“Here, then,” Patience whispered. “Tomorrow, we can sleep there.”
“For a lady can only make a firm choice once she has gathered all the details.”
Patience laughed, though she was concerned that she might not sleep at all. She should not have feared as much. Arthur lay behind her, his arm around her waist and his breath in her hair, his heat at her back. The fire burned down low and first one cat, then the other, jumped onto the bed. She nestled against him and he gave a little growl that made her smile, then she slept again, content in his embrace.
* * *
There were whispers at Carruthers& Carruthers when Arthur escorted Patience into her father’s establishment. To his satisfaction, her father appeared immediately and invited them back into his office. Patience was radiant, a fact that her father surely noticed, and Arthur was glad of that man’s nod of approval.
She told her father of the plan to invest in Fanshawe & Parke, which made that man’s brows rise. He looked at Arthur who nodded once. “I am surprised,” Mr. Carruthers admitted, fixing Arthur with a look. “I did not expect you to enter trade, sir.”
“I believe Patience has an excellent idea and I would see her ambition supported.”
Her father nodded, satisfied with this partial truth. “You must have a plan of what titles you would publish.”
Patience visibly took a breath. “There is a volume of intimate advice for ladies that Catherine has been editing…”
Her father shook his head. “The one I declined to publish? Such a book…”
“Is needed and necessary,” Patience said with resolve. “This volume helped Catherine and her husband and it has also helped me. I must ensure that it is available to a wider audience.”
Mr. Carruthers was wary but Arthur had the sense that two daughters in agreement swayed his view slightly. “And you agree?” he asked Arthur.
Arthur nodded. “I do.”
“Your mother will be scandalized, to be sure.”
Arthur shrugged and Patience’s father studied him for a long moment.
“But then, if it succeeded, such details would not be of concern,” he mused and Arthur nodded again.
Patience looked between them, not understanding as much as her father did, but that man continued before she could ask.
“One book does not a publisher make, Patience, no matter how successful that volume might be. I would suggest to you that you make it part of a larger offering. You know that the lending library is highly popular with ladies and many of them have income to spare.”
“Special editions?” Patience asked.
“A special library,” Arthur guessed. “All of a size, and designed to look well together on a shelf.”
Mr. Carruthers wagged a finger. “And such a plan will take advantage of Fanshawe’s gift. The man has a skill for ensuring the economy of a series of books the better to ensure their pricing. He can wrestle every scrap out of a sheet of paper, a bindery board or a piece of leather. He created a series of Latin and Greek works for the gentleman’s library.”
“They were oxblood leather with gold,” Patience recalled. “All the same.”
“Most attractive on a shelf,” Arthur said. “Even if they were never opened and read.”
Mr. Carruthers nodded. “There is good revenue in such a series. People can subscribe for two books a month perhaps, or choose them individually. Fanshawe does not have the space in his facility for a lending library, but I would buy at least one of each volume for our lending library.”
“And I could write to the other lending libraries to suggest the same to them!” Patience said.
“And you could choose titles that you know to be popular with the ladies who borrow books here. I have no objection to you checking our records to make your choices.”
Arthur smiled at Patience’s delight. “Papa! That is so clever.”
“Ah, the idea was yours, Patience. I merely packaged it up that Fanshawe might find it more appealing. The prospect of steady revenue with these books will outweigh any objection he might have to the other.” Mr. Carruthers shrugged. “And if that one is destined to be as successful as you suspect it will be, then Fanshawe will be delighted.”
“You might need several copies for your lending library,” Arthur said and Carruthers laughed aloud.
“Such a book might tend to vanish, Mr. Beckham. I would suggest you sell the copies that you print. Now you have me intrigued, Patience. Let us consult the files. There will undoubtedly be obvious choices, but perhaps a few unexpected ones, as well.”
