Risqué Business: How The Rake Stole Christmas by Ebony Oaten

Author:Ebony Oaten [Oaten, Ebony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Nerves twisting her stomach into knots, Carys took a steadying breath. “Close the tram door.”

Rhys laughed. “Do you think the horses will betray us?”

Carys shook her head with light relief at his joke. Her nerves, however, stayed with her. “It will block out a lot of noise, and I’m tired of having to speak so loudly over the din.”

Rhys closed the carriage door with a snick and the noisy hail on the roof mellowed.

“That’s better.” Carys could hear herself think once more. Definitely more soothing to the soul. “The numbers don’t lie. Patronage is down, and not merely because of the weather. I need a man at the helm, Mr. Jones. Quite frankly, there’s nobody else I trust but you.”

It was out now. The words could not be taken back. Muscles tensed in anticipation that he would thank her for the compliment and then most likely run for the hills.

He paused for a moment, absorbing her request. “I am deeply honored.” He started. Then his expression fell. “But I must tell you that your trust is misplaced.”

He was refusing her? A heavy sigh slumped her shoulders. Of course, he was. Nobody wanted to be stuck with a failing business. “My trust in you is not misplaced. You are a fine and honorable man, Rhys Jones.” She’d called him by his given name. It was, she realized, the first time she’d ever done that. It sounded so good to her ears. She wanted to use it again.

Rhys splayed his hands out, appealing to her. “Please...”

“Let me finish before I lose my nerve.” Carys pushed on. “Both my parents are dead. I have younger siblings to care for, and as everyone knows, Young David is only twelve. He has been stepping in recently to learn some of the business, but although he has had to grow up quickly, we can’t put the weight of this company on his soft shoulders. He also seems more interested in botany than business. Numbers and Young David do not appear to be getting along. It simply isn’t fair on everyone who works for us, or on David, to put him in charge at this point.”

Rhys’s expression became serious. “I see. You need someone to stand in until Young David isn’t quite so young?”

Oh, but he didn’t see. He couldn’t possibly see the whole of it. “Please don’t stop me or I’ll lose my courage. Patronage is down very low. Everyone with a pair of eyes is aware of that. I can see no way out of this but to marry, and marry well. However, without said parents, I have nobody able to make introductions, on my behalf, to suitable gentlemen. And even if that were the case, I don’t want to leave the tramway. I love it, and I love the horses. And that is why I propose we marry.”

There, she’d finally said it.

Not just that Mr. Jones should take over the reins, but that he should marry her so she could keep running the business behind his back.

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