I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.
Jane Austen, fromPersuasion, 1818
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Annabelle Winthrop prayed her sister fared well in her marriage to the Baron, because Elizabeth’s hastily penned letter had revealed altogether little of her new life. Lizzie had sacrificed enough on Annabelle’s account, certainly enough to not be burdened more. Which was why Annabelle had written back expressing the usual worries only—Papa’s spending and Cook’s health—not the worry that now plagued her every waking thought.
That plague was a certain Mr. Finch, who’d shown up three days after Elizabeth’s marriage and now called on Annabelle every day since.
She more than disliked her new admirer; in truth, the man repulsed. He looked as old as Papa, with an unkempt, squat form and wheezing, lowly speech. What’s more, he had a rotten tooth at the bottom of his mouth that he plied with his tongue, clicking it back and forth in the most revolting, obnoxious manner.
There was something off about the way Papa tolerated Mr. Finch, not to mention the way the man’s eyes perused her person. And unlike Lizzie’s Baron, Mr. Finch did not send tokens of affection or bouquets to the house. Apparently, he knew Papa too well to need to court her properly.
He was also her sole caller.
Annabelle feared what Finch’s visits foretold, but she was old enough to solve her own problems rather than run to her sister for help. She would shortly come of age, even if Papa continued to lie about that all-important fact. She could be just as strong as Elizabeth. She simply needed to muster her courage and don thick armor.Verythick.
She pulled Mr. Harris’s card from her pocket and traced the raised lettering with her finger.
Arthur Harris, proprietor
The Gilded Leaf
16 Surrey Lane, London
She would ask this gentleman for help, for if he knew a thing or two about her father’s situation, he might be understanding of her own. And if Mr. Harris truly did own a gaming house, Annabelle might turn the tables for once and win her freedom from both PapaandMr. Finch.
She knew better, of course, than to blindly trust a stranger, but compared to Finch, Mr. Harris was a veritable pillar of propriety who had comported himself at Lizzie’s wedding most honorably.
She’d take her chances with him, rather than with Papa’s odious new acquaintance.
“A lady, Arty, brunette with sweet thrupney bits. Says y’ gave ’er yer card?”
Harris frowned at his man. He hated the fact his childhood moniker had stuck with staff. Moreover, it was a quarter to one,The Leafwouldn’t open till eight, and he had a mountain of accounts to run through with his bookkeeper who was, as usual, late. He didn’t need some buxom chit interrupting.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Fine, show her in, but be ready t’ show her out, Tom. I’ve enough girls workin’ me floor; we’re not in need o’ more.”
“Right-o, Arty.”
Two minutes later, Tom opened the door to a young woman who …Double fuck!
“Miss Winthrop.” Harris immediately stood. “To what do I owe this great pleasure?” He shot Tom aget-the-hell-outglance, and his man did. Fast.
Harris rounded his desk and pulled out a chair for the lady, who blushed a becoming pink. She began to pluck at her gloves, then removed them entirely, only to place them awkwardly upon his desk.
She needed steadying. As did he.
He poured her a brandy, though the sap was strong, but he didn’t have a bloody tea service waiting. He’d not seen hide nor tail of her father at his club since Jasper’s wedding, and for Miss Winthrop to have kept his card rather than toss it surprised him not a little.
He placed the drink before her, which she downed in one gulp, surprising him only more. She boldly looked him in the eye. “May I have another, sir?”
Arthur was rattled, for her eyes, the color of lit amber, matched her auburn hair so perfectly she looked more fawn than human: a gorgeous, woodland creature.
“Of course, Miss Winthrop.” He poured them each a second healthy portion, and this time she sipped more delicately.
“Mr. Harris, I must apologize for visiting you unannounced.” Her gaze fell to the receipts strewn across his desk. “Have I interrupted your accounting?”
Jasper had dubbed his new sister-in-law an innocent, but the girl held her liquor and knew a ledger from a shopping list.
