Mr Fairclough's Inherited Bride

‘Good.’

Silas turned them in time to the swaying melody of the music. The slow movement allowed him to admire the woman in his arms and the stunning change that had come over her since the last time he’d seen her. She wasn’t dressed in the white and cream satins of the other ladies her age, but she wasn’t swathed in plain grey or black either. She wore a yellow silk gown overlaid with a netting of fine red roses. The waist of the dress was cut in tight to her natural form, the bodice sloping down to reveal the barest hint of the tops of her breasts. Her slender arms, curved to match the angle of his and the dance, were covered in long, white gloves that complemented the dress, all of it whispering of mature elegance, taste and wealth. She was without jewellery, but her hair was pulled off her face and neck and arranged in small ringlets that shivered with each dance step. ‘Even if you wished to fade into the drapery, you’re too much of an interest to everyone to allow them to forget you or your daring dance invitation.’

An enticing pink spread across Lady Mary’s cheeks, bringing a glow to her smooth skin that heightened the one created by the warmth of the ballroom. ‘I’m sorry for my unconventional request. It wasn’t my intention to make a spectacle of either of us.’

‘Make a spectacle of us. It’s to your advantage and mine.’ The other women had simpered and whined at his sides. She’d stood in front of him and made her intentions clear. It was an admirable trait that could serve the wife of a businessman well. There would be no guessing what she wanted or needed. Her flaunting of convention was also intriguing. A man who wanted to succeed had to think differently when everyone else was doing the same thing. It was clear she was aware that doing something different could get results. After all, it was she dancing with him instead of either of those two women who’d been hanging on his every boring word. However, one dance wasn’t enough to make him drop on his knee and propose. What Richard was suggesting could influence the rest of his life and he would take as much time as necessary to decide as he did with any other venture, unless she proposed first. It wouldn’t surprise him if she did.

‘You want to be spoken about?’ she asked.

‘Better spoken about than ignored.’

‘I’ve never found either choice to be particularly endearing.’ She slid a hard glance at the young ladies who’d been angling for his attention where they stood whispering together while they watched Silas and Mary dance.

‘I suppose that depends on one’s station in society. You’re new so people are curious about you. It’ll make you a much sought-after guest and lend you an aura of mystery that people will scramble to delve.’

‘Or they’ll create stories to fill in the gaps.’

‘Not if you give them stories to take home first.’

‘I’m sure the gentlemen at the dinner took home enough of an impression of me for their wives.’

‘Men are useless there.’

‘You’re right. My brother, Peter, could never be counted on for news of a new neighbour.’ Her smile faded to the same sorrowful look that sometimes came over her when he saw her at Richard’s. ‘Of course he was vocal enough when it was of no benefit to me.’

He didn’t ask what it was her brother had said. He’d heard about enough disappointed fathers and brothers from the women at the Foundation to guess. He wondered if his mother spoke of him in the same disillusioned terms. He’d sneaked away from England without telling her, eager to follow his dreams while disappointing hers. Silas straightened. He had as much right to lead the life he wanted as his mother and father had and his parents should have understood this. His father hadn’t thought twice about turning his back on his own father and the naval career he’d laid out for him to establish the Foundation. However, when it had come to his own son trying to strike out on his own, he’d been nothing but critical and his mother had carried on in the same vein after his passing. ‘But he isn’t here and we are and we must make the best of this magnificent evening.’

‘I already am. It’s been ages since I’ve danced and with the most charming and clever man in the room.’ She tilted her head and offered a smile that could charm the shoes off a horse, the same one that had helped convince the rich men around Richard’s table to break convention and drink and discuss business in a lady’s presence.

‘But tonight you must truly shine.’

‘Must I?’

‘Don’t tell me a woman who marched up to a man and demanded a dance doesn’t want to stand out?’

‘I see I can’t lie to you.’

‘There’s no reason to.’

‘I don’t suppose there is.’

‘Good, then let’s plan our strategy because the dance will soon be over and I don’t want the flock of women who were with me before learning anything from you about being assertive.’ He glanced at the young women he’d abandoned to dance with Lady Mary. They watched him with anticipation, almost counting out the number of stanzas left until they could have another crack at him.

‘We can’t have that, now can we?’ Lady Mary stepped closer to him as if staking her claim. Her confidence in getting what she wanted was intriguing as was her new look this evening for there was no mistaking it was for him. Whatever Richard had proposed to her, she’d taken to the idea with a fervour. It boded well for a woman who might have to join Silas in the promotion of a number of ideas that many, including the fine owner of this house, would call insane. Some of those ideas might fail and he would have to move on to others. He guessed by her decision to come to America that Lady Mary was capable of moving on from failure instead of allowing it to destroy her. ‘What shall we do first?’

‘Introductions, lots of them and to the right ladies, those are key to successfully launching you.’ It was something Richard would have seen to in the first weeks of her arrival, but as he’d confided to Silas, it was the lady’s objections that had stopped him. Silas was glad to see that she’d changed her mind.

‘Whatever magic you intend to work, I ask you do so without mentioning my family connections.’

‘A difficult promise to make given your title.’

‘Then mention it as infrequently as you can. I’ll stand on my own merits or none at all.’

‘You’ve set quite a challenge for me.’

‘You can live up to it.’

‘I’ll surpass it.’

‘Like breeching etiquette to steal a man for a dance?’

‘No, like this.’ He swung her off the dance floor and they stopped before Mrs Wilson, another grand dame of Baltimore society whose husband had been at the dinner.

‘Mrs Wilson, have you had the pleasure of meeting Lady Mary?’ The ladies exchanged greetings before Silas continued. ‘She is one of the most renowned whist players in England.’

Mary threw Silas a questioning look he ignored. He had no idea if she played cards, but this was her entrée into a party. It was up to her to take it and she did. ‘Yes, I’m an excellent player.’

‘Then you must come to my card party Thursday night.’ Mrs Wilson trilled her fingers together in delight. ‘We could do with a little cage rattling of my regular attendees, but I must warn you that we play for higher stakes than most ladies are accustomed to.’

‘Good, it makes the game so much more interesting.’

‘Then I’ll send the invitation tomorrow.’

Before Mrs Wilson could say anything more, Silas politely guided Lady Mary away, in search of their next conquest.

‘I’ll have to practise card games with Mrs Parker before Thursday.’

‘Don’t practise too much. You’ll endear yourself to Mrs Wilson more if you lose to her. For a wealthy woman she’s quite the penny-pincher.’

‘I can feel my pin-money purse growing lighter as we speak.’

The rest of the ball passed in much the same way, with Silas leading Mary from one matron or businessman to another and making the introductions. Some introductions were sedate while others were as outlandish as her ability to play whist. She never objected to any of his more creative introductions, but went along with them, not chiding him afterwards, even when he’d boasted of her having a very distant family connection to Queen Victoria. She craved position as much as he and, like him, she’d welcomed each opportunity he offered to increase hers, meeting every expectation he’d set and amazing him as no other woman had before.

‘For someone who didn’t like gaining attention you picked up on the game very quickly,’ Silas complimented as he escorted Lady Mary through the main hall towards the front door, the large clock at the base of the stairs ringing twice to mark the late hour.

‘I’m a fast learner.’

‘With a very full social calendar.’ So much so that he wondered if she would have time to see him again. The musicians were playing the last song and most of the guests were making their way to their carriages and some much-needed rest after what was for Silas the first ball he’d enjoyed in ages.

‘Did you have a good time, Lady Mary?’ Richard asked when they reached the front hall, Mrs Parker beside them. The matron had proved herself a reliable, respectable and discreet shadow throughout the evening.

‘I had a marvellous time.’ Mary’s excitement was the greatest compliment she could have paid to Silas.

A footman stepped forward with her cloak and Silas took if from the man and held it up for her to slip into. She turned, eyeing him over her shoulder, the scintillating look of experience and mischief making Silas’s hand tighten on the velvet. She’d enjoyed tonight as much as he and regretted parting, too. He set the cloak on her shoulders, resisting the urge to caress the bare skin on the back of her neck with his fingertips, to see her full lips part in surprise at the gesture. He’d proven himself a trustworthy partner tonight. He didn’t wish to scare her off by acting like a cad.

She faced him as she tied the laces of the cloak, the black velvet heightening the flush of her cheeks and the sparkle illuminating her eyes. Silas had never noticed how brown they were until this moment. He couldn’t help but think that with a rich bronze-coloured silk cloak trimmed in white fur she would shine brighter than all the debutantes in their white lace and pink ribbons. She was young and pretty, and although he’d never allowed either of those traits to trick him into a decision before, it was a tempting combination tonight. The businessman in him saw the advantage of the union, while the man in him wanted to taste a little more than her investment potential.

Silas offered her his arm and they walked together behind Mrs Parker and Richard to the carriage. Their breath mingled in small clouds over their heads before disappearing into the dark night. They didn’t speak about the evening, but enjoyed the comfortable quiet of each other’s presence until they reached the carriage. They waited together while Richard and Mrs Parker settled inside, the prospect of bidding her goodnight bothering Silas more than his not having visited the game room to woo investors. When it was at last her turn, Silas handed her in, savouring the weight of her small hand in his and the pressure of it against his palm. Reluctantly, he released her and closed the carriage door, but before he could step back and let it drive away she lowered the window. ‘Thank you for a very interesting evening. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.’

‘Am I seeing you tomorrow?’

‘Most definitely.’ She slid him a sly smile that made his fingers itch to trace her full lips, her confidence as enticing as her dictate. ‘At three, we’re having tea together.’

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper English tea.’

‘Until tomorrow, then.’ With a suggestive nod, she sat back from the window, the faint outline of her in the carriage lantern barely visible as the driver urged the horse into a walk and the carriage rolled away.

With Mary gone, the winter chill settled over him, one her presence beside him this evening had kept at bay. If he went through with this, he would be taking on the responsibilities of a wife and family. He wasn’t adverse to the task for there were hundreds of workers already dependent on him and the Baltimore Southern for their livelihoods. He would never knowingly betray their trust or fail to take care of them, yet he’d failed his family once before. With the bank notes not reaching home he was failing them again. The possibility that Lady Mary might come to rely on him for something he wasn’t capable of giving or ask him to be someone he wasn’t the way his parents had done cemented his feet to the cold pavement. It wasn’t until another carriage pulled up to the kerb and a young couple came forward to climb into it that Silas began the slow walk back inside the Pennimans’ house.

There was no need to worry. During their time together tonight Lady Mary had made it clear that she understood the kind of man he was and his ambitions and desires. She would not look down on his pursuit of business and success the way his father had, but do all she could to help him in his efforts to achieve it.

Back inside the warmth of the Pennimans’ house, Silas greeted a number of his investors with enthusiastic words and smiles, his success surrounding him like the chill of the night. These reminders of his success bolstered his faith in himself and he vowed that even though he’d failed as a son, he would not fail as a husband and some day a father.

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