The Langley Sisters Trilogy Boxed Set (76 page)

“Why are you in here, when you no longer need to be?”

“Hello, Daddy,” Luke said ignoring his question as he lowered the strap he was oiling and forced his frown into a smile

“Ha, yes that will take some getting used to I’m sure, but as Henry will not be speaking for a while I have some time to prepare.”
 

“How’s Livvy?”

“Tired, happy…Christ, Luke, that was the most terrifying experience of my life.”

Luke watched Will slump onto a bale of hay. Realizing the new father needed more than the comfort of a friend, he rose and made his way to one of the cupboards at the rear of the room. He found the bottle of gut rot he knew Moses had tucked in there. Returning, Luke pulled out the stopper and handed it to his friend, who took it and a healthy swig.

“Ahhhh,” Will sighed as the fire water burned its way down his throat. “I don’t want to go through that again, and I felt no pain, I can’t imagine how Livvy must feel.”

Taking the bottle, Luke swallowed a mouthful, grimacing as it burnt his throat.
 

“Wouldn’t be many people inhabiting the earth if men were the ones giving birth I’m thinking.”

“Ha ha, yes, you have a point there, my friend.” Will smiled and then it fell from his lips. “I’m a father now, Luke.” He took the bottle back again.

“Yes, Will, you are, and you’re going to be a bloody good one.”

His friend pinned him with his gray eyes. “How do you know that?”
Luke thought about that for a minute. “You’re kind and fair.” He ticked the points off on his fingers. “You’re a bit softer now you’re married. In fact, I’m sure I could take you in a fight. However, that will not hinder you in child rearing. Therefore that is not a negative in your favor.”

“I could take you; I’m just too tired to try right at this moment.”

Luke snorted and took the bottle back.

“You’re intelligent, and you are passably good looking, and you have straight teeth,” Luke added.
 

“And these are important in child rearing?”

“Very. My sire was ugly as pig shit, and I got into a fight a time or two defending him.”

 
“Shame you have his looks, then,” Will said snatching the bottle back and pointing it at him before taking another large mouthful. “Your children will have to learn to fight early.”

Luke just smiled at his friend before continuing. “You have wealth, and a wife who is more intelligent that you.”

Will saluted him with the bottle again. “Can’t disagree with that.”

“But do you know what you have that many fathers don’t, Will?”
“What?”

“The capacity to love, and that is the only thing that matters.”

Will sniffed and then took a deep pull on the bottle.

“I will love him, Luke. I’ll love him with everything I have, and then I’ll love him more.”

They drank steadily for a while until Luke’s vision began to blur. Swallowing another mouthful, he noted it didn’t burn on the way down any longer. It just left a warm trail behind as it moved through his body, and it allowed thoughts of Bella to settle back in that place he kept them, deep in the back of his head.

“I know you will love him or otherwise I’d have to pummel you.”

Will squinted at him.

“I’d want you to, ish you thought I was doing it wrong.”

“I’ll love him, too,” Luke rasped. “Already do.”

“He’sh,” Will shook his head to clear it. “He’s called Henry William Luke Ryder, you know.”

Luke couldn’t speak; he simply stumbled to his feet and met Will as he did the same. They hugged and slapped each other’s backs, then slumped back on their seats.

“I-I don’t know how to thank you,” Luke whispered.

“You already have by being my friend.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

One month later, they relocated to London. The journey had been undertaken slowly due to Phoebe, Livvy and the babe. But now they were all settled and Luke was sitting in the office once again with his head in books.
 

“So have you reached a verdict about how to approach this man who is swindling, Finn?”
Will appeared in the doorway, pulling him from his thoughts. Henry was draped over one shoulder.

“Yes, I have the information I need now after going through the rest of the books.”

“Well, has he found it?”
Luke found a smile as Finn pushed past Will into the room. “Good morning, Finn.”

“You should just move in here.” Will looked at his brother-in-law, who was running a long finger down the slumbering Henry’s cheek.

Luke had noticed that every member of this family, barring none, were all now completely besotted with Henry, to the point where they all made silly faces and noises whenever he was near. It was an amazing sight, and always made him smile, to see these two powerful men brought to their knees by a baby who could not yet speak.

“Phoebe wants to take Bella for another fitting, so I’m dropping her before going with Ben to the locomotive consortium meeting. I also wanted to see if Luke has worked out how to handle the swindler, who I’d like to gut, but Phoebe won’t let me.”

Luke felt that instant jolt of awareness he always had at the mention of Bella’s name.
 

“You should come along to the meeting, Luke. It would be of interest to a man in your position,” Finn added, placing a soft kiss on the baby’s head.

“Perhaps,” was all Luke said before motioning them into seats opposite him. Lately, Finn and Will had been pressuring him to make more of himself, told him stories about men who were not of noble birth that were making their mark on England. But Luke knew how hard that would be, the obstacles he would have to face if he tried to step into a world he was not born in.
 

“Sit, both of you.” Pushing the thoughts aside, he then turned the ledgers he had laid open in front of him around to face them. “These,” he said pointing to the figures he had underlined, “are the amounts he has been stealing from you, Finn.”

Over the next thirty minutes, he showed them how Mr. Collins had done what he had. Will handed Henry to him to hold while he focused on what Luke had uncovered. Luke taught them both how Collins had done what he had, so in the future if he was not around they could see the fraud for themselves.

“I have come for my nephew as it is time for him to be fed.” Luke watched Bella step into the room and stop when she saw him holding Henry, her eyes focusing on his before moving to the child.
 

They had not seen much of each other during the weeks they were at Will’s. Luke had spent a lot of time with Freddy and then settling his family.
 

She looked beautiful and healthy, with roses in her cheeks, and he had once thought that she could never be more lovely to him. But he was wrong; each day she seemed to blossom before his eyes. No longer pale and fragile, she was now a woman who radiated vitality. The dress she wore was butter soft lemon, with a matching satin ribbon tied in a bow beneath her breasts.

“Hello, darling,” she cooed, taking the baby from him.

“Hello,” Luke said before he could stop himself. She gave him a wide eyed look as she took the baby.

“Henry,” she laughed, taking the child and pressing him into her chest. “I meant him, not you.”

“I’m crushed,” Luke teased her, which made her laugh again.

“I’m sure you’ll recover.” She threw this over her shoulder as she turned to leave the room.
 

Sighing, he drew in a deep breath and inhaled her scent. He would recognize it anywhere, the subtle blend of lavender and Bella. Luke had always believed he could pick her out in a room of women wearing a blind folded.
Christ he was pathetic
.

 
“What?” he questioned as he turned to see Finn and Will watching him.
 

“Nothing.” They both held up their hands in a gesture of surrender.

“So do you both now see what Mr. Collins did? Can I be assured neither of you will be fleeced again?”
They both nodded, but Finn said, “I want to kill the scheming bastard.”
 

“I want to come with you to confront him,” Luke told Finn. “I need to be able answer the excuses as he attempts to extricate himself.”

“I’ll set up an appointment in his rooms as soon as I can.” Finn rose to his feet. “And I’ll gut him.”

“No, there will be no anger. This will be handled professionally, Finn,” Luke cautioned him. “You want this money back and I mean to make sure he pays every penny.”

“You really are quite a smart chap.”

If anything made Luke irrational, besides Bella, it was someone questioning his intelligence just because he wasn’t of noble birth. “I may sully my hands by earning a living, that does not mean I’m stupid, Lord Levermarch.”

Finn showed no signs of being offended at Luke’s words. “No, you are definitely not stupid, Luke Fletcher. You’re a man with a very astute intellect and a head for business that is wasted in Will’s employ. I wonder what it would take to change that.”

Luke tried to haul in a deep steady breath as Finn spoke. He felt all his insecurities crowd in on him as they always did when someone tried to speak to him about changing his life. He heard his father’s words. ‘You’ll never be more than me, boy. It’s the way of things.’

“I do more than work for Will, Finn. I also invest his money.”

“And your money. Let’s not forget that you have as much as I do,” Will added. “And you need work for no one but yourself it that is your wish, Luke.”

“I understand what it is you are saying, both of you,” he added, looking at them. “But it is not an easy thing to do. Many have tried and failed to be one of the new breed of men that are slowly making themselves known in England—industrialists, merchants. I have read about them too, spoken to a few people who know them. Their paths were never easy and that is why their numbers have not swelled. Some have suffered ridicule and alienation, others physical threats. It appears easy to you both, as you were born into your world. For me to even step into the periphery would be no easy feat.
 

“We know the challenges and would be there to support you, Luke.”

Will’s words were sincere.
 

“And I thank you for it. I do not fear the business side; in fact, that excites me. To be able to use my money to strengthen this country we love is something I wish for. But for every step I take forward, someone will be waiting to force me back two.” Lifting a hand as Finn spoke, Will added, “You both know the words I speak are true. Therefore, if and when I make the decision it will be mine to make, without coercion. I fear nothing for myself. No man can hurt me with words, but there are others who will suffer because of my decisions.”

“Think of Bella.”
 

Will was looking at him as Phoebe had done that day in the stables. Like her, he obviously knew exactly what lay between he and Bella.
 

“As if it were in my power to think about anything else,” he muttered, making for the door. After shutting it with more force than he should have, he then left the house. Walking down the drive, he made his way through the gates and along the street to where a park lay at the end. He needed some time alone with his thoughts.

He actually now relished the prospect of being a man of power, and not because of the status it would give him, but because anything he owned, be it a factory or business, he would ensure his workers were cared for, that their conditions were of a standard that their lives were not under daily threat. He truly believed he could make a difference.

The locomotive industry drew him. He had wanted to tell Finn he would attend the meeting, but Luke knew that if he made the decision to move forward, he needed to plan for all eventualities.
 

When first he’d returned to England, he hadn’t been ready for this, ready to do anything with the knowledge he gained, but now he was. Maybe the change in Bella was urging him on; whatever the reason, he knew his time was near.

Reaching the park, he walked slowly around the perimeter, thinking.
 

He’d thought lately about buying a house to live in here. At the moment, he had a room at Will’s, and not in the servants’ quarters. His was on the top floor, with a view of the garden, and it was bigger than his mother’s house. But he wanted a place that belonged to him now; somewhere he would bring his family for a visit.

Memories of his last visit with them made him smile. His mother had looked younger; her laughter came without hesitation now. His siblings were happy, and it was his money that had brought them that.
 

“You most certainly will not beat that dog again, sir, or you shall answer to me!”

Bella.

He ran down the path and around the bend and saw her. She had her hands on her hips and a large, angry man was standing in front of her.
 

“You can’t tell me how to treat my own dog!”

Luke moved to her side as the man raised his voice and took an intimidating step closer; Bella didn't step backwards as she once would have.