“I hope you can forgive me for taking so long in making up my mind,” he said. “The priory has been in my family for almost two centuries, and while I suppose it’s not very valuable in the grand scheme of things, it holds sentimental value to me.”
“Perfectly understandable. I believe that places hold on to our memories for us and develop a sort of essence of their own because of it. Parting with a property can be like letting go of a family member.”
He grinned, revealing a very attractive smile. “Well said, Lady Helena. Could I offer you refreshment before dinner?” He indicated a drawing room off the foyer. “We shall dine momentarily, but we’re waiting for one other guest.”
“Oh yes. Brandy, thank you.” Strange. None of their correspondence had mentioned another guest.
He nodded and waited for her to lead the way into the drawing room. The decoration here matched the dark wood and red wallpaper in the entry hall. It was all very somber with every surface cluttered with an antique or trinket from faraway travels. She took a deep breath, willing herself to calm, as he poured a drink for her. She examined a glass case displaying butterflies of all colors. A twinge of pity wafted through her at the way they had been splayed out with pins, but it took her mind off the nerves threatening to run rampant through her.
Tonight would decide whether the home could move forward as planned or if she would be left scrambling to find somewhere else. After days and days of optimistic planning, convincing him suddenly seemed like a colossal task. She hoped she was up for it and didn’t let everyone down.
“Thank you,” she said when he presented the brandy to her. “I was unaware there would be another guest for dinner.”
“Yes, unfortunately, I have been called away to Norfolk. I leave in the morning.” She recalled a pair of trunks stacked near the front door. “There’s no need for concern. It’s simply a small matter on my estate there, but rest assured that I’ve arranged it so that whatever is decided tonight can proceed in my absence.” Inviting her to sit, he took the chair opposite her. “As I explained in my note, there is another party interested in the property. With the time constraint, I thought it prudent to have you both here tonight to present your plans.”
She kept her smile in place, while inwardly she cringed. The other person would likely have the funds to go higher than her offer, making this much more difficult.
The doorbell rang before she could answer, its knell echoing into the depths of the house.
“It appears that our other guest has arrived. Excuse me, Lady Helena.”
She watched him retreat to the entryway, already preparing herself for battle. The board had emphasized offering to name the tenant hall after him. She would lead with that. A man such as him would like the idea that a building would stand in London bearing his name long after he was gone, despite his age . . . she hoped. Penhurst Hall had a nice ring to it. She’d even go so far as to offer the Penhurst Home for Young Women if that’s what it took.
Murmurs from the entrance hall reached her as the men’s voices came closer. She rose to her feet. Being caught sitting seemed as if it would put her at a disadvantage.
“—scotch or brandy?” Sir Phineas’s voice preceded him into the room.
“Scotch, thank you.” The American voice sent cold water gushing through her veins.
In the space of a heartbeat, she thought back to the night of her last kiss with Maxwell. He had been excited because he’d seemed confident that he would close the deal on the new building for August’s venture. It appears there is interest from other buyers, but I’m not concerned. I’m willing to pay almost any price to secure it.
He had meant this. She was the other buyer.
He had meant her priory!
The moment he walked through the door, her body felt his presence like a substantial weight that changed the pressure in the room. She grew at least a degree warmer, and her entire body bristled in both warning and pleasure. It had been a few days since his visit to her home, and she missed him, but never had she thought their next meeting would be this one. “You.”
His head swung around toward her. The very second he saw her, his eyes narrowed in that attractive way of his, the furrow deepening between his brows. His eyes grew so dark they were nearly black. Her stomach seemed to tumble over itself at the sight. This was the heat and interest absent from their last meeting. Then, he had been armed with his shield of forced indifference. But not now. Her presence had caught him off guard, and he couldn’t hide it.
“Helena?” Max’s voice struck through the stuffiness of the room.
Sir Phineas’s head whipped around to look at her in surprise and then back at Maxwell.
When she was unable to find her voice, Maxwell filled the silence. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“You know each other?” Sir Phineas asked, sounding rather pleased with himself.
Her scalp prickled in warning, getting the message a little too late about what was obviously happening here. Ignoring Sir Phineas, she asked Maxwell, “You’re interested in the priory? That’s the building you want for August?”
“The whole section of street actually.”
“Yes,” Sir Phineas interjected, apparently not one to be left out of a conversation. “I own the priory and the warehouse space surrounding it, though it’s not really fair to refer to it as a simple priory now, is it? It’s been a factory—a part of a proper industrial compound—for decades.”
She supposed he was right. Helena and the board had been too narrowly focused on how to make the priory and attached residence hall into a suitable home and schooling facility to really appreciate how it played a larger part in the compound of industrial space surrounding it.
This was terrible! If Maxwell Crenshaw wanted her priory, then he would get it. He had the money to do whatever he wanted.
The benefits of being a Crenshaw. Money can buy you everything you want.
Those words had come from her own mouth because they were true. The Crenshaws had bought themselves a right proper place in society. They had purchased both a duke and an earl, spending well over a million dollars to accomplish the task—the fact that they had both ended up being love matches was neither here nor there at the moment. The important thing was that Maxwell would buy this building right out from under her if she let him.
But she couldn’t allow that to happen. With the next beat of her heart, another thought struck her. Perhaps he would let her have it. He hadn’t known all along that he was bidding against her. He understood how important this was to making the London Home for Young Women a reality. It could only be crammed into the top floor of the orphanage for so long, particularly with the list of names she had needing a warm place to live for the winter. Now that he understood, perhaps he would go find another facility that would be just as suitable.