Page 67 of Drowned in the Pleasure of a Devilish Baron
“What shipment is he speaking of?” Juliet asked.
The reality of the situation hit him then, and he sank into the nearest chair, rubbing one exhausted hand across his brow. “Once a year, our finest wines are boxed up and loaded onto a fleet of carriages and ships. From there, they are delivered case by case to our highest paying customers.” He felt so tired suddenly, too tired to finish explaining.
Juliet came to him and knelt at his side, taking his hands in hers, giving him the strength to finish.
“Today was that shipment, and from what it sounds like, a fire broke out across the entire shipment. All of it is gone.” He closed his eyes. “A year’s worth of hard work, the profits that carry Whitfield Wines through the rest of the year and the smaller orders… gone.”
Juliet turned back to their guest. “Was nothing saved? Nothing could be done?”
He had been given a chair and a glass of mead, and seemed to have caught his breath some. “No, My Lady. We did all that we could, but we have never seen a fire such as this before. It came so quickly, and it started right in the center of the shipment. There was no hope.”
“Was anyone hurt?” Leonard picked his head up, suddenly afraid and desperate for the answer.
“No, My Lord. The timing was perfect in that sense,” he added a bit ruefully. “We were all having a bite to eat before the shipment left. We should have left someone behind to keep an eye on things.”
“Better to have lost the shipment than to have lost any of our men,” Leonard said, without a hint of doubt in his voice.
The other man’s face was blackened with soot, the area around his eyes startlingly white in comparison. As he drank his mead, Leonard noted how much effort it took to lift the glass.
“You’re exhausted,” he said kindly. “Finish your drink and go home. We will speak more tomorrow. I’ll come out to speak with the overseer and the men. You have done more than enough for today.”
The man nodded gratefully. “Thank you, My Lord.” He polished off his drink and set the glass aside, bowed low to the two of them, and left.
Juliet turned frightened eyes to him. “Two fires in one day, and both places affiliated with you. What is going on?”
Leonard put his arm around her and pulled her close, looking into the fire. “I don’t know yet, but I am going to find out.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Sarah was lying in bed, her head pillowed by her hands, her face streaked with tears. Her heart was broken, for she had seen the dark truth of her future in her brother’s eyes.
There is no more hope. Felix himself has given up. Why shouldn’t I?
Her shoulders shook in quiet sobs. In an attempt to remain silent, she bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Though things were appearing bleak, there was no reason for her family to assume she had been beaten and given up. Not yet.
There was aclickagainst her window. She ignored it, too sunken in her own misery to bother seeing if it was a bird or a branch.
How could Felix have given up so quickly, so easily? He has decided my life is to be spent with a man he does not even know, and did not bother to ask my opinion.
She rolled to her other side angrily.
He’s just like John.
The thought sent her rolling back to her other side in a huff. Because she knew it wasn’t true.
Click.
Felix wasn’t like John, he just wanted her to be well taken care of.
Click click.
Whatever had happened today must have hurt him deeply, for him to have pushed her away like that.
He did not push me away when I kissed him.
The thought made her smile a little bit to herself. What a kiss it had been. Like something from a fairy tale. His words may have told her no, but his lips had not. No, his lips had said something very different, indeed.
The next sound at her window was a spray of clicks. A burst of noise that sent her leaping from the safety of her counterpane and tripping backward.
