“That’s not reallytakingtheir money. That’s earning their money.”
“You don’t know what I charged.” Leo gave a hint of a smile, which Prudence considered success.
“I’ll give you that point,” she said, unwilling to argue further.
“Those are the facts. Tell me something about you now,” he urged.
She sipped at the wine, it was so juicy and full she could down it in a gulp and be happy. “What area would you like to know about?”
“What makes you so pragmatic?” He echoed her gesture of drinking wine. “You might be the most prudent person I’ve ever met, living up to your name.”
He wasn’t the first person who’d told her that. She sighed. “I’m the oldest daughter of seven brothers and sisters, all born very close together. My father had not just the railroad business, but also a farm. He did his best to hire an assistant manager for his railroad needs, because he preferred farming. But at harvest, we all helped. As the oldest, I drove the horses for the initial reaping. It was slow and kind of tedious. Needing to keep the rows straight, the horses on an easy walk. But I was good at it. Even when I got bigger and could help with the other work, my siblings couldn’t manage the horses, so it was always my job.”
“But not for long. Because you married young.”
She nodded. “At seventeen. Which wasn’t really that young.”
“It is for London standards.”
“Well, I was in Minneapolis. Not London. And my father’s business partner needed a bride. He wanted a child to inherit his fortunes, and marrying me would solidify the partnership. Once the Transcontinental Railroad completed, of which both of them had a stake, it would be beneficial to have their interest combined in the form of one child.”
“So you were the sacrificial lamb?” Leo challenged. There was something hard glinting in his eye.
“I didn’t see it that way. Marrying Gregory meant I would move to New York state, which was exciting, since I’d never traveled. And being with him meant I wouldn’t have to care for my siblings, I’d have a legion of maids. Which I did for a short while anyway. Turns out that I dislike sitting around.”
“So it didn’t matter that you had to marry an old troll?”
Prudence reared back. They might not have had a love match, but Gregory was not a troll. “That is not the way it was at all. Gregory was much older, yes, but he was handsome. He was weary of trying to find a wife amongst his social class, and he needed a bride who would be willing and able to have children, which I was. Why would I not marry a rich, handsome man who could sweep me away from constant hard work? It sounds like a French fairy tale, doesn’t it? Of course I accepted. I was flattered. I was honored to be his bride.”
“He was the one who should have been flattered and honored.” Leo’s voice was flat. Was he angry about this?
“I think he was, in his way. And he taught me everything I know about business. There is no better teacher than sitting at the feet of a master.”
Leo looked away, clearly trying to hide his disgust.
“It wasn’t like that,” she insisted. “Gregory was a good man.”
“Perhaps, but you sacrificed your girlhood to him. You went from being a servant in your own home to being an old man’sbride. Where was the time for you? When did you get to be a child? A girl? A young woman?”
“Now,” Prudence said, looking him in the eye. “Now is my time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here, alone, in my suite.”
Leo froze, hearing her admonishment. Good. She needed to impress upon him that her life had been not just acceptable, but appropriate, even if it hadn’t been conventional or fun.
She continued, softer now. “It’s the reason I have no intention of marrying again. Gregory had health issues, and I became his nursemaid. But it meant I had full control of the companies, and conducted business in his name. It’s why I know Morse code. Gregory had a telegraph installed in the house upstate, so he could continue his business while in a place of respite. His associates didn’t know if he was the one behind the messages or if I was. And making deals, changing our investments, especially during the turbulent times of the war, it kept me sane. I’d been a nursemaid to my siblings, and then to my husband.”
“And you needed freedom from that constant caretaking.”
She caught his eye. “Exactly. Which I have a suspicion you do for your mother.”
Leo looked away. “We aren’t talking about me.”
“We could be.” Prudence leveled her gaze at him. Challenging him. Asking him.
Leo let out a sigh that didn’t sound as frustrated as she expected. More resigned than anything.
“My mother and I have been through some troubles together. I would never abandon her to a dowager house or even to a house where she wouldn’t be in control. She’s earned her place, and I will do all I can to keep her there. Hence, why I have no intentions of marrying.”
Prudence inclined her head and raised her glass, acknowledging his reasons, and making clear that she had no matrimonial designs on him.
