Bryght toasted him ironically. “Thank you.”
“Lord, not you, Bryght. I know you’ve no great taste for hells anymore.”
“And nobody ever offers me a bribe except the beauties hoping for an introduction to Rothgar.”
“You could make a fortune that way,” Bridgewater remarked with a grin.
“I’m afraid what they offer is not hard currency.”
“No. Something very soft. Pity.”
“You’re turning into a veritable money-grubber, Francis.”
“I simply do what I must to reach my goal.”
“That goal being profit.” Bryght wandered restlessly over to the fire. “Just how virtuous is it to lend money and profit thereby, when others do the sweaty work?”
“We pay a fair wage and they’re glad of it. Without those willing to provide capital, there would be no work for the laborers and nothing would ever be achieved.”
“True enough.” Bryght shook off his unusual qualms and returned to the desk to top up their glasses. “So, if you think you’ve greased enough palms to get your Bill, why not stay a few days and wallow in delicious vice?”
“London bores me, and I want to see how the work progresses.”
“You’re in danger of becoming a devilishly dull dog, you know. The Deadly Duke.”
“Better than ‘the Poor Duke,’ which is the label I grew up with.” He sipped from his brandy. “I’m going to be the richest duke in England, Bryght. What drives you?”
“To be the richest commoner?” Bryght offered lightly.
“There are easier ways to make money.”
“At the tables? I lack the ice to strip men of their all.”
“On ’Change. I know you enjoy investment more than the tables.”
“Ah. But having sunk my funds into your enterprise, I have nothing to venture. I get my speculative pleasures these days with Rothgar’s money.”
The duke frowned. “I’m sorry. It must gall you to be dependent on him.”
“Francis—”
But the duke overrode him. “I seem to have dragged you into a pit, Bryght. I know you invested in me on a whim when…well, it was a whim. I’ll buy you out as soon as it’s possible. It could be soon. Now the aqueduct is working, I actually have people approaching me about loans.”
“Without having to be pressured? A change indeed. But I have no wish to abandon the project.”
“You’ve put everything into it, and it’s a damnable risky business.”
“Francis! Risk is my delight.”
The duke grimaced in exasperation. “Bryght, think. What will you do if we fail?”
“What will you do if we fail?”
“I’ll still be a duke. That is worth something.”
“But a poor duke once again. If we fail—which we won’t—I will still be a Malloren. And unlike you, I am not in debt.”
“You may end up in debt.”
