He was met there by Mr. Decker’s man of business, a tall, ginger-haired Scotsman.
“Have ye an appointment, milord?” he asked.
Of course he hadn’t an appointment. He had not thought of this visit until he had been halfway to his solicitor’s office and the necessity of it had hit him with the force of a blow. “No, but it is rather imperative that I see him.”
“Imperative, ye say?” The man raised a brow. “Mr. Decker is a busy man, ye ken.”
He was also the only businessman Sidney was acquainted with. Sidney needed the man’s connections. Badly.
“If you would be kind enough to let Mr. Decker know that Viscount Shelbourne is requesting a moment of his time, I would be indebted to you, sir,” he said.
“The name is Macfie.” The Scotsman performed a half bow with a flourish. “Sirputs me in mind of my granda, the miserable old coot. If ye had been cursed tae know him, ye would ken why I have nae wish for the reminder.”
An interesting character, this Macfie. But then, he would have expected no less from any associate of Mr. Decker’s. The man himself was an original.
“Forgive me for the unintendedaide-mémoireof your grandfather,” Sidney offered.
“I’ll be seeing if Mr. Decker has the time tae spare ye, Lord Shelbourne.”
“Thank you, and if you would, please tell Mr. Decker my call pertains to a favor for one of the members of the Lady’s Suffrage Society.”
Macfie nodded and departed, leaving Sidney to wait.
Fortunately, he did not need to wait long.
Mr. Decker himself greeted him. “Good afternoon, Lord Shelbourne. Macfie tells me you have a favor to ask concerning the Lady’s Suffrage Society. I was just about to leave for the Black Souls club for some business there. Would you care to join me for the drive?”
“My carriage is waiting just outside your building,” he offered.
“Excellent.” Mr. Decker grinned. “I’ll fetch my hat.”
When they were ensconced in Sidney’s carriage and the conveyance rocked forward, he began explaining his intentions. “First, as pertains to the Lady’s Suffrage Society, I wish to write an article for their journal, and I understand you are the publisher.”
“I do publish theLady’s Suffrage Society Times, yes,” Mr. Decker acknowledged. “The ladies themselves do most of the work. I have the easy task of sending it to press. What manner of article do you wish to write?”
“One establishing my support of women gaining the Parliamentary Franchise,” he said. “I find it is past time I stand with our wives in their fight.”
“Good man. Your voice will surely add to the momentum of their cause.” Mr. Decker paused, giving him a knowing look. “Would the need for this article be precipitated by a desire to restore yourself in Lady Shelbourne’s good favor?”
Sidney rubbed his jaw ruefully. “To restore myself, I would have had to be in my wife’s good favor to begin with, and I am reasonably sure I never was.”
Mr. Decker grimaced. “As bad as all that, then?”
Sidney could not keep the grim resignation from his voice. “Worse.”
“My sympathy, Shelbourne. A happy wife is the conduit for a happy life, as they say.”
Sidney well believed it. “I am doing everything in my power to make Lady Shelbourne happy. Trust me, Mr. Decker. Which brings me to the other favor I came to beg of you today.”
“Beg away.”
“As you may know, Lady Shelbourne spent the last two years in New York City.”
“Indeed.”
The carriage hit a bump and pitched. Sidney hoped it was not a portent of Mr. Decker’s response to his next favor. But he carried on just the same.
“My wife has developed a cold cream, which she is intending to produce and sell in America. However, I was wondering, given your vast business holdings, especially your factories here in England, if you might be interested in speaking with her and helping her to further her business here in England.”
