has been using the space free of charge—I expect they will need a few days to vacate.”
“How long?” Wayland’s tone suggested the point might influence his and Kit’s thinking.
“Oh—just a few days.” Hemmings sent the secretary a sharp look.
One of the other directors leaned forward to suggest, “Shall we say by the end of the week?”
The other company men, including Hemmings and Finch, nodded and, faintly anxious, looked at Kit.
Kit glanced at Wayland, hesitated for effect, then said, “I suppose we could use the next few days to hire workers and organize supplies.” In truth, a few days was no skin off their noses, but given they’d yet to discuss the details of the lease, keeping the directors off balance seemed wise.
Wayland replied with a somewhat sulky shrug.
Kit looked back at Hemmings and Finch. “Perhaps, gentlemen, we should get down to brass tacks.”
The directors were very ready to do so, but neither Kit nor Wayland were new to the art of negotiating deals. Both Ryder and Rand had taken ten percent stakes in Cavanaugh Yachts, and Kit used their names and backing to further strengthen his and Wayland’s hand. The discussion went back and forth, revisiting this point before agreeing on that.
Finally, the directors agreed to a price and conditions that Kit and Wayland were prepared to accept, including a stipulation they had pressed for—an indefinite option to purchase the warehouse outright after a period of two years.
While Wayland had a thirty percent stake in the company, Kit remained the majority owner. Consequently, when Finch prepared and presented the lease, it was Kit who signed first, then he passed the document and pen to Wayland while doing his best to conceal the elation that filled him.
They’d made their first major commitment and had secured the space they needed to forge on.
Wayland, also battling a grin, signed with a flourish, and the secretary and chairman quickly countersigned.
Finch duly presented Kit with their copy of the lease.
“Thank you.” Kit glanced at the document, then folded it. As he tucked it into his coat pocket, he looked at the directors and smiled. “Thank you, gentlemen. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
“I must insist that the pleasure is all ours, your lordship.” Hemmings rose and, beaming genially, waved toward a nearby sideboard. “Can I offer you a small libation to celebrate our deal?”
Kit and Wayland accepted glasses of brandy and stood and chatted about the city—extracting as much useful information as they could. After the other three directors made their excuses and left, Kit turned to Finch. “Although our tenancy doesn’t commence until the beginning of next week, Mr. Cobworth and I would like to take a quick look at the inside of the warehouse. While I’ve been inside before, Mr. Cobworth hasn’t, and to ensure we order the correct timbers for the initial fitting out, he needs to note the placement of the beams.”
“If we could gain access for half an hour today, that would be ideal,” Wayland put in.
Finch and Hemmings exchanged a long glance—long enough for Kit to wonder what unvoiced thoughts passed between them. Then, lips primming, Finch nodded. “If you can indulge us regarding the time—will five-thirty this evening suit?”
Kit looked at Wayland and arched his brows.
“It’ll be close to dark by then.” Wayland’s faint frown suggested he was thinking rapidly. “But I can pick up a few lanterns.” Expression clearing, he met Finch’s gaze. “Yes—that will do.”
“Excellent.” Hemmings clapped his palms together. “We’ll meet you outside the warehouse at five-thirty, then.”
Wondering why they couldn’t go now, Kit asked, “Is there any difficulty with us taking a look around the outside earlier? Now, for instance.”
Again, Hemmings’s and Finch’s gazes met, then Finch cleared his throat and explained, “We haven’t yet broken the news to the charity that’s been using the space, and we won’t be able to do so until tomorrow, when their manager is in their office. It would be...awkward if those at the warehouse were to learn of the situation prior to the manager being informed.”
“Ah—I see.” At least as far as them going to the warehouse now. Kit inclined his head to both men. “In that case, we’ll hie off to find some lanterns and will see you gentlemen outside the soon-to-be Cavanaugh Yachts workshop in...just over an hour.”
Finch’s and Hemmings’s faces lit with what Kit saw as pleasure tinged with relief. With a return to their celebratory mood, the pair farewelled Kit and Wayland, vowing to meet them shortly.
Kit was inwardly shaking his head as, with Wayland beside him, he stepped onto the pavement outside the Dock Company building.
For his part, Wayland was actually shaking his head.
Kit halted and eyed his friend. “What?”
Wayland shrugged. “Nervy lot.” He looked around. “I think the nearest hardware store is that way.” He pointed down the quay.
Sliding his hands into his pockets, Kit fell in beside Wayland as he led the way.
* * *
When, an hour later, Kit and Wayland rounded the end of Princes Street and walked onto the stretch of waterfront known as the Grove, it was to see Finch and Hemmings waiting farther along, outside the door of the third warehouse from the corner.
Evening had fallen and was edging toward night, and the slap of wavelets against the pilings was increasingly audible as other workaday noises faded. The row of warehouses fronted directly onto the Grove, with a narrow, cobbled lane separating their façades from the rough grass beneath the line of trees that gave the area its name. Beyond the trees, lamps were spaced along the river’s edge, but the warehouses lay far enough back that only faint light reached their doors.
Wayland huffed. “Just as well we got these lanterns.”
They’d bought four hurricane lanterns, reasoning that they would surely need them as the days grew shorter.
As they approached the warehouse, Kit nodded in greeting. “Hemmings. Finch.”
Hemmings smiled and half bowed.
“My lord. Mr. Cobworth.” Having already unlocked the padlock that secured the doors, Finch lifted the latch and drew one of the double doors back.
Kit caught the edge of the second door and hauled it wide.
Wayland walked inside, then halted and, through the dimness, looked around. After several seconds, he bent and set down the two lanterns he’d carried and crouched to light them.
Kit stopped a pace away. He put the two lanterns he’d carried beside Wayland’s two. When light flared and Wayland replaced the glass surround on the first lantern, then turned to light the next, Kit picked up the first lantern, raised it, and played the beam around the gloomy space.
Although his hands remained
