Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

U pon Emma’s departure, Harriet made her way into Simon’s study. She knocked once before entering to find him sitting at his desk.

“Simon,” she quickly ushered herself in, “Emma is to be married off in two weeks. What are going to do regarding the Tobias situation?”

Clearly, they did not have any time to waste.

Simon pursed his lips, “I have sent him a letter already, asking him to come see me tomorrow. I shall try and speak some sense into him.”

“Do you believe that would work?” Harriet asked, taking a seat near Simon. A frown tugged at her lips.

“In earnest? I am not so hopeful. But I know that I can at least persuade him to take some responsibility. He cannot sell me the excuse of not knowing the mother anymore.”

Harriet nodded, thinking deeply about the issue. It seemed as though they were at a dead-end.

“From what little I know of your brother, he does not seem like someone who appreciates being held responsible for something,” she commented.

“You’d be correct. It is truly his least favorite thing in the world,” Simon frowned. “I believe that if I goad him with the idea of increasing his allowance, he might agree.”

“Increasing his allowance?” Harriet folded her hands into her lap, her voice now tinged with sadness. It felt too much like a bribe — and Harriet felt that it was unfair to both Catherine and Emma to convince Tobias in this manner. “Do you not think there could be another solution?”

“You heard Emma. She only has two weeks,” Simon said. “I do not think two weeks is enough of a timeframe to correct habits that have taken a lifetime to form for my brother.”

Harriet knew that Simon had a point. But she was not convinced that his way was the best one moving forward.

“You are certain that he will not step up to take his rightful role in Catherine’s life?” she asked again.

Simon’s shoulders slumped with disappointment. “As much as I dislike saying it, I do not think he has it in him to become the father that Catherine needs.”

“No, Simon. I think you are wrong there.”

That caught Simon offguard, and he shot a quizzical look in her direction.

“Am I hearing you correctly, Duchess?”

“Yes,” Harriet nodded. “I know that you are jaded with your brother, owing to years of him disappointing you, over and over. But I believe in redemption.”

Simon snorted at that. “Oh, redemption is a privilege, Harriet. Not everyone lives to see it.”

Harriet shook her head, stubbornly maintaining her ground. “If I had never met Tobias, then I would have shared your pessimism. But Simon,” she paused, trying to find the best way to explain her thoughts, “I saw something in Tobias that day — that day when he met Catherine for the first time. It was as though something had awoken inside of him… it was..”

To her surprise, Simon nodded. “I do agree with you there. His behavior towards Catherine had caught me offguard as well.”

“Then, we must not let it go to waste! We must use that to build momentum — oh, perhaps there is a different way to settle this after all!”

Simon was looking at Harriet with a curiosity that emerged when looking at a madman on the street. He thought that she had gone insane.

What?” she shouted, “You do not believe that there could be a better way than straight-up bribery?”

“Go on then. Let us hear it.”

Harriet brought her hands together, rubbing them slowly. “I believe we need to find a way to bring Emma and Tobias together. That way, Tobias can marry Emma and she can avoid a fate where she is without little Catherine.”

If Simon had not felt so stunned, he might have even laughed.

“Excellent plan,” he answered, sardonically. “However, it is missing one crucial element. My brother is a rake — he has never expressed any interest in settling down.”

“Well, then, we must show him what he is missing out on,” Harriet nodded. “We must do this when he comes to visit tomorrow. Did you mention in the letter that Emma was here?”

Simon shook his head.

“Very good. We cannot let him know that she visited,” Harriet said, determined. “We must let him find her again, but in a way that is natural.”

“Natural?” Simon scoffed. “Harriet, I think you are forgetting the situation that we are in.”

“You need to trust me, Simon,” Harriet claimed. “Please, when Tobias comes to visit you tomorrow, have me be present. There is something that I wish for him to see.”

Simon would have been lying to himself if he did not admit that he was not in the least bit curious.

In fact, he was quite curious to know what his wife had up her sleeve. Her methods were always… innovative.

“Inform the duchess that Lord Tobias has arrived,” Simon told the butler, before heading into the drawing room, where his brother awaited him.

Tobias stood up immediately. “Simon. What is the reason you called me?”

“Sit down, sit down,” Simon heeded. Harriet had briefed him once again this morning that he was not — under any circumstances — to bring up Emma, or that he knew anything about her.

Begrudgingly, Tobias took a seat. But before he could get another one of his questions out, Harriet walked into the room. She was wearing a smile wider than one Simon had ever seen on her face.

“My darling,” she walked over to Simon, “why did you not tell me sooner that Tobias was here?”

Darling? Simon had never heard her call him that before. He straightened up slightly.

“Well, he has just arrived. Worry not, you did not miss anything.”

Harriet smiled once again in that same exaggerated way, and took a seat next to Simon. This time, she was sitting quite close. Closer than she usually did.

Simon was beginning to understand what she was doing. It was all an act — a display in front of Tobias.

But what exactly did Harriet hope to achieve by it?

Tobias cleared his throat awkwardly. “Simon, if you have called me to ask about my progress then I must disappoint you again?—”

Harriet jumped in halfway, “No, no. You misunderstand us,” she said in a soft voice. “We have not called to further reprimand you, or give you grief. Nothing of the sort. In fact, the duke has some good news for you.”

“I do?” Simon raised an eyebrow. Whatever script Harriet was following in her mind, she had conveniently forgotten to send him a copy it seemed.

“Yes,” Harriet smiled. “Just yesterday, the duke and I were discussing the matter of your allowance. I gave him the suggestion that he should reinstate it. In fact, not only that but he will double it.”

Tobias looked as though he had been knocked down with a feather. His gaze shifted rapidly between Harriet, to Simon and then back to Harriet.

“Is that…” he started, baffled, “Are you playing a joke on me? Is that what this is?”

“No,” Harriet said, “Why would we play a joke on you? You are an important member of the Atherton family, are you not?”

Simon did not know where Harriet was going with this — it was one thing not to let him know about Emma, but another thing entirely to reinstate his allowance.

That might be taking it too far. But he did not interrupt just yet, knowing that, as insane as her plans were, Harriet did have a penchant for finding solutions.

So for the first time in perhaps forever, Simon let go of his urge to control the situation and let Harriet steer the wheel.

“Yes, but my brother has never believed in reinstating anything. In fact, he boasts that he is not one to ever go back on his word,” Tobias replied.

Harriet nudged Simon softly, as if to tell him to play along. “Simon, dear. It seems that your brother has a case of bad faith. Would you please clarify to him that you agree with what I have just told him?”

Simon nodded, begrudgingly.

Harriet better know what she is doing.

Tobias’s eyes widened. “My goodness. It is real. This might be the first instance in his life where he has gone back on a decision that he made….”

Harriet smiled, “You know, Tobias, it is not a coincidence that he is doing this. We discuss all matters together, and then arrive at the best decision. It is an important part of any partnership.”

Simon could see that Harriet had Tobias hooked. He seemed hungry to know more.

“You have to excuse me for my disbelief, Duchess. But this is really remarkable…”

“Well, it is marriage,” Harriet smiled. “When you have a wife of your own, you will see how much of a positive influence she can be. Simon no longer has to be alone in his decision-making — he can always consult me. Together, we are stronger for it.”

If Simon did not know any better, he would have been convinced by Harriet’s speech as well. Such was the conviction in her words.

She nudged him again.

“Ah, yes,” Simon added. “Marriage has proven to be quite a positive influence in my life.”

“Do you really rate it so highly, brother?” Tobias addressed his brother directly now. “I would have never guessed.”

Simon nodded, playing along. “Yes, the marriages that we saw growing up were less than ideal. Going into it, I had the same fears. But with Harriet, it has been nothing but a breeze…”

“I see…”

“Say, Tobias,” Harriet started. “I would suggest that you settle down, too. The sooner the better for you.”

Simon expected Tobias to laugh off the suggestion — as he always had in the past. But to his utter shock, he nodded.

“I cannot deny that there is some truth in what you are saying…”

Harriet tried hard to suppress the grin from spreading on her face.

Heavens. Her insane plan was working… somehow.

“You know? I have a solution for you,” Harriet said. “In two days, I am holding a special dinner at the house. A lot of people shall be in attendance — including some that we believe might be a good match for you. You should come, and make a selection for your future wife.”

“Harriet…” Simon tried to interject.

What was she doing? She was playing a dangerous game now. If Tobias selected someone else, then they would have an even bigger problem on their hands.

Harriet discreetly squeezed his hand to reassure him, and then leaned over slightly to whisper, “trust me, Simon. I am aware of what I am doing.”

And he did.

He trusted her.

He realized how he had grown to trust her quite a lot.

“So, what do you say, Tobias?” Harriet smiled. “Will you come?”

Tobias nodded. “I shall.”

“Perfect,” Harriet lit up, “I have just the girl for you in mind.”

When Tobias left shortly after, Simon followed Harriet around the house as she instructed the staff about the arrangements to be made for the dinner.

“Harriet…” he called out to her, leaning against the doorframe.

“Just a moment, Simon,” she said to him, and then went back to instructing the house staff. They were listening to her attentively, and Simon could see that they had a certain kind of reverence for her.

She seemed to be a natural born leader.

“A word in private?” he said to her when she walked over to him.

“Of course.”

He pulled her into the nearby empty guest bedroom, folding his arms in front of him.

“I believe you have some explaining to do,” he demanded. “I did not soil your little plan, but I cannot go into this blindly. Tell me exactly what you have in mind.”

Harriet shook her head, “You underestimate me, Simon. Believe me, I think that this could really work.”

“And I would wish for it, too. But I need to know what this is.”

“Day after tomorrow, we shall host a little soirée at the estate…”

“Yes, you made that much clear,” Simon replied, rather snappily. “But what does that accomplish?”

“In attendance shall be Emma Spencer, and the man that she is set to marry. Upon seeing them, Tobias will have a realization that he is missing out on something special.”

Simon looked at her, astounded. Blinked once, opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“What?” she asked. “It is really not so preposterous. Sometimes, people need a little shove in the right direction.”

“How are you to certain that the Spencers, and the man she is set to marry will even attend?”

Harriet shrugged, “If the duke extends them an invitation, they would be a fool to turn it down. You know this better than I.”

Simon nodded, hesitantly. “I shall send out the invite then.”

“Lovely.”

“Harriet…” he started again, “Tell me again why this is a better method than me talking to him directly?”

“Because you know your brother. If he was one to listen, he would have listened you all this life. But he is not the sort. Quite the opposite, if anything. To get through to someone like Tobias, we must take on some creative measures.”

“But you are aware that in the midst of all of this, little Catherine’s future hangs in the balance?”

Her expression turned serious immediately. “Simon, I think of her in every waking moment. Trust me, I would not suggest this plan if I was not confident in it.”

“Well, then. If you are confident, then I will not stop you. I shall send out the invitation immediately.”

A smile formed on her face. “Thank you, Simon. For putting your faith in me.”