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It was not a question.
“How did you kn—”
He cut off her response with a hard stare.
“Lord Michael bullied the bank into calling in our quarterly loan payment a fortnight before it was due,” she admitted. “Several of our accounts were late with payment, so…” She let her voice trail off. “I believe he meant to test our liquidity.”
Glancing over the remaining correspondence, she found and offered up his response to that particular encounter.
My dear Mrs Bevans,
In the interest of efficiency, I’ve opened an account with your local bank and placed the necessary funds there. Should you at any time be inclined to revisit our previous discussion, you will find the matter delightfully simple to conclude.
“Arrogant lout,” Harry grumbled, then set the letter on the desk and reached for the next. The one that had arrived just as their trouble with the lumber mill began. His lips moved soundlessly over the words. After a moment, he let out a low, mirthless laugh, then read aloud.
“I have taken the liberty of engaging your preferred lumber mill. They were refreshingly receptive to a proposal that better suited their financial interests. I do hope you’ve the foresight to maintain a working relationship with another supplier. It would be unfortunate, indeed, if my modest intervention were to disrupt your manufacturing schedule.”
Harry snatched up another, cheeks growing pink as he read aloud.
My dearest Mrs Bevans,
I must thank you for the delightful novelty you have afforded me of late. Your performance in the field of commerce has been most diverting. Yet I fear you’ve not developed quite the same appreciation for my unexpected presence. Perhaps a modest lesson in foresight might help balance the ledgers between us?
With that in mind, when next you attempt to dispatch your usual vessels, you will discover they have already been secured by a gentleman inclined to plan somewhat farther ahead than his competitors. I trust you will take away some practical insight from this unfortunate situation, even if the timing proves inconvenient.
Still, I would not encourage undue alarm. Your undeniable flair for thriving when circumstances turn inconvenient assures me you will devise some acceptable alternative—marshalling a handful of stout fellows and an armada of rowboats, perhaps. Ingenuity, after all, paired with determination, achieves remarkable things, even in the absence of more conventional resources.
I remain, as ever, your obedient servant,
Lord Michael
Harry lowered the page, mouth agape. “This isn’t posturing and chest thumping, it’s flirtation by knifepoint! What the devil, Gwen!”
Gwen felt her own color rise at the insinuation. Silence stretched between them in a way it never had. Eight-year-old Gwen, who’d idolised Harry nearly as much as she had her da, withered in the certainty that she had disappointed him.
With a sigh, he moved to stand beside her, one hip propped against the edge of the desk.
“How did you handle this one?” His voice was softer now, gentle, and that was almost worse.
She could not meet his gaze.
“I… didn’t, not exactly. Luckily, none of the upcoming shipments were particularly urgent, so I made sure we took in enough repairs to keep the cash flowing while I waited my turn.” She squeezed the edge of the desk until her knuckles blanched white. “I’ve since ensured the availability of additional merchant vessels, should Professor Michael feel compelled to repeat the lesson.”
Harry glared at the remaining pages in his hands, as though debating if he could bring himself to read the rest, then dropped them on the desk and covered her hand with his. It was so warm. So large and comforting that Gwen had to blink back the sting of tears.
They both kept their eyes forward.
“It’s going to be all right, cariad.”
Her cheeks burned, embarrassed to find relief in the certainty that she would not have to handle this alone. It was her yard. Lord Michael was her mess. She shouldn’t need anyone’s help to see it made right again. Her father certainly wouldn’t have. She’d never known him to hesitate over a problem, or look to someone else for an answer. If something needed doing, he did it. If there was a mess to set right, he simply rolled up his sleeves and handled it.
“I’m almost afraid to ask what Lord Michael’s done now,” Harry said, interrupting her self pity.
Gwen slid her hand free from beneath Harry’s and fiddled with a lock of hair that had fallen loose, winding it around her forefinger. “It’s not good, but I have an idea of how we can carry on with production while we sort it out.”
He nodded, slow but encouraging, and a fresh wave of guilt assuaged Gwen at having kept this from Harry for so long.
“I received a letter from the harbormaster. He’s restricted the yard’s prime docking spaces for safety concerns until he can inspect our operations.”
