Page 114 of If the Slipper Fits
“Zeke, for God’s sake, will you let me finish?” Caden’s words sounded gruff, but his heart did not carry the heat of anger it once had—except for a small portion aimed at himself.
Why had they not talked like men about this before Caden left, half-cocked? Oh. Because Caden had erupted like a child instead of broaching his grievances like a man.
Zeke clenched his jaw, and gestured for Caden to get on with it. He picked up his glass and drank.
“The money—which I was forced to raise on my own, pilfering my own investments, and yes, I’d like to be reimbursed, did not cover a debt, gaming or otherwise. Neither do I have a woman clamoring for my support.”
Not yet at any rate. He pushed the thought of Anna, swollen with his babe in her womb, from his mind as Zeke and the earl exchanged brief, relieved looks.
“Then…?” his brother’s one-word query dangled, open-ended in the air between them. “Why the secrecy?”
“I wanted to surprise you, as a sort of wedding present. I needed the money for equipment, ordered, and due to arrive any day, for the quarry.”
Zeke frowned. “By God, I got word from the foreman of some unknown shipments which started showing up late last week.”
“You refer to the limestone quarry?” The earl asked, frowning.
“Exactly. Excellent. I hadn’t realized the machinery would arrive so quickly,” Caden mused.
Zeke propped his elbow on the table, closed his eyes, and rested his chin on his fist. A small smile played at his mouth. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with my wife, now, would it?”
Caden arched a brow. “I take it you’ve heard her grumbles over the estate’s longstanding contract with the military? A contract she sees as inhumane—nay—barbaric?”
“What’s this?” The earl demanded. “The Claybourne estate has a long history of supporting the Royal Navy.”
Zeke sat upright and drummed his fingers on his knee under the table. He simply couldn’t help himself, Caden mused.
“Something Kitty detests, old man,” Zeke said. “She claims the military uses the limestone to, and I quote, poison, blind and maim.”
The earl’s expression turned considering. After a moment he nodded with reluctant agreement. “I see.”
Caden went on. “She painted an all too vivid picture for me. It got to where I couldn’t sleep at night imagining the horrors propagated by our unwitting association.”
One corner of Zeke’s mouth kicked up. “My wife. She does has a way about her.”
Caden spread his hands wide. “She does, indeed. During your honeymoon, I did ample research. Turns out the estate itself, and the villages under the Claybourne mantle, can benefit from the limestone in a multitude of ways, benefits which would not only offset any loss of funds caused by terminating the contract with the crown, but should out-pace the lostincome.”
“How so?” The earl asked.
“Besides the usual shoring up of roads and buildings, Limestone uses include purifying drinking water, re-mineralizing farm soil, and enhanced metallurgy.”
Zeke’s eyes sharpened on Caden. “Mayhap this is true. But such an over-haul can’t happen on its own, equipment or no. Someone with the wherewithal to manage what promises to be a massive undertaking would have to take charge. Production, transport, implementation, oversight. In short, every aspect.”
Finally. He spread his arms wide. “That’s where I come in, brother. Meet your new overseer of operations.” Caden sent the earl and his brother his most magnanimous smile. “All I require—”
Zeke barked out a good-natured laugh. “This ought to be good—”
“Is the deed to the cottage where Anna’s family once lived, signed to me, a hefty salary, free rein to run the quarry as I see fit, and…” He met first his grandfather’s, then Zeke’s, eyes. His smile vanished. “…your trust.”
A pregnant pause ensued.
Then his grandfather stretched out his hand to Caden. “You have mine.”
They shook, then both turned expectant gazes on Zeke.
He pushed away from the table and stood. He rounded the corner approaching Caden.
Caden rose, uncertain what to make of his brother’s odd silence.
