Bloody beautiful. She liked the sound of that. She gave him another dazzling, very big smile. “Really, you truly believe I’m beautiful?”
“Shut up, Caroline. Which mines are now yours besides Wheal Kitty?”
“Wheal Daffel and Wheal Bealle.”
“They’re both good producers. According to Rafael, Wheal Kitty is the highest producer hereabouts, and this Mr. Peetree is a man to be trusted.”
“That’s a nice surprise. I have yet to speak to Owen, but I did tell him to learn all he could and not act like an idiot arrogant owner.”
“He isn’t going to London. There’s no need.”
“How do you know that?”
“He visited his father this morning and they spoke for quite a while. After Mr. Ffalkes ceased his loudest recriminations, Owen learned that his father is in very deep financial difficulty. He needs money very badly and saw you as his only salvation, thus his relentless pursuit of you.”
“It’s lovely to be wanted for one’s money and not for oneself.”
“This is real life, Caroline. Don’t be a fool. Don’t try to make me think you’re at all cast down about Mr. Ffalkes’s motives or that you’re even surprised.”
“Very well. So what are we going to do?” There, she thought, she’d said it. We, not just her alone. She waited, watching the encroaching waves come closer and closer. If North didn’t pay attention, his lovely boots would shortly be splashed and likely ruined. A seagull flew overhead, then finally landed on a black rock near Caroline. A peregrine falcon lazily tilted his wings toward the beach.
“I spoke to Mr. Ffalkes after Owen told me all that had passed between them.” North stared down at his feet, then held out his hand to her. “Time for us to retreat.”
She knew he didn’t want to touch her, rather he wanted to touch her too much, all because of this lust of his, but she just smiled, placed her hand in his, and let him tug her gently off the rock. They walked slowly back toward the dark shadows beneath the towering cliffs.
“And what did he say?”
“He said he would get you and he swore that the third try would see him succeed.”
She cursed, very colorfully and very loudly.
He stared at her, then threw back his head and laughed loud and deeply.
That laugh of his, it sounded wonderful. She said, “You’re not at all dour and brooding, North. That laugh was very nice. I’d like to hear it more.”
He was immediately silent, immediately frowning. “It shouldn’t have happened. If I continue to laugh I shall have to inform Marcus Wyndham that he can no longer call me menacing and dark and dangerous.”
“How very romantic. No, don’t tell him anything. Dark and dangerous, hmmm?”
“Now you sound like Marcus’s young cousins, Antonia and Fanny. They found me vastly romantic.”
“North, what will we do about Mr. Ffalkes?”
He drew a very deep breath. “I guess you’ll just have to marry someone.”
“Someone, North?”
“That’s right. Someone.”
“Not you?”
“I’m not available.”
She gave him a very long look, then sighed and smiled. She pulled away from him, back toward the path that led back up the cliff. She said over her shoulder, “Very well, I’ll marry Owen. That way, Mr. Ffalkes can have my money and I won’t have to worry about him shooting my husband so he can force me to marry him. Yes, Owen is the someone.”
“Owen! Have you lost what few wits God gave you? He’s a boy, he’s barely got down on his chin. Damnation, he’s barely got a chin. You would badger him to death within a week, Caroline. Already he’s now under your thumb. He would have escaped his father to end up with you, the biggest female tyrant I’ve ever met. What’s more, I like Owen. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Well, then, how about Bennett Penrose? He has a chin. Indeed, he’s quite lovely on the outside. He’s three years older than you, so you can’t claim he’s a mere boy. He needs an heiress and I suppose I come close to being that. If Mr. Ffalkes were to shoot him to get me into widowhood, I shouldn’t feel so terrible about it. What do you think, North?”