Chapter Twelve #2
“You see, I don’t know anyone in Town,” Abigail said, cutting into his spiraling and lust filled fantasies with her normal practicality.
“Aside from my Aunt Charlotte, but I don’t think she’d be much help.
She is as silly as Mother. I suppose there are my father’s old friends.
But I think it would be helpful to have a man of business with me…
someone who might be an aid to me in this venture.
My aim is to find an interested partner at the geological institution.
In investments if possible, and the sponsorship of papers. ”
“Ahh.” The noise Robert made was covered by a cough. Abigail carried on.
“I know of course that great men sometimes buy curios, but Liddell has no interest in such things, and no one really knows Baron Montacute. So, there is no one of importance nearby.”
At the mention of his employer, the man who helmed the underwriting of much of the British empire’s most reputable enterprise as well as this particular venture, Robert tensed. “How—who is he? The baron you mentioned?”
“He is one of the local aristocrats. There is a grand estate, about thirty or forty miles away. I’ve never been myself,” Abigail said.
She set to work, brushing at her work clothes and trying fruitlessly to clean herself up.
“No one knows much about him. He certainly never visits us. Every now and then, one of the town’s gossips says something about him coming to stay but it never amounts to anything.
My mother always says the grand house should be let out, but perhaps it is too dear for most…
I’ve seen a sketch of it. The Grange, it’s called.
All very pretty, so much so Sophia said she’d be willing to wed him.
Even if he looked like a toad. I think he must be dandy or a libertine… ”
“I am sure he is. In fact, I am quite certain I have heard tell of him in Town, being a drunk too.” Better to lay it on thick, in case Abigail might think to mention the baron to anyone.
Better that his employer remain the stuff of legend rather than draw too much attention to Montacute.
Was there some rumor in the region about his employer, aside from his grand house and his noted absence?
Would it be worthwhile for Montacute to come down to Lyme Regis?
Robert hoped sincerely this would not happen.
The idea of the baron seeing how far behind he was in his mission was deeply unpleasant. “Why do you mention him?”
“In case he might wish to buy our discovery,” Abigail said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Great men often like to buy such finds. They display them as a matter of pride either in their country piles or in the London mansions. My father sold his great discovery to Liddell’s cousin, but I think he died. ”
“Perhaps once in Town, I could call the geological society.”
“It would be wondrous if I could be similarly blessed to write a paper, like Georges Cuvier. With such a thing behind me, the establishment might finally listen to me. But even my father did not think it likely anyone of note would be willing to publish my writings or finds—”
“As an Englishwoman, your writing should be—”
“I do not have the same faith as you,” Abigail cut him off. “My father convinced me to know my limitations. To know what it is to be reasonable and not expect too much—it seems we shall have to find a buyer the old-fashioned way.”
“We?” Robert could not resist a wry teasing smile, hoping to prod Abigail into realizing how much she relied on him.
“Indeed,” Abigail said. “You of course shall have a cut, once this creature is sold. Especially if it is thanks to your business connections, I am able to sell it.”
“I thought there was no ‘we’ since your mother is arriving, and very likely would not approve of our connection no matter what we are finding out here.”
A frown pulled over Abigail’s face as she mulled on this, before she said, “On this, my mother will simply have to face reality and understand that we will never wed. She cannot force us both down the aisle to a fate neither of us wants. I was never the daughter she held out any hope for a marriage anyway.”
Why not? Robert wanted to ask. Why wouldn’t Abigail expect such care and devotion from a man? Why shouldn’t she desire a suitor, no matter what nonsense her mother might have filled her head with?
They had kissed. They had held hands. They had danced together with the eyes of the town on them.
For weeks, they had spent hours exploring the beaches of Lyme Regis, talking and sharing.
He had done so with the hope Abigail might reveal the secrets of the town.
But as far as Abigail was concerned, it was done because he had given the impression he had enjoyed her company.
And dash it all, he had. Surely, she was entitled to demand a proposal.
Robert’s annoyance called out to him. Were the sexes reversed, he would be expecting one. Yet Abigail was immune to his charms.
Damn. It didn’t matter what she wanted. He was not at liberty to offer any of this to her.
“Let one of us go back to town and fetch up some good men to help shift the rest of grit away. We should be able to see the rest of our creature then.” She was planning aloud, keen to have the scheme set in motion and rescue her discovery.
“We shall, on the way back, compose a list of who you might be able to sell it to.”
“I think we should not be so quick to dismiss the society’s rules, if that is where your heart truly lies. Why not aim for the best outcome? If we must settle for something else, so be it.”
A wild sort of brightness came over Abigail’s whole being, as if she had been lit up from within. “I am so glad to hear you say this. Surely things have changed since my father wrote to them. There are so many things… I would be so pleased to have your backing.”
Despite the distaste pulsing through his limbs and mind, Robert forced himself to say the next sentence.
“In exchange I need your help.” He wanted to help her, and if she had just heard a few choice bits maybe he might be able to let her achieve her dreams. “You must tell me everything you can about smugglers. It’s one of the reasons I was so worried about that paper you had from France.
I have heard rumors about Lyme and free trading.
If I am to settle here, I need to know what is going on in the town itself. Can you help me, as I will help you?”