I set my sights ahead. The sea stretched for miles, and I would follow it down, cut left, and meet it just outside the populated part of town.
“Faster, you.” I nudged the horse’s side, and he obeyed. Wind blew all around, buffering up my coat and ruffling my hair. My entire household was about to be thrown into similar commotion. The least I could do was give them as much warning as possible.
Down the bend and across the expanse, I led my horse off the road and gave him his head, and we cut the usual ride in half. His sure-footed pace was exhilarating. My heart pounded in my chest. Highcliffe House stood a distance away, just as I’d left it a fortnight ago, and I let out a breath of relief.
Home.
At the top of the drive, I quickly dismounted and climbed the stairs.
Roland opened the door. “Mr. Everett, is everything well?” he asked, looking past me. “Is the carriage behind you?”
“We’ve a guest,” I said as I caught my breath. “Mr. Lane’s daughter.”
Mother stepped out of the front door with wide eyes and a hand on her throat. “Graham, what has happened?”
“I have agreed to host Miss Lane for the next week, Mother. Forgive me, but I need—”
“Ready the balcony room immediately, Rebecca.” Mother spoke over me. “Harriet, alert Cook. I shall add to the menu at once. And Ginny!” She turned back into the house, calling for my sister. “Tidy the drawing room, then the music room, and for heaven’s sake, fix your hair!”
All at once, the house came alive. All three of our servants—my man, Roland, and our two maids, Rebecca andHarriet—swooped out of sight. Voices sounded, bangs and dings and shuffling echoed off the walls.
My shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Mother. This whole trip was thrust upon me. I could not object. And worse, Mr. Lane has given Anna the power to approve or deny my investment proposal. Everything must be perfect this week, down to the letter.”
“Then we mustn’t waste a moment’s time.” Mama looked out at the lawn, focused and composed despite it all. “Where is Tabitha?”
Tabs. My youngest sister. Arguably the loudest and most eccentric child in all of Brighton, and that was saying something. She needed a governess badly, but I hadn’t yet considered our budget against the necessity of it. Mother had taught her to read and write, but unfortunately much of her education came from running freely around the estate. She was likely covered in dirt and practicing the latest slang she’d read in one of Ginny’s novels.
Her manners were not yet polished enough for a woman like Anna.
“Find her.” I rubbed my face with my hands. “And send her to the vicar’s for the week.”
Mama reared back and furrowed her brow. “She is your sister, Graham. You cannot hide her away like an animal.”
“Can’t I?”
Mother smirked and tugged me inside the house that had become our refuge these past few years. Imperfect and plain, but a great deal more home than Father’s. I wondered what he’d think if he saw us here. He’d made his choices, and we’d made ours. Wherever he was, I could almost guarantee we were better off than he was.
We strode down the front hall, searching for my sister in rooms and closets to no avail.
“Miss Lane’s visit must run smoothly,” I said to Mother, who peered down the servants’ stairwell. “My investment depends upon it. This life we’ve built depends—”
“This life isourlife.Ourfamily.” Mother closed the door behind her. Her once-thin face had rounded out, but her gaze could still look sharp when she needed it to. “We are who we are. I grow tired of running from the truth. We cannot change the past nor alter who we have become because of it. We must embrace it.”
Her words were wise, but embracing the truth would not put food upon our table, nor would it provide my sisters with dowries and security. “Not yet. Not when we are so close to standing on our own feet without another man’s name to support us.”
She raised a hand and gently thumbed my cheek, then drew me into an embrace. She smelled like lavender and ginger. “We are all grateful for Mr. Lane’s support, butyouare the one who brought him such lucrative investment deals. You made the connections, found the resources, and finalized the plans. That man was a bag of money, nothing more.”
“I owe him much more than that,” I said. The lessons I’d learned by working with him had built me into the man I was.
“Perhaps, but he owes you just as much. I am so immeasurably proud of you, Graham. Look at what you have done for your family. There is a roof above our heads, clothes upon our backs, food on our table, and the most beautiful views right outside our doors.Youbuilt this life for us. We have allwe need right here. Anyone who sees anything but the most admirable of men in you does not deserve your time.”
I sighed, letting my shoulders rest for a moment. I was grateful my mother had found reasons to be content, but it was my duty to provide better and more,and I would. I would not stop until we had it all.
“What do I do with the embroidery?” Ginny stood in the doorway of the drawing room with a basket over her arm, loose, colorful threads dangling everywhere, even about her shoulders as though she’d bathed in them.
“Genevieve,” Mother chided, striding toward her in a rush. Her hands were a whirlwind as she worked to untangle Ginny. “What have you done?”
“My reticule required several different colors!” she trilled.
