Page 43 of Margins of Love
“This is getting better and better. Or worse and worse, depending on one’s perspective,” Arnold observed. “So, you don’t have proof of how much she owes us?”
“I do, I do. I keep ledgers.” Gustav seemed unconvinced of his declaration. “In any case, your mother confronted her about the double invoices, and Carol grew shrill.” He turned and put his hands in his pockets, lowering his voice. “She screamed and accused us of amassing riches while she had to have the curtains resown into gowns for her only child.”
Arnold’s and Fave’s eyes met, each with a telltale raised brow.
“It’s preposterous, really! I finally saw it through your eyes!Wework and pay forherto spendourmoney,” Gustav said to Fave.
Fave added, “She treats us like lesser people, undeserving of the wealth we earned.”
“What has she ever done to earn anything?” Arnold asked.
Fave burst out laughing. It was one of the uncountable insults Jews collected over their lifetimes. It brought his friend at Eton to mind, his best friend as a boy. Fave had told him that he was Jewish, a secret to bond their friendship even closer. He bared himself, but Marvin asked, “Gracious, do your parents know?” As if Fave had stolen some pastries and not told anyone they were gone.
Gustav’s voice brought his thoughts back on track.
“I told Carol that I had to front some extensive sums for an impending competition and that I could not spare a penny until it is under wraps.”
“You did what?” Fave asked, hitting his hands on the desk between him and his father. It was probably unwise to share any information about the competition.
“Carol’s a vengeful witch. She will block us in the competition!” Dread was evident in Arnold’s voice. Gustav flinched.
“Does she know what the competition is about?” Fave asked.
“I don’t think so.” Gustav lowered his head. But they were not sure.
“I have to fix this,” Fave decided.
CHAPTER30
At about the same time at St. James’s Square, Rachel, broken-hearted, curled up on the settee with Fave’s book. She longed for Fave to come calling on her. She imagined her family having tea in the drawing-room with him and her mother serving him rugelach. But then reality sank in, and she felt abandoned, a feeling that clashed with her anticipation of the season. She looked ready to assume her role as the belle of the ball, but a subdued elegance was called for after her awkward society ruse. She had been genuinely naïve and dreamy-eyed. But having, and then losing, Fave left her with newfound clarity, as much as it pained her to have risked her reputation. Clarity gave her control.
“Have you made any progress in finding an adequate investment?” Ilan asked when he walked into the room, interrupting Rachel’s woolgathering.
Rachel looked up and shook her head.
“Well, you won’t find anything helpful in stories of pagan gods from thousands of years ago.” He pointed at Fave’s book in her grasp. Ilan’s voice was steady, but his word choice flared with impatience at her obsession with Greek mythology as well as the ton’s golden boy.
“Why the rush, Papa?”
Ilan rubbed his nose with his index finger and sat down beside her. “I am afraid,Maidale, that time is not on your side.”
She turned to him and set the book aside.
Ilan turned to Rachel, addressing her as an adult. It was most unusual. “Ruchale, this Bustle-Smith is borrowing money.” He grasped her hands tightly. “And she has no intention of repaying the debts.”
“H-how do you know, Papa?”
He leaned back and let go of her hands. At first, it seemed, he had drifted off to sleep with his head tilted backward. He seemed absent-minded, but Rachel knew he was gathering facts from the intricate drawers of information in his head.
Then he took a deep breath and put the pieces together as he said, “She owed us over 15,000 pounds when her invitation to the house party arrived.”
Rachel put both hands on her mouth when she heard the sum of money.
“Then, in Somerset, she asked me for loan forgiveness in return for little favors.”
Rachel’s hands came down to find her father’s again. His hands felt cold and moist.
“A man asked to be seated with you at dinner. She said his intentions were not pure, so she turned him on to someone else. It seemed that he compromised another female guest that night, and they had to leave the next day.”
