Chapter 29 #2
The baron didn’t wait for the refreshments to arrive before starting. “Mr. Evans, you seem like a man with great ambition. You are the most recommended accountant in the ton, at least among the gentlemen with sense in their heads.”
This was not praise meant to lift up a man, but to keep him under control, eager to please. Harry nodded, waiting for the baron to reveal his true intentions.
“You don’t seem to be the kind of man who would be content working for others for the rest of your life. You want to be someone, Mr. Evans. Create a name for yourself, just like your brothers.”
Harry’s response caught in his throat. He had been prepared to come up with arguments to counter whatever nefarious plan Skelton would propose. But nothing that had been said was false. Somehow Skelton had seen into Harry’s insecurities. Maybe he wasn’t as daft as he seemed.
“Lord Skelton. I appreciate your . . . analysis of my ambitious nature, but you have yet to inform me of the proposition.”
Skelton stood and walked around Harry to the bookshelf behind the desk, finding the whisky Harry kept there for his brothers.
The baron poured himself a glass and returned to his seat.
A snide smile formed on the right side of his face.
It spawned chills along Harry’s spine, and he prepared himself to hear the worst.
“You’re a skilled accountant and a trusted business advisor, if I am to believe what I hear.
You must know how much profit one can turn from patented remedies, especially with the right advertisement.
I have plans to make this little hobby of Lady Skelton’s into something lucrative, turn it into a proper pharmacy.
Perhaps my cousin knew what he was doing when he allowed his wife to play around with her herbs. ”
“What do you want from me?” Harry’s mind raced through what this could mean. For Agnes, for both of them. Was there a way for her to keep her home?
“Get me that witch’s apothecary and her recipes, and the pharmacy business will be yours. Hell, you can even put your name on it. We will be partners. I, naturally, will receive a majority share of the profits, but it will be your business. I am merely a significant investor.”
“But Lady Skelton has explained that her patrons do not have the money to purchase their remedies at full cost. The operation doesn’t seem profitable.”
“There will be new customers, Mr. Evans. Customers from the . . . more elite neighborhoods, with coin in their pocket. Customers willing to pay high prices for cures to match any claims. The possibilities are endless. Beauty treatments, remedies for idiocy, cures for hysterical women—”
“And what of Agnes?”
Skelton’s eyebrows shot up. “Agnes?”
Harry, realizing his mistake, said quickly, “Lady Skelton. I do apologize. It was a slip of my tongue after many years hearing your late cousin refer to her as such. I’ve been reviewing letters from him as well, so the name was in the front of my mind.”
“Letters?” Skelton paled. “What kind of letters?”
“Just letters he had written to me over the years. Nothing of importance now.”
Skelton took a sip of whisky and the color returned to his face.
“You have not answered my primary question, Mr. Evans. As I mentioned, you have a sound business mind and I’m willing to give you the chance to make something more of yourself.
You’d be a fool not to take this opportunity.
” He stretched out his hand with a mild look of disgust written on his face.
He didn’t seem like a man who made a habit of shaking hands with non-titled peers.
“What do you say, Mr. Evans? Are we partners?”
Harry did not extend his hand in return. “There is still more to discuss before we can come to an agreement. You did not answer what would become of Lady Skelton. It is her life’s work, her gardens, her apothecary.”
“Mr. Evans, you seem to have forgotten to whom you are speaking. Everything on that property is, in fact, mine. They may contain her ideas, but the recipes are written inside journals that sit on my bookshelves. The equipment is in my attic. It is my soil in which the plants are growing. You will need to hire a licensed pharmacist, but if you believe Lady Skelton would also be useful to your business, I would not stop you from employing her.”
It wasn’t perfect, but this might be the most agreeable choice among the only unpleasant choices they had so far. He had to think practically.
With Harry running the business, he could provide Agnes with comfortable employment. She would be free to do the work she loved without having to deal with Skelton herself. Harry could protect her and her work. The man would never even get to speak to her. He would make sure of that.
They could live in York, although not in her townhome, but in their own home, one that they made together.
He envisioned them walking to the pharmacy each day, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, on their way to their business, their legacy.
She on his arm discussing the latest remedies, one day even swelling with his child.
This could be a success. Agnes wouldn’t have to lose it all. It didn’t solve all of their problems, but it solved most of them. And it was all they had.
Harry needed to stall until he could speak to Agnes.
“I will need to conduct research into the profitability of the industry, particularly in York. I require time to complete my analysis before we move forward, Lord Skelton. If any man were able to provide you an answer sooner, he would not be the type of man you’d want to do business with. ”
Skelton scrutinized his face, looking for signs of disloyalty or maybe manipulation. The man scoffed. “I’m not a patient man when it comes to earning profits, Mr. Evans. But I understand what you ask, which is why I’ve considered you for this role. Two more weeks. That’s all I can give. “
Harry knew when to push and when not to.
Two weeks was not nearly enough time for him to investigate a business market for a pharmacy, but it could be enough time to locate a missing will.
And if in two weeks, they still had nothing, then they still had Skelton’s proposal.
Either way, it was the only time they would get.
“Yes, sir. I will provide you with an answer in two weeks.”
The baron stopped before the door and spoke over his shoulder. “Mr. Evans, do not go running off to the country any time soon.”
Upon his exit, Harry put his hands on his desk, taking deep breaths to slow his heart rate. He had to tell Agnes about this. He needed to go to York. Today.