Page 9 of Romancing the Rifleman
“I, uh…” This was the part he hated to admit.“I don’t know.I didn’t read them.”
“Harrington!”Now she was laughing at him, but not in a mean way.“What do you mean, you didn’t read them?”
“I assumed I was signing as Edward’s witness!”He rubbed his eyes with both hands.“Oh, myGod.How did this happen?This isawful!”
She waved her arm.“I fail to see what’s so awful about it.I daresay you’ll do a better job than half the idiots currently serving.”
She obviously didn’t know what a lost cause he was, and he certainly wasn’t going to set her straight on that account.A part of him wanted Diana to think well of him, but the notion of her holding him in high esteem was also terrifying, because it was only a matter of time before he went and screwed things up, now wasn’t it?
He sighed, checking his pocket watch.“I need to go.I promised Lord Kinwood I’d meet him in Lord Richford’s study at half ten.But if you’ve any dances free, I’d?—”
Diana seized his wrist in a surprisingly strong grip for a young lady who appeared so slight and delicate.“Lord Kinwood asked you to meet with him?Why?”
Harrington shrugged.“He wanted to speak to me about something or the other.Why do you ask?”
She cast a look toward the door as if to confirm that they were still alone, then dropped her voice low.“He’s going to try to trick you into supporting his canal scheme.The one at Babbinswood.”
Harrington gave a nervous chuckle.He had no idea what she was talking about.“A scheme, you say?I thought canals were good for commerce.”
“They are, but this one is self-serving.Lord Kinwood owns five thousand acres around Babbinswood.There are a number of canals in the area, and more are under construction.Lord Kinwood seeks to connect his farm to this existing network, only he desires for the government to foot the bill.”
Shit.He would have walked straight into that.Harrington rubbed his eyes.This only served to show how grossly unqualified he was to serve in Parliament.“I hadn’t heard a thing about it,” he admitted, his voice hoarse.
He chanced a glance at Diana, expecting to find her sporting her signature scornful expression.Instead, he found her regarding him steadily.“Of course, you haven’t.You’ve been slightly busy holding off the French.You had weightier things on your mind than Lord Kinwood’s stupid canal.Besides, where would you have even found a newspaper?”
Had she said it with even a trace of pity, he would have wanted to sink into the floor.But she said it so matter-of-factly, he almost believed her.
“Right.”He shook himself.He was already five minutes late to meet Lord Kinwood.He needed to pull himself together.“What do I do?”
She leaned in close so he felt the whisper of her breath against his ear.“Ask him to name one stakeholder other than himself who would benefit from the proposed scheme.He’s been throwing around some numbers, claiming the project would only cost six thousand pounds.That is based on a projected cost of two thousand pounds per mile of finished canal.Which is absurd.”Her eyes blazed ice blue.“If he tries to argue with you, point out that the Royal Military Canal, which is nineteen miles long, cost a total of 234,000 pounds.Which puts the cost per mile at?—”
“Closer to twelve thousand pounds,” he interjected, then quickly wished he’d kept his mouth shut.This was Diana’s cue to make a joke about how she hadn’t realized he was capable of performing arithmetic.
It was true that Harrington had never applied himself in school.His brother, Edward, was the clever one.Everyone knew that.
But he wasn’t the village idiot.He just played the part to perfection.
Instead of laughing, Diana gave a crisp nod.“Just so.And ask what goods, precisely, this canal would bring to market.That part of the country has a fair number of quarries and mines, and building a canal seems logical for the transport of heavy goods.But it is my understanding that this particular pocket has only farms, such as the one owned by Lord Kinwood.”
Harrington nodded.“Right.No one to benefit other than Lord Kinwood.Twelve-thousand pounds per mile.And no heavy goods.I’ve got it.”His heart was beating faster than it did when he was under fire, and he felt slightly queasy, but there was nothing for it, so he turned to go.
Diana seized the sleeve of his jacket, staying him.He turned and found her looking up at him with an obdurate expression that, strangely, suited her delicate features.
“You can do this,” she said in a voice that brooked no argument.
He gave a nervous laugh.“I’ll certainly try.But…” He trailed off, figuring that sentence was best left unfinished.If she spent any meaningful time in his company, Lady Diana would notice his many failings soon enough.No need to go pointing them out.
She raised a haughty, expectant eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.It struck Harrington that, had she not been the sister of a duke, she would have made a marvelous headmistress.
He was unable to withstand that eyebrow.“But political negotiations aren’t really my specialty.”There.That didn’t sound too bad.
The eyebrow lowered, only for its companion to go up.Damn.He’d always wanted to be able to do that eyebrow-arching thing but had never mastered the trick of it.
Diana, on the other hand?She could do it withbotheyebrows.
“And what is your specialty?”she asked crisply.
“Um, you know…” He trailed off, struggling to think of a term he could utter in front of a lady.“Idle japes and mockery.”
