“Please.” He wouldn’t waste his precious tipple on me if he was about to rip my head off. Would he?
“How’s your book coming along? It sounds a little racier than the usual Austen ephemera.”
Ella had obviously passed on the conversation I’d had with Alex. “I’m still doing the background research. It’s very helpful being here and seeing so many of the places that haven’t changed since Jane was here. Thank you again for your hospitality.”
“You said you wanted a break. From banking or London?”
I hesitated, unsure how to respond. “London,” I said eventually. It didn’t seem politic to disrespect his profession.
“Your client list is fairly impressive. One trusts you haven’t put them offside by decamping in such a way.”
“I’ve ensured my clients will be fully serviced during my absence.” Where the hell was he going with this?
He looked at me over the rim of his glass, blue eyes penetrating. “I wonder if you have a little too much of your great-uncle in you. People rely on their bankers to be safe and predictable. They don’t expect them to run off and write a novel.”
I fought to contain my anger at his implication that Uncle Thaddeus had been unreliable. My great-uncle had been the most honourable man I’d known. He’d simply decided halfway through his life that he didn’t like banking. “I don’t intend to be absent forlong, so it’s not too different from taking annual leave,” I pointed out.
“Good.”
Silence stretched until it became deeply uncomfortable. He doubtless wanted me to cave in and break it, but I was sure anything I said would somehow give me away. I sipped my whisky and waited for him to speak.
“Would a permanent move from London be of interest to you?”
The whisky I was swallowing went down the wrong way. By the time I finished choking, a slight smile had lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Are you offering me a position?” As I said, subtlety isn’t one of my strengths.
“I’m asking if a move might be of interest to you. Nothing more than that.”
He was testing my loyalty to my family, that was clear. What would be the correct answer? He wouldn’t believe me—he’d be more suspicious still—if I disclaimed any loyalty to them. Yet if I turned this down, I might lose the opportunity to dig deeper into the Fortescue family’s affairs.
“I’m aware my career has stalled for reasons that have nothing to do with my ability or commitment to the bank,” I temporised. “Honestly, it’s never occurred to me to move, but it could be an exciting opportunity.”
“I hate to see talent going to waste. You would need to sign strict NDAs, of course, and observe them unswervingly. No hint of Fortescue family business can be leaked on pain of the severest penalties.”
“My grandfather would expect the same concerning his business. I’m accustomed to keeping work confidential, whatever personal commitments I may have. Charlie and I had to doso…” I paused as the thought hit me. “Would any potential offer be contingent on Charlie and me being back together?”
His fingers tightened on his glass. “If anything, any offer would be contingent on you showing enough commonsensenotto be with Charlie.” He looked at me, and if I weren’t so suspicious, I’d have thought he was sincere. “You appear to have matured somewhat over the years and come into the promise you showed. Charlie, unfortunately, has become a very volatile young man. It’s not a character trait that investors value.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I went to take another sip of my drink only to find I’d already finished it.
“You are not to construe this as any sort of an offer,” he said, rising from his chair. “I merely wanted to explore your thoughts concerning the possibility.”
“Thank you,” I said, following his lead and placing my glass on the side table. “I appreciate it.”
I headed for the door and, once out on the landing, found my knees were slightly wobbly.I’d need to unpack that conversation. At least there’d been no accusation of espionage. Perhaps it was precisely what it had seemed on the surface.
Perhaps.
ALEX
I had no opportunity to get Nate alone and show him the photos I’d taken. The younger Fortescues returned before supper, and whenever I saw him after that, either Ella or Charlie was with him.
It still wasn’t clear to me what the situation was between Nate and Charlie. From their conversation at the bar, I’d deduced there’d been a nasty split. But although Nate stepped back each time Charlie got too close, he didn’t tell him to get lost. Ella seemednot to have heard of personal space, as she spent much of the evening hanging off Nate’s arm. It was a timely reminder that Nate was one of them. Whatever I thought I saw in him, I was kidding myself.
I did the rounds of our family group, checking that everyone was okay. It made me feel like an old-fashioned chaperone, but as there wasn’t anything useful I could do, I might as well make sure none of those entitled Fortescues were upsetting anyone.
I’d had enough of this. I wanted to be out of Bath and breathing in the sea air, feeling the spray cool and wet on my skin. The incessant cries from gulls over the city weren’t helping my longing for the sea. The only thing that calmed my dragon was looking at Nate, seeing the smile in his eyes as he teased Ella and how his lips quirked at her response.
