Page 54 of The Sea Siren of Broadwater Bottom
She took his hand and squeezed it. “Then you understand. You understand how important this is to me.”
His eyebrows flew up. “Surely you’re not still thinking to enter?”
“Of course I am! Why would I not?”
He gaped at her. “Well for one, there’s the fact that my estate—which is soon to beyourestate—stands to lose fifteen thousand pounds if I don’t win.”
She set her jaw. “If I win this contest, I can earn us that much and more. It will take me two more translations, perhaps three, but I’ll do it.”
He blinked at her as if she were speaking Bengali. “As the Viscountess Fauconbridge, you cannot publishanytranslations.”
She recoiled. “Why not? You did.”
“That was entirely different. The proceeds from my translation were donated to Anne’s Ladies’ Society. What is improper is for someone of our station to work for money.”
Elissa was reeling. She knew there would be some changes to her life if she were to marry Edward. That she would have to put on a fancy dress and parade about London on his arm, pretending she was viscountess material and trying not to trip over a candelabra and set somebody’s hair on fire.
But she had assumed that the majority of her time would be spent the way she spent her days now: sitting around the library, her nose stuck in a book, working on whatever translation or composition had struck her fancy. She had thought the only differences would be that she would be in Harrington Hall’s library instead of her father’s, and that she would have Edward working alongside her.
It appeared she had comprehended very little.
A solution occurred to her. “I will continue to publish anonymously. No one ever need know that it’s me.”
He spoke through clenched teeth. “They’re going to reveal your identity if you win the contest. You won’t be anonymous anymore. Which is, again, why you can’t enter!”
She felt tears forming. “You don’t understand. You don’t understand how important winning this contest would be to me.”
“Not more important than it is to me, I assure you.”
Now she felt annoyed. Edward had won dozens of contests and awards at Cambridge. She’d never even had the chance to enter. “How could it possibly be more important to you?”
Edward’s voice was tight, and his wrists flexed backward. “You seem to be forgetting the fact thatmy brotherwill be packed off to his death in India if my father finds out about his wager!”
Elissa stood. “I understand that you are concerned for your brother. But your father cannotforcehim to go to India. He’s not going to tie him up and drag him onto a ship.”
“No, but he can refuse to aid him in making a start in another suitable career. Without my father’s support, both financially and through his connections, Harrington will never be able to secure an appropriate position.”
Elissa crossed her arms. “So, he’ll have to make his own way—that’s no different from what everyone else has to do. WhatIhave managed to do, with the disadvantage of being a woman. And I think you’re selling your brother short. Harrington has so many wonderful qualities. With his wit, he would make a splendid playwright, or—”
“Aplaywright?” Edward recoiled, looking so horrified, one would have thought she’d suggested his brother take up a career in highway robbery. “He is the son of an earl!”
“Why should that matter? He would be good at it.”
“Suitable careers for the son of an earl include the army, the Royal Navy, the law, the clergy—”
“Theclergy?” Elissa closed her mouth, which she found was gaping open. “I do not mean this as an insult to your brother, but surely it is apparent that Harrington is ill-suited to life as a vicar.”
Edward waved a hand in acknowledgment. “It would not be my first choice for him, either. But if a lucrative living should become available, it might be the best option for him.”
Apparently Elissa understoodfarless about life in the aristocracy than she’d realized. “How can his best option be to spend the rest of his life doing something he hates?”
Edward looked affronted. “It is a respectable career for a gentleman!”
Elissa shook her head. “The point is, Harrington is a man grown. He is more than capable of making his own way. And I do not think it unreasonable to expect him to face the consequences of his own actions.”
“The point is that there is no longer a need for you to enter the contest, and that, due to the risk of your identity being revealed, it is no longer appropriate for you to do so.” Edward turned on his heel and strode toward the door. “I will advise the organizers upon my arrival that you changed your mind and will not be participating.”
Elissa stalked after him and grabbed him by the elbow, spinning him around. “You will tell them no such thing, because I have no intention of dropping out of that contest!”
