Page 13 of Lady of Providence
Gabriel simply raised an eyebrow in question.
“You are a partner of the bank,” Clarke continued.
“Not a very active one.”
“The past no longer matters. It’s the future. You could take a greater role — actually be present for meetings, have others agree to vote with you on matters. The most major issue being, of course, Elizabeth’s role. You must not only poison the other partners against her, but we must find reasons as to why she is ineffectual in her role as senior partner. If she has no confidence from any others, she will surely step down, will she not?”
Gabriel was astounded at the vehemence in the man’s tone. Thomas Clarke had been an astute man, one whom Gabriel had always looked upon with fondness. His decision to choose Elizabeth over this Clarke was one which Gabriel applauded. Not that he would actually tell Clarke any of this.
“Very well, Clarke,” he said, waving his cheroot in the air, the smoke framing his face. “I will help you.”
“You will?” Clarke looked astonished. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting Gabriel to agree so easily. “I know you and my cousin had… dealings in the past, and I was not sure if that would mean you would be loyal to her, or if it would prejudice you against her, help you decide that this was a terrible decision.”
“Oh, it’s not that so much as the fact that I agree with you, old chap — women should not be running such things, now should they?”
Actually, Gabriel had come to realize, especially lately, women were capable of much more than most gave them credit for.
“They certainly should not,” said Clarke, a smug grin covering his face.
“Very good,” Gabriel responded, suddenly needing this man out of his drawing room, his home, and his life. “I will attend the next partners’ meeting and see what I can determine. Until then, farewell.”
“Farewell, your grace!” Clarke said as though they were suddenly the closest of friends. “And thank you very much!”
Gabriel began to laugh once Clarke was out the door and out of earshot. That was far too easy. Gabriel, of course, had no desire nor any intention of actually helping Clarke with his request. But by agreeing, Gabriel would placate the man and hopefully distract him from actually attempting to remove Elizabeth from her position. For the truth was, Gabriel thought she would be rather competent in such a role, and if Thomas Clarke believed in her, then Gabriel would as well. She didn’t need jealous, insecure men such as her cousin Henry to be coming after her with a knife in hand.
For now, he considered that a threat to Elizabeth was a threat to the bank as well.
Knowing Thomas Clarke as he did, Gabriel didn’t think there was any chance of the willnotbeing upheld. It was sure to have been created in only the most straightforward and legal of circumstances. Thomas’ faculties were fully intact right until the end. The physicians believed it had been his heart that had failed him — certainly not his mind.
And then there was the fact that Gabriel had only recently been lamenting of his boredom. Well, perhaps now the perfect solution awaited him. He could involve himself in protecting Elizabeth while becoming anactivepartner in the bank.
Not only would it provide him with something to do, but he could do that something very close to Lady Elizabeth, who after so many years still intrigued him. He was interested in seeing her in action, in determining just how well she took on the role. Not only that, but she would need some support in the room when she faced the partners. From what he could remember, they were all stand-up gentlemen, but did their trust in Thomas Clarke reach further than their distrust in a woman?
That, they would find out soon.
* * *
Elizabeth wassurprised when there was a slight knock on the door and one of the footmen arrived with a new piece of paper. So far this morning she had successfully managed to sort the correspondence on the desk into four neat piles — those no longer requiring a response, those she must consult others about, those to respond to, and those she had no idea to what they referred but would require further investigation on her part. Next on her well-organized list was to begin preparing for the partners’ meeting that she must schedule nearly immediately. She was sure they would all have questions that must be addressed, and it was imperative to gain their confidence.
“My lady,” the footman greeted her, slightly out of breath from having traipsed up the stairs.
“Do come in,” she said, waving him in.
“Correspondence for you, my lady,” he said, holding out a few sealed envelopes.
“You do not have to call me ‘my lady,’ Elizabeth responded, looking up for a moment. “Miss Elizabeth or Miss Moreland will do.”
“Lady Elizabeth?” he said with question in his voice, and she laughed slightly. She didn’t want them to see her as a member of the nobility, but rather as part of her grandfather’s family. But she supposed each was a piece of her identity and she must embrace both roles. People accepted those who were true to themselves. “Very well. Lady Elizabeth it is.”
She took the note from him, feeling her brow furrow as she read it. She had immediately recognized the rich, heavy scrawl which was that of Gabriel Lockridge. He had penned the odd love note to her when they had been courting. In fact, he was rather proficient in poetry, though his poems had become tainted once she realized she was likely not the only lady to read his words of love. Not that any of it mattered anymore.
Gabriel was requesting a meeting in order to discuss his finances. That was odd. He was a partner himself, and she was certainly not the one with whom to discuss finely detailed matters as he would have an account manager. Which, she realized, he would be well aware.
So clearly he wanted a meeting between the two of them for another matter entirely — likely he was curious about her new role at the bank. She was surprised he hadn’t said anything to her of it the night of her grandfather’s funeral. One thing about Gabriel, he seemed to know all that was happening, about those within thetonand beyond.
Elizabeth longed to say no, for she had no desire to even see Gabriel again, let alone speak to him. But to refuse a duke — even one who she had more than good reason to ignore — was not done by the senior partner of a bank, nor by a lady. Elizabeth found paper within a drawer, sitting next to her grandfather’s seal. She picked up a piece of paper and dipped the quill into the ink sitting at the edge of the desk, and, in her elegant handwriting which had been long practiced with her governesses over the years, she wrote a note of acceptance as well as a suggested time for tomorrow.
She might as well meet him sooner rather than later, and determine just what, exactly, he might have to say to her.
