“You’re worried about how people regard you.” She nodded. “I won’t tell anyone about tonight, or this afternoon. The Watsons would never tell.”
“I’m not concerned for myself, but for you.” He smiled softly. “I find myself wondering how much more you could achieve if you had support.”
“What I want has never seemed to matter very much at all.” Julia rubbed her arms, disturbed by how she longed for the support Valentine mentioned so casually. Linus may never accept her nature, and Anthony Linden hadn’t noticed how she longed for adventure. She had to face facts—she might never reach her goals. “You should be more concerned for yourself.”
“Oh, my dreams are small.” He curled her arm through his. “I wanted to open a shop actually, here in Brighton, but I’d rather you not spread the word about that venture now, if you don’t mind.”
Julia snorted. “Are you afraid your sister would not approve of you going into trade?”
“My sister was my confidant and something of a silent partner in the scheme for the past two years,” Valentine insisted as he dragged her along.
“She was?” Julia couldn’t hide her surprise.
“My parents, however, would never approve, and so I haven’t told them or anyone else. They think I tinker with telescopes but I’ve discreetly sold a dozen or more clocks this past year through acquaintances and distant shops. Opening a legitimate premises of my own was to be the next step.”
Was there anything this man couldn’t do? “And of course you will.”
“That remains to be seen.”
“Why?”
“In part because of us.” He patted her hand soothingly. “Also, apparently, I need to marry or be on the brink of marriage to have won over the company of clockmakers for admittance. Without their approval I would have a very difficult time getting underway. I hadn’t known about that requirement for marriage until this week, in fact.”
“So when you asked me to marry you it was to appease them.” She stared at him in horror. “That’s a terrible reason to propose to me.”
“That wasn’t why I asked you.” He shrugged. “I like you, as if you couldn’t tell tonight by the way we kissed, but it is true that everything I want is in jeopardy. No matter what I do, they will make the decision by the weekend and that will be that.”
“What happens if you don’t open a shop?”
“My future may not involve a comfortable life.” He made a face. “My father has been at me for years to follow in his footsteps and take up a career in Oxford. He believes he holds the purse strings but he doesn’t realize the extent of my independence. I would do anything at all, muck out stables if necessary, rather than return to live beneath his roof again.”
“I understand.” Julia’s life depended on Linus, and when she married, she’d march to her husband’s drum. “I’m sorry.”
“So what do you think?” He stopped and turned her to face him. “Do you accept my challenge? Do you dare to marry me?”
Valentine had been distant, almost cold sometimes. Except when they were alone, as they were now. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. “You snubbed me in public.”
“I have not.” He suddenly turned sheepish. “Well, I haven’t exactly snubbed you. I have been polite and made sure our meetings never had a hint of impropriety attached to them, but you keep seeking me out. I don’t think you realize how badly people have spoken of you behind your back. That is why Linus is so angry with both of us. I thought it better to keep a distance than feed the fire of gossip.”
Julia kicked a pebble in her path. “Linus says I brought it on myself.”
“I was right there beside you on that beach and haven’t endured half of the criticism. It isn’t fair to you.” He unfolded her arms and caught her hand in his. “I do not regret our race but the consequences for both of us were greater than I ever imagined. I am only sorry for that.”
“What about Teresa?” she asked in a choked voice. The way he stared at her, touched her, was rather overwhelming but she had to know how he felt about Teresa
once and for all.
He frowned. “Teresa must live with us. The sea air is best for her health and she will be company for you when I am occupied elsewhere.”
Her tension eased only a little. Much like her, Teresa had feelings for someone who didn’t see they existed—which made what she’d been doing with Valentine come into stark relief.
Would she ever have allowed Anthony to kiss her as Valentine had done without an understanding? She didn’t think so. She felt different with Valentine. Alive and unguarded. “What will you be doing elsewhere?”
“I will be making a living, constructing clocks or mending them.” He grinned down at her. “Melanie tells me it is incredibly boring, watching me at work on something so tiny she needs eyeglasses to see the detail, so I thought to spare you too.”
Dear God, she had forgotten all about Valentine’s sister. Melanie would not be pleased by his intention to marry her. “And what of Melanie? Will she come back?”
At that, Valentine stopped and stared out to sea. “I don’t know. I miss my sister very much. I know many do not like her, I suspect no one misses her, but she has smoothed my way on many occasions, and I do wish she was here now. I could use her advice.”