Page 76 of All is Fair in Love
That might take some explaining. She will be suspicious of my real motives.
And if they did marry, Poppy would be obliged to help her husband manage the spice contract. To possibly offer up space in her warehouse. That could well become a sore point between them.
I still need that space, but I want her more.
The issue of what he was going to do regarding Basden Line Shipping was far from settled. Before he could put a ring on Poppy Basden’s finger, they were going to have to sit down and negotiate.
She needs to understand the truth of things.
After his visit to Mowbray House, Francis had ventured to Wedgwood, the china shop in York Street. He was determined to find something special for Poppy. The Dutch oven had won her favor, and he hoped to capitalize on that with this latest offering. To begin sweetening the way to the difficult conversation that would come with his marriage proposal.
While the assistant wrapped the teapot, cups, and saucers, placing them in an elegant wooden box, Francis did his best to keep his head down. The last thing he needed was for someone he knew to recognize him. A gentleman didn’t venture into these sorts of places on his own. Not unless he had a special lady in mind.
His life was already problematic enough without anyone starting a rumor about him having found a potential bride. And while Adelaide might well be hundreds of miles away in Scotland, he was under no illusion that that sort of gossip, once life was breathed into it, would find its way to Strathmore Castle and his mother with lightning speed.
If the courier bearing his and Gideon’s letter could make the journey by coach in a matter of days, then so could a rumor.
Francis wanted to be in control of his life. Of his future. This wasn’t just a shipping contract; this was the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. This was about the future mother of his children. He had to get this right.
If there was one thing of which he was certain, it was that his marriage would not follow the example of the warring Duke and Duchess of Mowbray. He would look to his own parents for the cues as to how to manage a lifelong partnership.
With the gift box in his hands, Francis marched straight out the front door of the shop and into the waiting Saunders town carriage. He was keen to move matters forward with Poppy.
If things went well, then he might even have a fiancée by the time the spice tender announcement was made. That would make for a red-letter day in his life.
I am sure Poppy will understand about the contract. I just need to be honest with her.
At the dock, he alighted from the coach and made a beeline for warehouse number fourteen. He rapped loudly on the front door, then waited. The sound of the key being turned in the lock had Francis taking a deep breath.
He could admit to being nervous. His plans to succeed as a businessman had been well thought through, and the numbers tallied and double checked. But when it came to the task of wooing the fairer sex, he was all at sea.
It had been less than a day since she had last seen him, yet it seemed like an eternity. The long, empty years Poppy had endured while constantly waiting for her father didn’t measure up to the worry she had felt during the past hours.
She was prepared to admit that the sight of the white-haired Francis standing at her door was a bit of a mixed blessing. He was here. She just wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing.
Her gaze flittered to the box in his hands, and her heart sank. More gifts. Here she was, keeping things from him while he was blindly pressing ahead with what could only be assumed as the prelude to an offer of marriage.
Francis pushed the box toward her. “For you.”
Poppy shook her head. Her guilty conscious stopped her from accepting the gift. This was becoming impossible.
“Please, Francis, you don’t have to buy me things. You have been more than generous already. I cannot accept your present. We are friends; and you don’t have to buy friends.”
He took a step forward. Poppy met his gaze. The worry on his face matched that in her heart.
What am I going to do when you discover the truth about the spice bid? How will I ever be able to look into your beautiful blue eyes knowing that they will be full of hate for me?
She couldn’t ever see a way where Francis would find it in his heart to forgive her for lying to him. She had finally found the man of her dreams, but because of their business conflict, she could never have him.
He touched a warm hand to her cheek and a shiver raced down her back.
“I know we are friends, but after last night, you have to know we are much more than that. Don’t let your recent experience with an uncaring male jade your opinion of my sex. I will never fail you like Jonathan did.”
No, but I might fail you.
She hadn’t ever cared if Jonathan was sincere, but with Francis, his sincerity meant everything. And that knowledge only served to make matters worse.
He offered her the box once more, and she reluctantly took it. Knowing Francis, he wasn’t going to leave until he had handed the gift over.
