hull.”
Russell nodded. “It’s possible, but not advisable, although when you brought the matter up, I did speak to the captain of the fleet. Apparently it would unbalance the disposition of the cargo.”
Max agreed to let that part of the contract stay as it was. He dug in the inside pocket of his olive-green coat for his account book and flipped through the well-worn pages until he reached the one he needed.
The coffee house kept a bottle of ink and pens on every table for that purpose, the ink invariably gritty and the pens often blunt. It made a mark, and that was all Max required.
The girl delivered his tea. He picked it up and took a sip.
They worked through the other matters swiftly. This contract would involve a fleet of six ships with varied cargo. They’d insure them all, and Max had some investment in the cargo, too.
A failure at this stage wouldn’t ruin him as it might have at the beginning of his City career, but it meant a great deal. Success would finally boost him to the heights he’d been aiming for right from the beginning.
Light at heart, he finished his tea and prepared to leave to sign the contracts. Probably in triplicate, at least.
“A moment,” Russell murmured.
Max’s mood plummeted to his well-shod feet. He hadn’t been wrong then. Russell had suggested Lloyd’s because he wanted to discuss something else. “You have another caveat?”
Russell shook his head. “Not precisely. Hear me out, if you please.”
“I’m very happy with the business as it stands, sir.” Would be happier after they’d signed. “Is this a fresh agreement?” His heart lifted at the prospect. More business would only prove better, especially with this man.
“This is, I hope, the first of many contracts between us. Our methods suit and our processes are similar. We work well together.”
Max said nothing, but nodded. He agreed completely. Russell was so wealthy Max suspected even the man himself didn’t know how much he was worth. Max had the prestige and the contacts to find new opportunities, which benefited everyone. The burgeoning wealth of the men in the City with the new worlds they were opening could only be good for the country. This association with Thomas Russell was the start of many such contracts. He didn’t doubt that for a minute.
Was the man suggesting a more formal association? A jointly owned company? Despite his determination to remain focused, Max breathed deeply to quell his excitement at the prospect. His fingertips tingled. Under the table, he pressed them together. He forced a slight smile to his lips. “I, too, look forward to the day when we may work together again.”
“I’m gratified that you would think so.” Russell waved, flicking his hand in a gesture of dismissal.
Max turned his head. The serving girl retreated. A private matter, then. His heart in his mouth, he waited to hear what Russell had in mind.
The wily man bent nearer, speaking lower. “I have worked hard to build a business my descendants can be proud of.”
Russell was a widower with one child, a girl. Max had met Sophia Russell a time or two but taken little notice of the self-effacing, cool woman.
So Russell wanted a more permanent association. Perhaps a company that would give his daughter a good amount of money. Enough to net herself a husband.
Max needed Russell to speak clearer, but he didn’t know the man well enough to demand clarification straight out. “You’ve done much. You have a great deal to be proud of.”
“So do you.” Russell fixed him with a clear gaze. “I’ve worked hard to make the business my father entrusted to my care even greater. When it became obvious I would have no more children of my own, I expected to find a youth I could train, who would take over when I was gone. I found one and set matters in place. I was also considering marrying him to Sophia. She liked him well enough. He was an intelligent young man, presentable and bright who would continue the business after I’m gone.”
His face changed to heavy-jowled depression, his mouth turning hard and his eyes to chips of flint. “Unfortunately, the man I chose did not prove suitable after all.” He paused. “He was—untrustworthy.”
Had this person endangered Russell’s business? Was it safe to invest with him any longer?
“He attempted to…seduce my daughter before I’d given him permission to approach her.”
“Seduce?” Max snapped. Had the man offered violence to Sophia? Violence to any woman was anathema to any decent man. He glanced around. Nobody sat within listening distance, but still… “Why meet here to discuss such a personal matter?”
Russell rubbed his forehead. “Sophia is at home to visitors today. The house is full of her guests. Today at least, I have considerably more privacy here than at home. I need my daughter married, and soon.”
No, oh no. Not that. Surely Russell wouldn’t want that.
Russell spread his hands, indicating the company. Men chatted, busy about their own concerns, uninterested in the doings of two of the regular customers. Whereas, if he visited Russell’s home during an at home day, gossip would spread.
If Russell took him to his office, showed him favor, he would be bound to go through with it to save face. However, if either of them walked away here, in the coffee house, nobody would consider it amiss. Gossip was the very devil.
If he wanted this business—and he did, so badly he could taste it—he’d have to take the daughter. His head whirled. He needed time to think this over. Time he didn’t have, because this wily old fox had arranged it that way.
He could always ask more about the situation. “So tell me,” he said, careful to keep his voice low. “What did you do with this man?”
“I sent him away.” The older man’s pale eyes sharpened. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips and then put it down, the rim rattling against the table. It was already empty. “Unfortunately he spread a rumor that Sophia had seduced him. And succeeded in persuading some. It has besmirched her reputation in certain circles.”
So he was being asked to take on soiled goods. As long as the chit wasn’t pregnant, he would at least consider the possibility. But for Russell, marrying his daughter to a peer of the realm was a leap up the social scale.
“I haven’t heard it.” But then, Max didn’t move in the social milieu of the City. He attended dinners and other functions at the Guildhall, but no more than that.
“Good. I had considered leaving my business solely to Sophia when I die. She’s a clever woman, and it’s not unknown for women to run businesses.”
The worm on the end of the hook. Take Sophia, take the business. A very juicy worm. Max would be an idiot if the prospect didn’t tempt him.
Max quirked his lips. “I’m not unaware of that, sir. The company that provides much of my silverware is run by a woman.” He had no objection to a female running a business. Max never denied the truth when it presented itself as such.
Russell heaved a sigh. “I could provide her with the structure she needs. A woman cannot come to a place like this, but her prestige would mean that they would go to her. My man of business is solidly reliable, as is my chief clerk, my shipping agent, and so on.” He leaned back, touched his cup, glanced up, and leaned forward again. “The recent incident has convinced me that I’m placing her in a dangerous position. She will be a woman of considerable substance. Fortune hunters will abound. They do now, but she doesn’t encourage them. Already, rumors are spreading, thanks to the despicable youth whose name I will not mention.”
He sighed and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Despite the recent marriage laws, wealthy young women are still abducted and forcibly wed. The rumors have weakened Sophia’s position, and the vultures are gathering. I need her married to a man I can trust,