“I intend to manufacture it myself.”
Me. My. I. “You meanweintend to manufacture it. Dowehave a factory?”
“Not yet. I am waiting on an enhancement. Once that is procured, it can be manufactured.”
So this enterprise was based on an invention that had never been built and had no factory and still lacked its final enhancement. “I should tell you that I be thinking of selling my share.”
His eyes turned stormy. He leaned toward her. “You can’t do that.”
“The solicitor said I could.”
“It would destroy everything. If you sell, whoever buys it can then sell part shares to others. Each one would demand to see the invention, which means any of them could steal it. This is an enterprise that must be closely held for it to amount to anything.”
“You are concerned someone will steal this idea?”
“Of course I am. It is so valuable that I dare not even patent it, lest others see the drawings.”
“Are you concerned I will somehow steal it?”
He subtly resettled in his chair. “Not steal, as such. You can’t steal what you already own.”
“I’m glad you admit that I in fact be half owner of it.”
“But . . .” He seemed to think twice about what he was going to say. She saw the exact moment when impulse conquered whatever better sense had made him hesitate. “You are an heiress. There will be many men pursuing you. You might be unduly influenced by one of them.”
“Lose my head, you mean.”
“Yes.”
“Become so drunk with love that I do something not in me own interests.”
No response, but a vague nod.
“You are a man who thinks women are half-witted and ruled by emotion, me thinks.”
He frowned peevishly. “Men lose their heads too. It has nothing to do with your being a beautiful woman.”
She startled at the word “beautiful.” He did too, once it was out of his mouth. “And you might marry,” he quickly added. “Your husband might demand to know all that you know. He might even browbeat you in order to learn the enterprise’s secrets.”
Charles would not do that.She immediately scolded herself at that thought. It was one thing to allow a dream a bit of room to grow and another to become as befuddled as this Mr. Radnor assumed love would make her.
“Mr. Radnor, I could worry about you in the same way. You might become enthralled with some woman and be influenced by her to share the secrets. Or maybe you would use company money to keep her happy, or to pay off her gambling debts.”
He found that amusing. “I never become enthralled, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Never? Not once?”
He shook his head. “Not even once. This invention has the potential to make you a very rich woman, Miss Jameson. Rich beyond your imagination. Every steam engine built will need this invention. Already they are putting them into vehicles that ride on rails. In twenty years those will be everywhere. Then there are machines in factories and other applications. Steam engines will be used by the thousands soon. You would be foolish to sell out now.”
It sounded like she would be better off putting her money in one of those rail vehicles than this invention. For one thing, she would not have to see this man on a regular basis. He unnerved her when his gaze became intense like it be now. She had to struggle to hold her own ground, let alone give as good as she got.
He smiled. A nice smile. A bit seductive, if truth be told. “I will take care of everything. You can tend to your other affairs until the money starts pouring in. Then you can worry about how to spend it all.” He reached into his frock coat and extracted a folded paper. “Because we are equal partners, we both need to agree to decisions regarding funds and developments. However, I can relieve you of that obligation after you sign this.”
She took the paper and read it. While she did, he rose, went to the writing desk, and returned with a pen and the inkwell. He set them on the table next to the divan.
“Do you understand it?” he asked.
Partly. Mostly. There were some big words that interfered, but she thought she had the main points. “This document would give you full control of the enterprise, and the right to make contracts, spend money, and decide on this invention’s future use and cost without my signature.” She looked up at him. “Do I look like a stupid woman to you, Mr. Radnor? If I do not sell my share—and nothing that has happened here today has convinced me to keep it—I will be involved in the decisions going forward. I have no intention of signing this.”
