Chapter Seven #2
‘I know, and my sisters have tried to assure her that’s not the case, but…
’ Chesterfield shook his head. ‘You understand the complications of families, and ours is no different. My father was a good man, a loving man, who had six children to raise after my mother died. He did well by all of us, except for Meridith. I don’t believe he did it on purpose, but she was the baby.
As the rest of us grew up, got married, she was all he had left at home, and he consumed her.
The rest of us were too busy with our own lives to see it until after he died.
For years, she had been his life. They never went anywhere without each other.
She had a governess and a tutor, but after he’d turned over the businesses to me, my father sat in on all her lessons.
When he died, she was completely lost, and alone.
My siblings and I decided school would help, and she seemed happy there, made friends, but that stopped when she returned home. ’
Drake felt his anger slipping.
‘I understand this is all more than you wanted to hear,’ Chesterfield continued, ‘but I want you to know that when I mentioned your visits, I was merely referring to you allowing Meridith to help with the elephant rides, and for including her in the invitation to dine with the Duke and Duchess of Turnbill. I merely hope that your kindness will open her eyes to other such opportunities. She’s been reminiscent of the happy girl she was in her younger years this past week.
I’m grateful for that. So grateful that I wish I could agree to a partnership between the two of us today, but as you know, everything works better when family and business are kept separate. ’
Drake knew that, but he was still skeptical. ‘What about the young men you’ve introduced her to? She pointed several of them out at the Montgomery ball.’
‘Simple introduction,’ Chesterfield said. ‘Someone she might want to dance with at a ball or play croquet with at a yard party. The only person who has seen them as something more is Meridith.’
And Drake, because while he believed Chesterfield, he also understood Meridith’s interpretation of events. He knew there were two sides to every story.
Now, though, he nodded. ‘My apologies for assuming elsewise. But in any case, I should point out that the zoo will be overseeing the rides now that Hugo is comfortable with the children, and that the Duke and Duchess of Turnbill have returned to their country estate.’
Chesterfield stood. ‘So there will be no reason for you and Meridith to see each other.’
Drake’s throat burned as he replied, ‘Correct.’
Although he had plenty to be thinking about, Drake had a hard time pulling his mind from thoughts of Meridith as he rode away from the duke’s home.
He couldn’t see her again. They’d always understood that their acquaintance was temporary. And he certainly didn’t need to make things more complicated between him and Chesterfield.
Archibald was already making things complicated enough. That thought gave Drake an outlet for the anger that grew inside him again. After visiting his solicitor, he’d pay Archibald a visit.
An overdue visit.
Why some people, like his cousin, wanted to meddle with other people’s lives was beyond him.
Drake’s thoughts returned to Meridith, and how her father had controlled hers.
There was no wonder that she believed her family was trying to marry her off.
Being under someone else’s control was all she’d ever known.
This past week must have felt like freedom for her, and that was something else that Drake knew well.
How good it felt to break free from someone else’s control.
Luckily, his solicitor, Edward Gains, was at his office and assured him that, try as he might, efforts would prove worthless.
Uncle Donald’s will was ironclad. There wasn’t anything Archibald could do about the shipping company, other than refuse to turn over the records.
That still wouldn’t hamper future business because new contracts would be written and new payment transactions set up that Archibald wouldn’t have any access to.
However, Gains had warned, a new division of Coastal Shipping Line would need to be created to oversee all of the contracts, payments, and dock work.
Drake fully understood that but knew it would take a great deal of oversight.
He’d assumed finding a partner would be easier, someone with experience in the shipping industry.
Knowledge of all the things that his uncle had had.
That was where Drake had failed to prepare. He knew how to sail a ship and, in all honesty, hadn’t wanted to learn the rest. He’d thought he’d never need to know it.
That had been foolish: he’d known this day would come at some point and should have been ready for it. Having control over his own life didn’t mean he could ignore the parts he didn’t like.
Leaving Edward’s office, Drake mounted his horse and wasted no time in making his way across town again, to his uncle’s—now his cousin’s—townhome.
There he dismounted, tied up his horse, barrelled up the front steps, and threw open the main door, shouting for his cousin.
None of this would be happening if not for Archibald.
They met in the hallway outside the office on the main floor. Archibald’s lips were curved into a snide smile and his dark beady eyes were shimmering in the same way they had when he was young and had gotten away with being mean.
Drake’s first instinct was to punch his cousin in the face, but as his hand balled into a fist, he recalled the lesson he’d learned in childhood.
That reaction was exactly what Archibald had wanted.
Therefore, he uncurled his fingers and held his hand out to his cousin. ‘I just wanted to congratulate you.’
The smile fell from Archibald’s lips and his dark brows furrowed. ‘For what?’
Drake let his hand fall to his side and walked past his cousin, into the office.
He headed straight for the decanter on the side cupboard and poured himself a glass of whisky.
Turning, he held it up in the air and tipped it slightly towards his cousin.
‘For reminding me that good and evil will always exist.’ He drank the contents in one long swallow. ‘I’d almost forgotten that.’
Archibald didn’t say a word, just stared at him, still frowning.
Drake set the glass on the top of the credenza with a thud, then crossed the room to the door.
Archibald backed into the hallway as if he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Drake merely gave him a nod as he entered the hallway and turned towards the main door.
‘That’s it?’ Archibald asked. ‘You came storming in here just to drink my whisky?’
‘You could say that,’ Drake said without looking back. ‘But I also congratulated you.’
‘And now you are just going to walk away, smiling, like you always do,’ Archibald shouted in his wake.
‘Yep,’ Drake replied. A new plan had formed in his mind.
Once outside, he mounted his horse and headed straight for the shipping company offices to do what he should have done the day after his uncle had died.
Actually, he should have done it years before then.
Sitting on the bed in her room, Meridith stared at the dress her sister was holding up. A yellow one. With daisies embroidered on the layered skirt. It wasn’t obnoxious. In fact, it was quite pretty, she just had no interest in wearing it. No interest in going to the theatre.
‘You could wear Mother’s pearls with this one,’ Diana said. ‘They would look lovely with this square neckline.’
In that, Diana was right. The pearls in her jewellery box would look lovely with that dress, but that made no difference. ‘I’m not wearing that dress or Mother’s pearls.’
‘I could ask Peter to send a message to Mr Taylor,’ Diana said. ‘Inquire whether he would be interested in attending the theatre with our family tonight.’
‘Absolutely not,’ Meridith said. It had been well over a week since she’d seen Drake. Mr Kent had mentioned that Drake had been over to see Peter one morning, while she’d been at the zoo, but he’d been long gone by the time she’d arrived home.
She’d been at the zoo every day, which was more than usual, and each day she had hoped that she’d accidentally run into him.
Accidentally, her foot. It would be a purposeful running into, considering that was the only reason she’d gone. Oh, she’d made up excuses about helping to create the schedule for the elephant rides and seeing if Mr Ratnam needed any help, but that was just what they were, excuses.
‘Why not?’ Diana asked. ‘Who knows, the two of you could become a smashing success.’
Meridith shook her head. ‘I have no desire to become a smashing success, nor do I wish to expose Mr Taylor to any more of my family’s matchmaking. He’s not interested in that and neither am I.’
‘We aren’t matchmaking, we are merely encouraging you to engage in social activities, meet more people your age.’
Meridith let out a disgusted sigh. ‘That’s what you always say, yet it’s only men eligible for marriage that you introduce me to.’
‘In hopes that you’d have someone to escort you to events and places.’
‘And down the aisle.’
‘That could eventually happen.’
Usually, Meridith never questioned Diana about Walter because it was a taboo subject.
No one in the family talked about it, at least not with her.
Everyone just pretended that all was well, when it seemed obvious to Meridith that it truly wasn’t.
‘Was it only Walter who changed after you got married, or did you, too, and I just don’t remember? ’
Diana’s eyes widened, and she quickly turned about, carried the dress to the wardrobe. ‘I’ll find you something else to wear.’
‘No, I’m not going to the theatre, and I want to know the truth. Did you want to marry Walter, or were you forced to because Peter had introduced the two of you?’
Continuing to filter through dresses, Diana said, ‘You must go with us tonight. It’s the opening of a new performance.’
‘Why is that important?’