Her eyes drew heavy, and by the time the water turned cool, fatigue took hold. Grace had barely slid Cora’s nightgown over her head before she crawled onto the massive bed and collapsed into a pillow of softness. “I should dress and go down to see if I can help Ed with anything.”
“Shh. Sleep.”
The bed on the boat had been small and painfully hard, and back home had been no better. Cora couldn’t remember a time when she’d relaxed to the point that she felt as if she floated on air. Her eyes shut, and she faded away from the world until she awoke to darkness.
How long had she slept? The clock in the hall chimed twice. Her stomach rumbled, and she knew she’d never be able to go back to sleep without something to eat. She hadn’t received a tour of the home, but she didn’t want to wake Grace or Ed or any of the other servants she’d yet to meet, so she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and opened her bedroom door.
No sign of anyone in the hall, so she tiptoed out and looked over the balcony to the entryway below. No sounds. No people meant she would be able to sneak down and back without being a problem to anyone.
The stairs creaked, as did the lower floorboards, but not loud enough to rouse anyone, so she continued down the hall, pausing at the room Ed had entered earlier. She nudged the door open so she could see inside and found him asleep with his head down on a massive wood desk. Like the rest of the house, the office didn’t lack for anything. Not even the most spectacular view over the city below. The moon shone bright, and the water glimmered.
She thought about waking him and putting out the lamp to prevent fire but decided to extinguish the flame herself and not rouse a sleeping beast. Why he’d ever want to sleep here with such comfort in the plush beds, she couldn’t imagine.
Papers covered his desk and a large table in the center of the room near a couch. She shuffled to the lamp to extinguish the fire but kicked a crumpled paper on the floor. She unfurled it and read the message.
Sorry, Ed. I’m not the man you want me to be. I can’t help myself. The drink and gambling call to me. I had to run. If they find me, I’m dead. I know you’ll rebuild and prosper without me. I will always think of you as a brother.
William
That’s why Ed had such a rough disposition and needed the rich Mary Folsom to return. His empire had crumbled around him. And worse, his partner, the man she was betrothed to, had caused the collapse.
ChapterFour
Ed lifted his head,a page stuck to his cheek. His neck and back and brain ached from working to no solution. It was there. He just didn’t see it. There was always another way. He hadn’t worked his entire life to build an empire, only to have it collapse.
He rubbed the back of his neck and eyed the pink, fogless sky. A more typical autumn day that promised sunshine but no light in his life.
“You’re awake.” Cora’s voice snapped him to full awareness. She was sprawled on the couch in her nightclothes with a blanket wrapped around her and his papers in her hands.
His temper flared, as did his desire, so he averted his gaze.
“What’re you doing in here? And in your nightclothes?” Despite his quick jolt, his mind remained groggy.
“Figuring out a way to save you.”
His attention snapped to her. “What? You?”
She rose, the blanket slipping to her shoulders, her hair down in waves around her body that would distract any man from reason. “I found the note from William and discovered I wasn’t the only one he’s broken his promise to. I’m sorry your friend did this to you, but I think we can fix this.”
“We?” He pushed to stand and met her head-on at the edge of his desk. The floral scent he didn’t recognize drew him a step closer. In the dim light, his all-business office felt intimate.
“Yes, we.” Cora yawned and dropped a stack of papers onto his desk. “We’ll move forward with the event. I’ll host, and you’ll land all the money you need.”
He laughed, hysteria bubbling to the surface. “You believe it’s that easy? These men are all business. You are all southern, Irish charm. Yes, they love a lavish party, but that doesn’t guarantee donations, and if you really comprehended all of these ledgers, then you’d know I don’t have the money to throw such an extravagant event.”
“You do with me. That’s what I excel at.” Cora lifted her nose into the air as if she were the queen of all riches instead of a slave to destitution.
“You might be able to manipulate men with your beauty, but I’m not just any man.”
“You think I’m beautiful?”
He refused to allow that coy smile of hers to distract him again, so he turned away, putting the desk between them. It had been a long time since he’d embraced a woman, and even he had limits to his self-control. “I think you’re trying to manipulate me into marrying you, and it won’t work. I told you. I have a plan of my own.”
“To get Mary to return. Trust me. I’ve met Mary, and that is not going to happen. She’s a fragile sort of girl who needs to be near her family. Even if her father did send her again, she wouldn’t survive the journey.”
“She’d travel first class.”
“Disease isn’t discriminant. It affected those above and below deck. I’ve raised many sisters, and trust me, Mary is not the woman you need.”
