looked down at her feet, embarrassed for having thought anything at all other than cursory gratitude that she was not walking in the rain. ‘Either way, it is rude of you to discuss it with me. And, I might add, it does not concern me whatever you do. You might marry whoever you like and it will not matter to me in the slightest.’
‘It is good to know that. Not that I planned to seek your approval.’ This was more playful than censorious, and delivered with a strangely seductive smile, as if to say it was in his power to make it matter, should he so choose. ‘But why do you say that the Clairemonts would not offer you a ride if you needed one? They seem like nice enough people, from what I know of them.’
Perhaps enough time had passed that they were better. Barbara was not sure of the mood in the Clairemont household. But she would rather cut her tongue out than ask Anne, for fear the answer she might receive would open old hurts afresh. She gave a firm smile. ‘It is an old family quarrel, and nothing of importance. I would not seek to bother them if I did not have to.’
‘But I would like to hear of it, all the same.’
‘You will not hear it from me,’ she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. ‘You are new to Fiddleton, Mr Stratford, and might not know the ways of small villages. When one lives one’s life with the same people from birth, it sometimes happens that one makes a mistake that cannot be corrected and that will follow one almost to the grave.’
‘Are you speaking of the Clairemonts, then? What mistakes could you have made to render you less than perfect in the eyes of this village? From where I sit, I see a most charming young woman—and well mannered.’ He smiled. ‘Although not always so to me.’
‘You do not always deserve it, sir.’
‘True enough,’ he agreed. ‘But you are kind to others, modest, clearly devoted to your family. And beautiful as well.’
‘Though too old to be still unmarried,’ she finished for him, sure he must be thinking it. ‘The verdict has already been rendered as to my worth in that regard. I have learned to accept it.’
‘Then we are of a kind,’ he said. ‘Although I am the worse of the two of us. I have just got here, and I have made myself universally hated. But I do not let it bother me. I do not care a whit for the opinions of the locals. I am who I am, and they had best get used to it.’ He looked her up and down again. ‘If they think less of you, for some foolish reason or other, I cannot give their views much credence.’
Between the kiss they had shared and the look he gave her now, she suspected he had got quite the wrong idea about it all. He was hoping that there had been a man involved in her downfall. But their trip was almost over, and he had offered no further insult, so it was hardly worth correcting him. As long as they were not alone again he would give her no trouble.
But his disregard for his own reputation bothered her. ‘Perhaps you should care what people think. There are worse things than social ostracism, you know. Mill owners have been accosted in their own homes and on their ways to and from the factories they own.’
‘That is why I carry this,’ he said, patting the bulge in his pocket and reaching in to draw out the handle of a pistol.
‘Are you really going to use it?’
‘Do you doubt my bravery?’
‘I do not doubt your foolhardiness,’ she said. ‘It has but one bullet in it. If there is trouble, there will likely be a gang behind it.’
‘Then I will be forced to appeal to the garrison for aid, and it will not go well with them,’ he said, as though that settled the matter. ‘I do not seek violence, Miss Lampett. But if I feel myself threatened I will resort to it. You need have no doubt of that.’
She imagined the possible consequences with a sinking heart. ‘Since the violence you describe is likely to be turned against my father, I believe we have nothing more to say to each other. It is fortunate that we have arrived at my home.’
Stratford glanced out of the window. ‘So we have.’ He turned and tapped on the door to signal the driver. ‘Another turn around the high street, Benjamin. The lady and I are not finished with our discussion.’
‘And I have just said we are.’ She reached for the door handle, only to fall back into her seat as she felt the carriage turning. ‘This is most high-handed of you, Mr Stratford.’
‘But, knowing me as you do, you must expect nothing less of me, Miss Lampett.’ He smiled again, as though they were doing nothing more serious than dancing around a ballroom. ‘The subject we discuss is a serious one. I think I may have found an agreeable solution to several dilemmas at once. But it requires your cooperation, and the chance for us to speak privately for a little while longer—as we are doing now.’
Which explained the ride, she supposed. She should be relieved that he had not sought her out of any deeper desire for her company. But, strangely, she was not. ‘Very well, then. Speak.’
‘As you say, in a small village news travels fast. You say that you know of my plans for the Christmas holidays?’
‘You are entertaining guests from London. The only people of the village who will be in attendance are the Clairemonts. If it is not an engagement, then I suspect the gathering has something to do with the opening of the mill.’
‘Why would you think that?’ he asked, surprised.
‘Because you are the host of it. Having met you, Mr Stratford, it seems unlikely that the people coming are old friends.’
‘Ha!’ Rather than being angered by her insult, he seemed amused by it.
She continued. ‘Everything you do has to do with your business in some way or other. This Christmas party is like to be the same.’ Then she allowed her true feeling of distaste to show. ‘It is vulgar in the extreme to use the Lord’s birth as a time for doing business, if that is what you mean to do.’
‘Whether you have reached your conclusion from local gossip or shrewd deduction, you are correct, Miss Lampett. I am entertaining investors from London.’ He gave a slight frown. ‘Because, apparently, I think of nothing but business.’ He paused for a moment, as though he had forgotten what it was he meant to say. ‘I do not have quite so many guests as I had hoped. There were more negative replies in today’s post.’
‘Probably from gentlemen who understand the impropriety of it,’ she said.
He shrugged. ‘Or perhaps they do not wish to associate with one who is in trade, even though he offers them the opportunity to do it far from the prying eyes of the ton. It does not matter, really. As you have pointed out, they are not my friends. But I need only one—perhaps two—to come, agree and invest. Then, for me, this Christmas will be a happy one.’
It appeared that her father was right about the man, if that was how he measured his happiness. ‘There would be far more joy for all should you choose to spend that time in meeting your neighbours, sir. If you could not manage that, then perhaps you could release the Clairemonts from their obligation to attend? For I suspect it will pain them greatly to see their home treated as the London Exchange.’
‘It is no longer their home, Miss Lampett. It is mine to do with as I please.’
‘But I do not see why you wish to tell me of it. It is no business of mine,’ she
