Page 30 of Embracing the Earl (The St. Clairs 3)

Chapter Ten

The duchess ledCaroline to the dining room. The small dining room, she noted, still thinking the room quite large to be classified as small. A man wandered about it, his hands in his pockets. He moved their way when he spotted them. She was immediately drawn to his merry, blue eyes and open, friendly face.

“Lady Caroline, may I present you to Mr. John Bellows,” Catherine said. “Mr. Bellows, this is Lady Caroline Andrews.”

“I’m delighted to meet you, Lady Caroline.” The man looked fondly at the duchess and bowed. “It’s always a pleasure, Your Grace.”

“Come, luncheon is awaiting us,” Catherine said, taking her place at the head of the table and motioned for them to sit on either side of her.

Within moments, soup appeared, along with hot bread. The aroma of the freshly-baked bread caused Caroline’s mouth to water.

“I asked Mr. Bellows here because I wanted you to meet my publisher.”

Caroline gave the man a warm smile. “I owned a bookstore in Boston until recently.”

“Ah, I have a cousin who lives there. He paints portraits. Have you heard of Winston Warren by any chance?”

“I have. Though I’ve never met your cousin, I’ve seen his work. My aunt, Evangeline, commissioned Mr. Warren to paint her husband. He was an American sea captain. The portrait hung in her bookstore, which she left to me. When I decided to return to England once the war concluded, I sold the store. I left Captain Morton’s portrait behind. It hung in a place of honor at Morton’s Book Shop. I thought it should remain.”

“What a small world,” Bellows exclaimed. “It’s always nice to meet someone who loves books.”

“I certainly do. Enough to open another bookstore here in London,” she said.

“Will you specialize in selling any particular type of book? Fiction? Children’s literature? You know, my publishing company sells a large variety.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Mr. Bellows bought my very first book. His grandchildren love my stories,” Catherine said. “How many do you have again?”

“We’re up to ten with another two on the way,” he said proudly. “My grandchildren begged for C. E. Lawford stories from the beginning. I knew buying Lady Catherine’s books would be a good investment because of how entertained my grandchildren were by them.”

“C. E. Lawford?” Caroline asked. “You’re C. E. Lawford? We carried your books in Boston. Aunt Evie was despondent when the war began because we could no longer get shipments of them. They were our best selling children’s stories.”

“I wrote under that pen name when I first began,” Catherine said. “I’m Catherine Elizabeth and my maiden name was Crawford. Lawford was close to that. I didn’t know if my writing would be acceptable to theton, which is why I wrote under a pen name in the beginning.”

“And now they gobble up your books,” Mr. Bellows said. “His Grace encouraged Her Grace not only to keep writing but to publish under her true name. I’m happy to say that the Duchess of Everton’s books are not only my biggest sellers for children but they comprise my most popular books overall. Everyone in thetonand beyond wants their children to read what Her Grace has written.”

“I’m eager to read the ones you’ve authored that I’ve missed,” Caroline said.

“I find children to have active imaginations. They enjoy that I usually write about animals who speak just as people do,” Catherine said. “Even my own children read my books, though I’ve never given any to them. That is Merrifield’s doing. He seems to buy my books by the dozens and gifts them to our children and others. You will meet him soon. He’s always underfoot. A quite likeable gentleman. Rachel’s hoping to help marry him and Luke off.”

Caroline’s belly tightened. She had no idea Luke was ready to marry. Why should she? She’d only just met him. They’d talked mostly about her new business. She knew little to nothing about his personal life although she’d met members of his family. It wasn’t any concern of hers that Rachel wanted to play matchmaker for her brother.

Then why did the thought of him marrying make her heart ache?

They continued with their meal. Mr. Bellows told some amusing stories about the publishing business. Caroline decided to take advantage of the opportunity before her as they began eating their dessert.

“Mr. Bellows, in my research, I’ve discovered that some publishing houses in London actually run bookstores and circulating libraries, stocking them with their own books. Do you have any affiliations with local bookstores?”

He shook his head. “No. I provide copies of books to all the ones that order from me. Why?”

“Maybe it would be to our advantage to come up with an agreement that would be of mutual benefit.”

Intrigue lit his eyes. “Go on.”

“I’m sure most—if not all—bookstores in London carry the latest books authored by the duchess. What if... we hit upon an elite arrangement where your publishing house allowed my bookstore to be the first to stock any book written by her? I’m not asking for exclusive rights to carry her books, just the opportunity to be the first bookseller in the city to offer them for a short period of time. It would certainly draw customers to my shop. It might even result in increased sales for you. Then, say after a month or so, you would make her books available to other bookstores in the city. What do you say?”

“That’s a fascinating idea, Lady Caroline. One that would be easy to manage. What about outside of London, though? I wouldn’t want to limit my sales in other places.”

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