No matter how uncomfortable this meal became, she would not allow Jedidiah McBride to get the best of her. Or, at least, she amended as he smiled and her heart skipped in response, she would not allow him to know that he had.
Jedidiah studied the two women while trying to appear not to. Victoria appeared to be completely occupied with filling her plate from the silver dishes that were presented to each of them in turn. The one Victoria had introduced as Mary seemed equally interested in him.
She smiled at him openly when she caught him glancing her way, and he could not help smiling in return. There was something very refreshing about the pretty woman, with her golden-brown hair and her eyes the color of a chunk of African amber he had once seen. There seemed not the slightest hint of artifice or pretension in her. “So, Mr. McBride,” she began without hesitation, her curiosity apparent. “How long have you been in England?”
Taking a sip of the wine that had been poured into the crystal glass in front of him, Jed smiled. “Two days.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I wonder, is it very different from where you are from?”
He could feel Victoria’s gaze upon him as he answered, “I am not really from anywhere. I live on my ship, the Summerwind. You could say that I am based out of Bridgeport, Connecticut. That is where our shipping firm, Cook and McBride, is located.”
“Our?” she asked.
Jed scowled. He wasn’t sure now that he wanted to answer all these questions, didn’t want this situation to become personal. He glanced over at Victoria, and the way she was watching him made him wonder if she knew of his reluctance to talk about himself.
“Well?” Mary prodded unashamedly.
Jed told himself it didn’t matter if they knew some things about him. It wouldn’t really change anything. He and Victoria Thorn had a business arrangement, but he continued to be aware of her intent gaze as he went on. “‘Our’ refers to myself and my partner Peter Cook. His father, Sebastian, was the founder of Cook Shipbuilding. I… When I was eighteen, I went to work for them in the factory. As the years passed, the firm wasn’t doing well. The type of vessel they were producing was being phased out by the advent of the steamship. I, well…I came up with a design that Sebastian claimed brought them out of the red. It was a sailing ship with a large hold, but a narrower hull that increased its speed. When Sebastian died…” He hesitated for a moment as he thought of the kindness of the man and how good he had been to him. “When he died, he was generous enough to leave me a half interest in the business.”
Mary watched him with round eyes. “You relate it all so modestly Mr. McBride. Surely you are quite brilliant to have come up with such a design. How proud you must be.”
Jed could not restrain a satisfied nod as he thought of the ships. “Those ships are beauties, all right. Peter and I own the first two of that model, the Summerwind and her sister, the Winterwind.” Building those ships, having Sebastian and his family accept him, those things had changed Jed’s life. Yet he’d never quite gotten over feeling as if he were an interloper, no matter how they behaved differently.
And the Cooks had come to accept him on his terms, understanding that he could not allow himself to come too close to anyone. That would all change now that he had a son. His child would be the recipient of the love he had kept locked inside himself.
He looked up then, with a self-conscious expression, feeling as if he had already given away too much. “Enough about me, Miss Fulton. Why don’t you tell me something about yourself?” He smiled at her with as much charm as he could summon up.
He was surprised to hear her laugh. “Why, Mr. McBride, are you trying to change the subject?”
This time he could not restrain a genuine grin. “Yes, Miss Fulton, I am.”
Her eyes sparkled as she replied. “Then I shall allow you to do so.”
His gaze went to Victoria, who had said nothing throughout the exchange, simply listening with avid interest. When their gazes met, she flushed and turned her attention to her meal. As he looked at her, he realized that though he found Mary Fulton quite attractive, with her delicate features and direct gaze, she seemed somehow to fade next to the regal beauty of Victoria Thorn. This realization did not please Jed in the least.
He had no desire to find Victoria Thorn exceptional in any way. It was sheer madness on his part to do so. She represented everything he disdained, extreme wealth and social position, not to mention her titled status.
Yet he cast a surreptitious glance from her to Mary Fulton and back. Did the fact that this refreshing woman was Victoria’s friend say something about her? Something that gave lie to his beliefs?
This very morning, she had told him that not all aristocrats were the same. That they were both good and bad, like anyone else.
Jed gave himself a mental shake as he turned his attention to the roast pheasant on his plate. What Victoria said might have some validity where she was concerned, but he did not think for a moment that she was being truly honest with herself as far as her peers were concerned. The power and privilege of their circumstances held them above reproach.
And God help those who had not been born to that same lofty state. Or those who had been cast out for some perceived offense against the rules of society. Cast out and forgotten, no matter how young and foolish they might have been.
As his mother had been by her own family when she had fallen in love with and married his father.
Victoria was apprised of Mr. Randsome’s arrival later that afternoon. She thanked the maid who came to inform her and sent her to fetch Jedidiah.
She hadn’t seen him since luncheon, when he had chatted so amiably with Mary. Jedidiah had been far less cryptic and jealous of his privacy than he appeared to be with her. Victoria was sure she would never have learned so much about him if Mary had not arrived for luncheon. He’d even come to the door with them when the vicar’s daughter left.
What she did not know was why this bothered her so much. Apparently without even trying, Jedidiah McBride was driving her to distraction. One moment he could be intractable and stubborn. The next he could be charming and attentive, as he had proved himself to be with Mary over the midday meal.
Victoria did not know when she had last heard her friend laugh so much, which of course was very welcome, considering the strain she was under, caring for her father. The reverend was not expected to recover from the consumption that had ravaged his once robust frame, and Mary worked tirelessly to keep him comfortable.
Why, then, did Victoria not feel more cheery?
Squaring her slender shoulders in preparation for the coming meeting with Jedidiah McBride, Victoria went directly to the green drawing room, where the tailor and an employee were waiting.
Mr. Randsome’s assistant had already taken the opportunity to lay out several lengths of fine fabric. They ranged in color from a subdued buff to a deep, vibrant blue. Victoria eyed the royal blue with a frown. For their purpose, she felt, it would be best that Jedidiah dress as conservatively as possible. They had no wish to draw too much attention to the sea captain. She very much hoped the stubborn man would not be bent on having the blue.
The very man she was thinking so uncharitably of made his appearance only a few moments later. Every time she saw him, Victoria was struck by his sheer masculine presence. He walked into every room as if he belonged there and was ready to take control of any situation. As before, Victoria found herself thinking how well his captain’s garb suited him. The snug-fitting black breeches hugged his lean hips, and the loosely cut black coat, with its gold buttons, gave him the freedom to move with that untamed grace that was so much