Calico Road by Anna Jacobs Page B

to his guest, ‘then we can talk privately. This is a bachelor establishment so I don’t have all the frills that you’re used to. Here, let me carve you some beef.’ He had deliberately not provided wine with the meal.
    By the time his guest professed himself satisfied, Jethro had come to the conclusion that the man was greedy. No wonder he was so plump. Well, greedy men wanted many things, not just food. Money would surely tempt this one?
    It wasn’t until the pudding had been cleared away and a decanter of port brought in that Jethro raised the question he’d been itching to ask.
    ‘And how are your sisters? Beautiful women, both of them, but I found Sophia rather more – shall we say, appealing?’
    Perry choked on his wine. ‘Oh. Ah. Yes. Sophia.’
    ‘They are both unmarried and unspoken for, are they not?’
    ‘Well, er – that is – in short, yes.’
    ‘Good. Then I’d like to ask for Sophia’s hand in marriage.’
    Perry set down his glass and swallowed hard. ‘You’re quick to make up your mind.’
    ‘I had already seen her and felt attracted to her. That feeling only intensified when I saw her again.’
    Avoiding his host’s eyes, Perry stammered, ‘Well, the thing is, Sophia has been – that is, she’s not exactly spoken for, but she’s been seeing a lot of young Easdale. Only there are some difficulties with his family because there’s no dowry . . .’
    ‘Then she must find a husband who doesn’t require one.’
    Perry bent his head and fiddled with his glass. ‘Trouble is, she’s devilish stubborn. Thinks she’s in love with Easdale. I had a few words with her before I came – in case you expressed an interest. Have to be practical, don’t we?’
    A man less practical than this one would be hard to find from all accounts, Jethro thought, already tired of beating around the bush. ‘We should indeed be practical, so I’ll lay my cards on the table. On the day after I marry Sophia, you will receive a draft for five thousand pounds. What’s more, as my brother-in-law, you can always be sure of my advice. I can, if you like the idea, help with your family’s finances or even take them over from you. I can assure you that you’d continue to benefit from our association.’
    ‘Five thousand!’
    It took Perry a minute or two to pull himself together so Jethro took a tiny sip of port – he had never been a heavy drinker – and waited.
    ‘You couldn’t . . . consider Harriet instead, could you?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Ah.’
    Jethro forced himself to smile. ‘I am, as I said, very attracted to Sophia.’
    ‘I see.’
    ‘Why do you not think about it, talk to her, then let me know what she says?’
    ‘Yes. Yes, I can do that.’
    The conversation limped on for another half-hour, then Perry asked for his carriage and took his leave.
    The man’s a fool, Jethro thought, as he listened to the sounds of horses’ hooves and rattling wheels fade away into the night. We’ll see if his sister is also stupid. She didn’t have a stupid face.
    In the meantime, he had a fancy to go and claim his pot of free beer up the Calico Road before the month was up. Jethro’s father might have been sanguine about what Fletcher would get up to, but he intended to leave nothing to chance. He wanted, no needed, to see for himself. In the hands of a man of sense that inn could be made into a thriving establishment – only was his bastard brother that sort of man? Jethro hoped not. He didn’t want a man with a face so like his own getting known as a local innkeeper. Why the hell did the two of them have to look so alike? And why did Toby have to be taller than he was?
    Sophia stared at Perry in horror. ‘I hope you told him no? As if I would allow myself to be bought by a man like him!’
    He glanced sideways at his mother, who wore the glassy smile with which she usually confronted trouble. No help to be had there. Taking a deep breath, he explained to Sophia how bad things really were, how only