It was, Harriet thought, the most direct challenge anyone had ever issued to her mother. Lady Fordshire was accustomed to managing things, her household, her family, her entire world. To be told to step back and let someone else decide was clearly unexpected.
But after a moment, Lady Fordshire's lips curved in something that might have been approval.
"Very well," she said. "Harriet, you will review the options with Lord Vane and Mr. Thornton. You will make whatever decision you believe is best for this family. I will support you, whatever you choose."
"Mama…"
"I mean it. You are not a child anymore, however much I might wish otherwise. This is your future at stake, and you deserve a voice in determining it." Lady Fordshire rose, moving stiffly but with dignity. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to rest. The excitement of the day has quite worn me out."
She departed before Harriet could respond, leaving an uncomfortable silence in her wake.
"That was unexpected," Harriet said finally.
"Your mother is a remarkable woman."
"She's manipulating us. You realise that."
Sebastian's lips twitched. "I had considered the possibility."
"She wants us to wed. She's been angling toward it all day, probably since before I arrived. All this talk of respecting my choices…it's just another tactic."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps she genuinely believes you should have a voice in your own future." Sebastian set down his teacup and rose, moving to stand by the window. "The question is: what do you want, Lady Harriet?"
"I don't know." The admission cost her something, but it was true. "I don't know what I want. I only know what I don't want, and that is to be forced into anything…matrimony, poverty, any of it."
"Then start there. What can we rule out?"
"Matrimony to a stranger. I won't do it, not even to save the estate."
"Agreed. What else?"
"Matrimony to you." Harriet saw him stiffen slightly and hurried on. "Not because…I mean, it’s not that you're…" She was making a hash of this. "It's the principle of the thing. Entering into matrimony to pay off debts is wrong, regardless of who the groom might be."
"I understand." Sebastian's voice was carefully neutral. "What else?"
"Selling Fordshire Park. Not unless there's truly no other option. This is my home. It was Richard's home. I can't just... surrender it."
"Then we find another way." Sebastian turned to face her, his expression determined. "Tomorrow, I'll review the accounts with Mr. Thornton. I'll look for assets he might have missed, opportunities he hasn't considered. Meanwhile, you should speak with the tenants, the local merchants, anyone who might have information about the estate's potential that isn't reflected in the ledgers."
"You think there might be something?"
"I think your family has owned this land for generations. There may be resources that have been forgotten or overlooked.Old mines, timber rights, water access…any number of things that could generate income if properly exploited."
It was more hope than Harriet had felt since arriving. Slim hope, perhaps, but hope nonetheless.
"Thank you," she said. "For not giving up on us."
"I made a promise to Richard, a long time ago. To look after his family if anything should happen to him." Sebastian's voice was quiet. "I intend to keep it."
Richard again, Harriet thought. But somehow, this time, the invocation of her brother's name didn't sting quite as much. Perhaps because Sebastian had been honest about his motivations. Perhaps because she was beginning to understand that his devotion to Richard's memory was not a slight against her, but simply... who he was.
"I should go," Sebastian said. "It's been a long day, and I suspect tomorrow will be longer. I'll see you at dinner?"
"Of course." Harriet rose as well, propriety demanding that she escort him to the door, or at least offer. "Sebastian…Lord Vane…"
"Sebastian is fine." He smiled, and it transformed his face in a way that still caught her off guard. "I believe we've shared enough bedchambers and family crises to dispense with formalities."
"Sebastian, then." The name felt strange on her tongue extremely too intimate and too familiar. But not unpleasant. "Thank you. For everything you've done today. For everything you're doing. I know I haven't always been... gracious... in receiving your help."
