet he was unsure what had piqued her interest. Was it the thought of attending a London Season, for he was certain she had little opportunity to attend, as she was not a member of the ton. Or had it been the mention of the shop?

It was then that he realized he had missed the most obvious manner in which he could gain her interest, and it had been in front of him the entire time. He walked over to the table where she had set out some fabrics and ribbons. “These are very nice,” he said as he ran his hand over a bolt of yellow muslin. “How much did you pay for it?” When she told him the price, he shook his head. “Not a bad price, but not a good one either. This particular fabric can be purchased for much cheaper…if you know the right people. If you pay less for your materials, you can make an even better profit for the items you produce.”

“I am quite aware of how profits work,” she snapped.

“Then you will understand that if you had found this same fabric somewhere else, you could have purchased it for ten-percent less.”

She nibbled at her lip. “But I…”

“I assume you will want to hire help,” he continued as he walked around the room as if she had not spoken. “Of course, making them stay on during the winter months when most people of means are in London will be a chore in itself. You have budgeted to make sure you can survive during the winter months, correct?” When she did not reply, he said, “No, of course, you have not. You came here with a sum of money believing it could buy what you need. However, you have no clue the basic rules of running a business. How is it you believe you can be successful as a milliner?”

“And I take it that you know how to be a successful milliner?” she said with a bit of venomousness that somehow Johnathan found attractive.

He hid a smile. “Of course I do,” he replied. “Jane…” He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “A woman I knew had a similar business and I helped her secure the best connections to make her business successful. From what I understand so far, you will be out of money before you have been open three months.” He returned to the fabrics on the counter, making certain his back was to her. “Unless you marry me, that is.”

The cloth in his hand was soft and he found himself moving it between his fingers to give his hands something to do as she considered his words. What he had told her was no lie; she would indeed be bankrupt within three months, although she might be able to last to four. She might know a bit about running a business, but she lacked the training and education to run one on her own.

“You have a house here?” she asked in a choked voice.

He turned and was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. His intent had not been to upset her to the point of tears, and he regretted causing her pain. However, it was also imperative she hear the truth. If he gained what he needed in the process, better for them both.

“I do,” he replied. “As I said, we can summer here. You can keep run your shop yourself with the help of one or two assistants while I conduct business here. Then you can have someone take over for you in the winter when we are in London or Exeter.” He walked over to her, reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. “I may not be what you wanted in a husband, and I may not be this Thomas who seems to have your heart, but I will honor my word. I will help you barter for your products to get the best prices possible. I can also help you find seamstresses who are trustworthy and willing to work only part of the year, or if needed, work fewer hours in the winter while you are here. Plus, I can help you ready the shop to open for business before we return to Exeter.”

She dabbed at her reddened eyes and ran the handkerchief under her nose. “I want to believe what you say is true, but I find it difficult. Your womanizing ways…I worry you will marry me, bed me and then go back on your word once I produce an heir.”

He sighed. “Your concerns are valid, if you believe all the rumors you have heard.” He chuckled. “Although, many of them are true. However, there are some things in one’s life which should stay…let’s say, concealed.” He marveled at how her eyes lit up when he said these words. What secrets was she hiding? “What can I do to convince you? How can I earn your trust?”

“How long do you believe it would take to get this shop operational?” she asked, her face now showing deep consideration.

He made a few calculations in his head as his eyes scanned what she had so far. “Assuming we can purchase most of the materials you will need here in the immediate area for you to produce several samples before you open and we are able to ready at least the front of the shop for customers to enter, I imagine we could be ready in approximately a month’s time. Why do you ask?”

“Help me ready the shop, and when I have opened the doors for business and have enlisted the aid of at least one woman to help, I give you my word—I will marry you. No running away, no arguments, I will be your wife.”

Tears were once again running down the woman’s face, and Johnathan felt his stomach tighten. Before him stood a different woman than the one he had come to know in Exeter. This woman was bright, beautiful, and driven, and for reasons he did not understand, and going against everything in which he believed, he found himself nodding in agreement.

“I agree with those terms,” he replied. Somehow, the elation he had expected did not come, at least not in the way he had expected. For beneath the pleasure of finally being able to close the deal he had made with her father lay something else. Something he had not felt in a very long time. And it almost made him run away in terror.