“She is lucky to have you,” she murmured.
He looked startled for a brief moment. “I am not—” He stopped and looked at the window. “I am simply not willing to?—”
“James.” She stood. “You told a man you would rather lose a very significant inheritance than abandon a child who has lost everything else.” She crossed the room toward him, slowly, without hurry. “You did not say that because of duty. You did not say it because of obligation or management or anything else; you usually say things because of. You said it because you love her. You love Violet.”
He looked at her for a long moment. Something in his expression gave way, simply and completely.
“What happens now?” she asked.
He exhaled and looked at the door, then back at her. “I need to consult with Henderson and Harding, my solicitor in London. The petition will need to be answered formally. The letters will need to be assessed.” He pressed two fingers briefly to his jaw. “It will be a fight.”
“We will fight it,” she asserted.
He looked at her. “We,” she stressed. “We will fight it.”
A lock of hair fell across his face, and she had to clutch the sides of her dress to keep from smoothing it back. She didn’t think they had gotten to that stage yet, despite the kiss they had shared.
“Yes,” he agreed. “We will.”
She smiled, pushing the memory away.
“What is on your mind?” He tilted his head.
“Hm? Nothing. Just… nothing. I want this to be over,” she said quickly.
“It will.”
* * *
“I’ll come with you.”
James looked up from the letter he was folding. He was already dressed for travel in a dark coat and a white cravat. Papers were stacked in three piles in front of him, two of which he had already dealt with and one of which he was in the middle of.
“You do not need to.” He returned to the letter.
“I know I do not need to.” Isadora stood in the doorway with her arms loosely folded. “I thought it might be useful. You’re looking for information about Clara Bennett… about the letters. Two pairs of eyes, two sets of?—”
“Henderson and Harding have contacts in London. I know whom to speak with.” He finished folding the letter and reached for the seal. “It will be faster alone.”
“Faster,” she echoed, walking in.
“Mm.” He was already looking at the next document.
She stopped in front of the desk and looked at the top of his head. “James.”
“I’ll send word as soon as I learn something new.” He glanced up briefly. “A few days at most.”
“Henderson could manage things here for a few days, and Mrs. Plum has the nursery well in hand?—”
“It’s better if you stay.” He had said it simply.
“Better,” she said. “How so?”
“Violet needs consistency.” He began rifling through the papers in his desk. “You said so yourself. Disrupting her routine again so soon after Mortimer’s visit?—”
“Is a reasonable consideration,” Isadora finished. “I’m not dismissing it. I’m asking whether it’s the reason.”
He looked up, and she held his gaze steadily.
