Meanwhile, Silas needed to focus his attention on the correspondence he was supposed to be answering. With their growing success, they were receiving more petitions from potential investors and invitations from social entities in the area, each of which needed to be handled with more tact and delicacy than Hatch was capable of.
A ball? Silas examined the card and consulted his diary. There was no reason he could not attend it, and his thoughts drifted to Miss Delmonte. Could he entice her to attend with him? Though he felt certain he was making headway on that front, he doubted she would consent to such a public display—no matter that everyone already knew where Silas’s heart lay.
Shaking free of that thought, Silas returned to his work, forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand. And though it took some effort, soon the demands of his profession absorbed his attention in its entirety, and the minutes ticked by as thoughts of investors, invoices, shipments, and the like filled his thoughts.
His door swung open with a bang, jerking Silas upright as a flurry swept into the office.
“What do you think you are doing, Mr. Byrnes?” Miss Delmonte stood before him, her eyes blazing with a fire that would’ve made any sane man tremble. Silas found himself smiling. Goodness, he adored seeing the spirited woman in all her glory.
“I am answering correspondence, Miss Delmonte.”
But the flippant answer brought no grin to her lips. Eyes narrowing, her lungs heaved and her jaw tensed, her lips trembling even as they pinched tighter together. “If you think to win my heart by showering me with presents, you are sorely mistaken, Mr. Byrnes. You can buy out every flower and confectionery shop in Hampshire, and it won’t alter the truth.”
Silas rose to his feet and glanced into the outer office before shutting the door behind her. His clerks may know she was there, but they would not tell a soul; the same could not be said if they overheard something interesting. Then, turning to face Miss Delmonte, he tried to lead her to a seat, but she would not go. Folding her arms, she glared at him.
“And what is the truth, Miss Delmonte?”
“That my heart is not the one in question.”
At those words, Silas beamed at her, but that only increased her frown.
“Your heart is not in question?” he asked.
Stepping around him and putting space between them, she pulled her arms tight around herself. “Do not feign ignorance.”
Silas’s brows rose. “It is not feigned, I assure you.”
Miss Delmonte turned to face him and threw her arms wide. “If you wish to make me fall for you, there is no need to try. I have loved you from almost the earliest moments of our acquaintance, but that does not alter the fact that my prime enticement is that I am an excellent helpmate. I may not have much in this world, but I have my pride, and I will not bind myself in a marriage where I am bound to have my heart broken again and again when you cannot return my affection. I will not do it!”
The lady unleashed all the many thoughts that had been trapped inside her head for weeks and months, and Silas stood there, waiting until she’d had her fill. She railed against him, her fury building, but the more she spoke, the more Silas saw the real truth—one he doubted even Miss Delmonte recognized. Strip away the years and a few minor details, and it might as well be Helen standing before him, allowing her fear and pain to keep him at arm’s length.
Now, he just had to decide what to do about it.
“…There are so many other ladies far better suited for you,” she said, throwing out her arms as though taking in the entirety of womankind. “I have nothing to offer you, Mr. Byrnes, besides an ability to handle your household well.”
“That is ridiculous,” he said. It mightn’t be the proper thing to say in such a moment, but he couldn’t allow that to go unchallenged. “You have so much—”
“I have no dowry.”
And though Silas felt like smiling at that, he kept it tucked away. He doubted Miss Delmonte had spoken to Hatch concerning her savings, but it was growing far faster than was natural even with Hatch’s skills with investment. Though Silas couldn’t prove it, he was certain the young man had supplemented the capital just as Silas had done himself. Whatever happened, Miss Delmonte would not have to worry about having enough funds for the future.
But the humor accompanying that thought fled when she added, “I have no beauty or enticements. There are several ladies in the area that can offer you everything you need, so there is no reason you ought to settle for me.”
“Do not say such things.” The hard words flew from Silas’s lips before he thought the better of it, but even with reflection, he wasn’t sorry to have done so. “I will not listen to you degrade yourself. You are everything I want—”
“How dare you!” Miss Delmonte’s breaths came quick and heavy as she shook her head. “I learned long ago not to hope for affection because it was better to rid myself of such fancies than be hurt again and again. And now, you sweep into my life, feeding into those hopeless dreams. Have you no heart?”
“I do. And it belongs to you.”
Chapter 41
For the briefest moment, Miss Delmonte stood, frozen, as she stared at him, and Silas gave her a hint of a smile. Then she shook her head and scoffed.
“Again and again, I have been made to feel my place in the world, and you must forgive me if I find it impossible to believe that a handsome man of means can look at a poor, plain spinster and think she is desirable. I am not a fool, Mr. Byrnes!”
Silas swept her into his arms, moving with such speed that her breath caught, her eyes snapping to his. They widened as they took him in, and Silas held her gaze with firm determination.
“Do not speak of yourself in such a manner. I will not stand for it.” His voice was a hard whisper, his eyes forcing her to heed his words. Silas fought against the flames licking his chest that demanded he hunt down every person who had ever put such thoughts in her head and repay their heartlessness.
