Chapter 23

"You wish to throw a ball?" Seth said, incredulity colouring his voice. He was in the drawing room, watching as his mother sat upon a velvet-upholstered lounge. She patted the seat next to her, and at first, Seth thought that she meant to invite him to sit next to him. A small bundle of flax-coloured fur arrived there first, however, turned about in a circle, and then stared at him with little shining eyes.

"It is not really a difficult concept to understand, Seth," Lady Veronica said, patting Quincey on the head, which caused the dog's tongue to loll out. "We must quickly squash any of these persistent rumours about our straightened circumstances. It is time for you to take your place in society now that you've returned."

Seth took a deep breath, then straightened. "Not sure I want to take my place, or any other in society for that matter. It will probably be necessary for me to go overseas again."

"No, that is all done now. You yourself said that it was all a success," Lady Veronica said with a wave of her hand.

"For now," Seth argued. "That could all change, and I wish to ensure that our interests are really secure. Also need to be fair to the people in our employ."

That caused Lady Veronica's nostrils to go a little pinched. "That is a whole other matter that needs to be discussed. You cannot possibly pay these people, labourers , with an interest in the timber sales."

"I can, and I have," Seth replied coolly. "To do so is the easiest way to ensure that they are as profitable as possible."

"Well, that I may grant," Lady Veronica allowed. "But that does not change the fact that you must take your position in society. There is likely a role for you to play at court, even, to be of service to—"

"That life is not for me, Mother," Seth replied evenly.

The hand that was patting Quincey paused. The pup, objecting to the loss of attention, let out a sad little whine. "It is for you, Seth, because you are the Viscount Cluett. I refuse to endure another absentee viscount simply because of a whim."

Seth knew better than to press the point just now. It was far better to let it be for a while, and then approach the conflict with renewed interest later, after Lady Veronica had time to stew upon it. He changed tac, saying, "We are only just up on our feet, Mother—this is surely not the most prudent time for a ball."

"It is the only time for a ball," Lady Veronica insisted. "You do not know what I have done to keep this family from succumbing entirely to shame and ruin. We are balancing upon a knifepoint, and we need the ton's good opinion."

"The ton, or Sir Wright?" Seth countered.

"Both," Lady Veronica replied testily. "Does it matter? Honestly, Seth, it seems that your time at the frontier taught you how to argue, and nothing more. You never used to talk this much."

"I know," he agreed softly.

"You look over the plans and debts that your father left, and then decide what is necessary," Lady Veronica continued as if he had not spoken at all. "You are as stubborn as your father ever was; for pity's sake, even that fool girl upstairs knows why this is important."

"Do not speak ill of her," Seth warned, his voice and face hardening alike. "She is a good girl, and you cannot pretend that she has done much for our family. We are in her debt."

Lady Veronica snorted derisively. "Perhaps so, but she has come to use it for her own ends, not altruism. Do not forget that, either."

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, but was interrupted by the drawing room door opening.

Kitty entered, but she was dressed in such a way that Seth at first did not recognise her. Her hair was scraped back from her forehead and braided, pinned tightly to the back of her head. She wore a nondescript day dress of such plainness that it was almost spartan. Seth could not help but stare, wondering if this creature was really the same person that ate purloined tarts with him the night before.

She carried a stack of letters and papers with her, and placed them carefully before Lady Veronica. Studiously, Kitty avoided Seth's gaze, no matter how much he willed her to at least spare him a glance.

"There is a letter from the Dowager Countess of York, and a note from Mr. Forsythe that warrant the first of your attentions," Kitty said, sliding the envelopes over.

"Anything else I ought to be aware of?" Lady Veronica asked, idling flipping through the stack.

Kitty hesitated, visibly troubled. "Sir Wright has also sent a note," she said at last.

"Ah, well then, I suppose we shall see if we have landed in his good books," Lady Veronica said, lifting that letter first and slicing through the seal with her pearl-handled letter opener. "Well, well, well, it would seem that he would like to thank all of us for a most entertaining evening, and hopes to be able to pay a call again. Well done, Catherine," Lady Veronica said with relish. "Who knows, you might be able to make a decent match for yourself yet."

From Seth's vantage point, he could clearly see Kitty's cheeks colour. She lifted her head a little, and cleared her throat. "That is flattering, but I am not sure we would suit each other."

"Nonsense," Lady Veronica said, waving Kitty's objections away. "It does not matter if you suit ; what matters is security . The Baron, now, that was not a suitable match at all, not for someone like you. Sir Wright on the other hand…" She trailed off, implication heavy.

Seth and Kitty both stared at Lady Veronica for a moment, the former's head spinning as the latter's cheeks only reddened further. "With your permission, I shall go speak to Cook about the menus for the rest of the week, now that Se—his Lordship is returned," Kitty said, catching herself carefully.

"Mm," Lady Veronica said, only half-listening. "Yes, you go do that. Where was I? Ah yes," she said, her attention re-focusing on Seth in a way that made him decidedly nervous. "Speaking of matches, it is high time that we find you a suitable wife, and quickly too."

"I've already found a suitable wife," Seth replied firmly.

Lady Veronica threw her head back and laughed, nearly upsetting the white cap on her head. "No, you haven't, dear-heart," she said, as if Seth were a lad asking if he could keep a lizard that he found as a pet.

"And how do you know that?" Seth demanded, feeling his temper rising again.

"Because I have not told you that you've found a suitable wife yet," Lady Veronica retorted easily. "I don't doubt that you met a very charming, pretty young thing in your travels, but that is not the sort of girl who will do for you."

"And what sort of girl will do for me, Mother?" Seth's voice was tight with barely concealed frustration.

"Our finances may be secure for now, but you cannot pretend that our position in society is as safe," Lady Veronica said in the manner of one who is about to deliver a homily. "You may deride society and its vagaries, and I will not pretend that you do not have a point—to an extent. What you fail to realise, is these contracts and contacts you rely on to sell your hard-won timber, or the copper you hope to import, are only possible through favourable connections. We cannot afford to be foolish now, especially now."

Lady Veronica paused, her eyes finding Seth's. He refused to cower or quell before her, but she had chosen her ammunition well: It was hard to argue with logic.

"For instance, surely you know that the King's navy requires all of the timber it can possibly get. A contract to supply the wood needed for ships would go a long way to restoring our fortunes, and ensuring the security of not only your children, but their children as well," Lady Veronica continued. Her grip tightened on the letter opener, and now it resembled nothing so much as a little sword in her hand. "You simply cannot marry a girl with nothing; she must bring something of her own to the marriage. That is the way of things, else we shall never crawl out of this hole we find ourselves in."

Seth was prepared to argue, to disagree simply for the sake of disagreeing, because there was no real argument to be made against such salient points. He was stopped from doing so, however, from an unexpected quarter.

"She is right, My Lord," Kitty agreed softly. "You need—you deserve —to marry someone that will aid your cause, not hinder it. You do not wish for a life of hardship."

Seth simply stared for a moment, not sure he could be hearing her right. He knew that it would be difficult for them to resume their courtship, particularly after he had departed as he had. He'd had no real expectation of success, but now that he could provide some sort of security for her…

There was much that he longed to say to her, things that he had rehearsed on bitterly cold nights in the forest, or on days staring out at the roiling, grey, endless sea. I left for you, you are the bright star that guided me back home…I calloused my hands all for you, he thought wildly, hoping that she could hear him. They stared at each other for a long minute, silently vying with one another with only the subtlest of expressions.

"If you shan't listen to me, then at least listen to her," Lady Veronica broke in, back to slicing open letters with ruthless, efficient swipes of her letter opener. "The girl knows better than anyone what the past months have been like. You cannot possibly wish for us to go back to that. It is time for you to finish doing your duty."