Chapter Twenty-Five
R eality didn’t intrude until the next morning. They’d awoken late, eaten lazily, and spoken of things they could do another day. Tomorrow or the next. They were still at the breakfast table when the butler arrived with the mail. On one of the letters Grace read the name of her father’s solicitor.
‘What is that?’ she asked as Declan slit open the letter.
‘Your dowry.’
‘The boat? Now it is yours.’
‘Yes.’
He was quiet, his expression relaxed, and she wasn’t sure what that meant.
‘What are you going to do with it?’
He smiled at her, the letter in his hand. And then he set it on the table near her. ‘What do you want to do with it?’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, you. Whatever you want, I’ll see it done.’
She thought long and hard about that. She toyed with her teacup and she traced the letters on the linen paper.
‘Your cousin did everything so that he could have the boat,’ she said.
‘Yes.’
‘So let him have it.’
Her husband reared back. ‘What? Reward him for everything—?’
‘We would not be married were it not for him.’
Declan frowned, clearly thinking. ‘I do not like giving Cedric what he wants. He needs to earn his keep.’
She agreed. ‘He will.’ She grinned at him. ‘I may have sailed the ship, but it was my sister who advised on the cargo, who balanced the accounts, and handled the money. We had many ports of call along the way. She barely spoke English at first, but she knew what to sell and what to buy.’
He frowned at her. ‘How could she know such a thing?’
‘While I spent my days learning how to navigate, she spent her days with the merchants. She learned a very great deal.’ She leaned forward. ‘She is more clever than I am.’
He snorted. ‘I doubt that.’
‘I don’t.’
‘So, do you think she should have the management of The Integrity ?’
Her husband was quick. He understood exactly. ‘I think she should. And let Cedric work on it.’
‘As a sailor? He’d never agree.’
She shrugged. ‘Then he cannot have it. But it is what he wants more than anything. He told me so himself.’
‘He would work as a sailor, completely under her control?’
‘Not exactly. There are a few improvements to the boat that Captain Banakos wants, and selecting a cargo can take months. We shall give Lucy control during that time and see how it goes.’
‘Then we shall give it to Cedric?’
She shrugged. ‘Then we will ask Lucy what she recommends.’
He pursed his lips, considering. ‘Cedric, supervised by your sister? Will Lucy agree?’
‘Lucy will be thrilled.’