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“My reasons are quite rational—”
“As you know,” he continued, “entleman An ornament to his class His qualities have often been re woman has set her cap for him—I wouldn’t expect him to stay on the market forever”
“I wouldn’t either”
“It would be a great pity for you to realize too late what a treasure you ht have had in Edward As the captain of your family’s ship, he would steer a steady course There would never be surprises with hiuments, no unconventional ideas You would live in perfect serenity”
Yes, Phoebe thought, that’s exactly the problem
On the ride back to Clare Manor, Phoebe sorted through the cuers on the seat beside her until she found one with yearly state it onto her lap, she began to page through it slowly
To her dismay, the inforers West Ravenel had shown her A froorked across her brow Was the word “liability” used interchangeably with “debt, or did they ? Did “capital” refer only to property, or did it include cash? She didn’t kno Henry or Edward had defined such teres were littered with acronyms
“I need a Rosetta Stone to translate all of this,” Phoebe h another ledger, the crop book Mystifyingly, some of the tenant farmers’ yields had been reported four times, and each number was different
As the carriage continued along the flint-graveled road, Phoebe considered what to do She could ask the estate’s land er, Mr Patch, to answer some of her questions, but he was quite old and infir more than few minutes would exhaust him
There was always the option of waiting for Edward to return, but she didn’t want to do that, especially since he believed she shouldn’t be bothering with accounting in the first place And in light of the way she’d coht the, and one could hardly blame him
This would be a convenient excuse to send for West
Holding an account ledger in her lap, Phoebe leaned back against the carriage seat and felt a pang of yearning so sharp, it hurt to breathe
She wasn’t at all certain West would come, but if he did
How strange it would be to have him at Clare Manor: a collision of worlds, West Ravenel in Henry’s house It was scandalous for an un ith no chaperone in sight Edould be appalled when he found out Georgiana would have apoplexy on the spot
Thinking back to that lastto the effect that he had nothing to offer except a relationship that would insult and lower her
Love affairs were co the upper class, who usually married for reasons of faht personal fulfillined herself doing such a thing or having needs that h the risk of scandal But neither she nor West were married; no voould be broken No one would be harmedwould they?
A shock went through her as she realized she was actually considering it Oh, God, she was turning into a cliché—the love-starvedseeking coure of mockery, since women were supposed to be above the kind of base physical desire that was considered far more natural and explicable in men She herself had liked to think so, until West had proved otherwise
She wished she could talk to Merritt
She tried to io:
“Merritt, I’ affair with West Ravenel I know it’s wrongbut horong?”
“Don’t ask“As a e your decisions”
“A fine help you are,” Phoebe would retort “I want soive me permission”
“No one can do that but you, dear”
“What if it turns out to be a mistake?”
“Then I suspect you’ll have had a delightful ti it”
After the carriage had stopped at the front portico of Clare Manor, the footers to the study They placed the volumes on the empty bookshelves while Phoebe seated herself at the old oak desk She sreen leather inset, reached for a slim lacquered pen holder, and inserted a nib
“Milady,” said one of the footmen, “the books have been put away”
“Thank you, Oliver You’re free to go now Arnold, if you’ll wait a moment, I have another errand for you”
The younger foothtened at the request “Yes, milady” He waited at a respectful distance while she wrote a few lines
Post Office Telegram
Mr Weston Ravenel