"That doesn't make it right. You were grieving too, and I…" She hesitated, searching for the right words. "I was so angry. At everything and everyone. You were simply... convenient."
"A convenient target for your rage?" His voice held no accusation, only understanding. "I've been called worse."
"I'm sure you have. But that doesn't excuse my behaviour."
"There's nothing to excuse. Grief makes us all do things we wouldn't otherwise." Sebastian finally looked at her, and his grey eyes were soft in a way she had never seen before. "I should not have avoided you these past three years. I should have found a way to…" He stopped, seeming to struggle with something. "I should have tried harder."
"Tried harder to do what?"
But the vulnerable moment had passed. Harriet could see Sebastian's walls going back up, brick by careful brick, and the mask settling back into place.
“It is of no importance,” he said. "What matters now is finding a solution to your family's difficulties. One that doesn't involve anyone being sold into matrimony against their will."
Harriet almost laughed. Almost. "Do you have any suggestions?"
"Several. None of them good."
"I'll take bad suggestions at this point. I'll take terrible suggestions."
Sebastian leaned back against the bench, his long legs stretched out before him. "Very well. Option one: I forgive the debt entirely, despite your mother's objections, and we find a way to satisfy the other creditors through sale of peripheral assets."
"Mr. Thornton said the other assets weren't worth enough."
"Mr. Thornton is thorough but unimaginative. There may be assets he hasn't considered…intellectual property, perhaps, or connections that could be leveraged for income. I would need to review the accounts more carefully."
Harriet felt a small spark of hope. "You would do that? Review our accounts?"
"If you'll allow me. Though I warn you, I am not a financial expert. I may find nothing."
"It's more than anyone else has offered."
"Then I'll begin tomorrow." Sebastian shifted slightly, his shoulder almost brushing hers. "Option two: we approach the creditors directly and negotiate an extended repayment plan. It would require some capital, earnest money, to prove good faith but it might buy you more than the month Mr. Thornton promised."
"Where would we get the capital?"
"I could provide it."
Harriet stiffened. "Absolutely not. We've already accepted too much from you."
"It would be a loan, not a gift. With interest, if that makes it more palatable. Consider it an investment in the eventual recovery of your family's finances."
"And if we can't recover? If the estate fails regardless?"
"Then I will have lost my investment, and that will be that." Sebastian's tone was matter-of-fact, as though the potential lossof a fortune was merely a minor inconvenience. "I can afford it, Lady Harriet. I am not so wealthy that such a loss would go unnoticed, but I am wealthy enough to survive it."
It was tempting. Terribly tempting. More time meant more options, more chances to find a real solution. But accepting Sebastian's money felt wrong somehow too much like the arrangement Mr. Thornton had proposed, even if it came without the matrimony attached.
“I shall consider it,” she said finally. "What's option three?"
Sebastian was quiet for a moment. "Option three is... less conventional."
"I'm listening."
"Your family's primary asset is the estate itself, the land, the house, the name. These things have value beyond their monetary worth. There are people who would pay a great deal to be associated with such a legacy."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that there are wealthy men industrialists, merchants, members of the rising class who have money but lack social standing. For them, matrimony into an old family like yours would be a significant coup. They would pay handsomely for the privilege."
