Bollocks. Seeing Liliana would have to wait until later. Geoffrey thanked Manchester and hurried after Northumb and Wakefield instead. Slowing his pace as he neared them, Geoffrey affected an easy smile. “Gentlemen,” he acknowledged, coming along beside Northumb.
“Stratford.” Northumb was a small man, given his great influence. Indeed, standing next to the man, Geoffrey estimated Northumb to be shorter than Liliana, who was admittedly tall for a woman. Yet his voice boomed, as many great orators’ did. “Nice shooting this morning. Had my doubts, hearing like I did that you’d let a woman unman you on the practice field.” Northumb chuckled. “Say it isn’t so, man.”
Geoffrey winced inwardly. He didn’t need to give the notoriously fickle Lord Northumb anything to distract him from the important matters at hand. “In truth, it was Lord Aveline who outshot me, though Miss Claremont did certainly give the man an advantage.”
Northumb humphed. “Never tangle with a headstrong woman, son. Better to surround yourself with well-behaved ones. Like my Jane.”
“Yes,” Geoffrey said. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Northumb had never before actually mentioned Lady’s Jane’s name in connection to him. He had always been more subtle than that. “Your daughter is a lovely girl, a great compliment to you.”
Northumb eyed him, then nodded. “She is. Interesting ideas you presented this morning.”
“I am gratified you found them so,” Geoffrey said, relieved the conversation was moving to politics. Yet he had the feeling the subject of Northumb’s daughter wasn’t closed…He only hoped the two wouldn’t prove to be entwined. “I’d value your further opinion. Yours, as well, Wakefield,” Geoffrey added in deference to the beefy gentleman accompanying them. “Perhaps over a drink later? At your convenience, of course.”
Northumb pushed out his lips, his eyes narrowing in contemplation. His expression brought to mind the image of a wizened old cod, one well accustomed to swimming through the rough waters of Parliament. Geoffrey knew firsthand that politics could be a vicious pond, full of big fish and small, most angling for their own inclinations with wicked hooks and barbs. The reforms this country so desperately needed, the ones Geoffrey was committed to seeing through, would not always endear him to his peers. He’d do well to learn what he could from Northumb on how to survive it all with most of his scales intact.
“Now’s as good a time as any,” Northumb said.
Minutes later, the men settled themselves in the library. When all three had cut-glass snifters of expensive liquor in their hands, Northumb went straight to the point.
“You could have a real future in the party,” Northumb said, propping his ankle on the opposite knee and negligently resting his brandy on the arm of the chair. “I wasn’t so certain last year, when you came up like a green pup, but I can see you learn from your mistakes. Liverpool was right to assign this task to you.”
Geoffrey leaned forward, setting his glass on the side table. “It’s not my future I’m concerned with, but Britain’s. Yes, this bill starts with employing the men I care most about, but it extends beyond that. More jobs mean less criminals. More industry equates to stronger economic—”
“So you’ve said,” Northumb interrupted. “I am unconvinced. And three quarters of a million pounds is a lot of money that could be used elsewhere. Don’t you agree, Wakefield?”
“I do,” came the matter-of-fact reply from Northumb’s companion.
Geoffrey sat back in his chair smoothly, picking up his snifter along the way. He held Northumb’s gaze as he took a sip, yet the tips of Geoffrey’s ears burned with anger. He shouldn’t be surprised that Liverpool had shared the details of the bill—Northumb was a powerful man. But Northumb would also then know that the prime minister supported the bill, which should have been enough to ensure Northumb’s support as well. This hesitation was pure politics.
“I care about the country, too,” Northumb said, “but do you know what I care more for?” Northumb glanced over at Wakefield. “Family. A man’s family is what truly matters in this world. And the alliance between strong families is the pillar that holds our nation together.”
He’s trying to use my passion for the Poor Employment Act to force my hand in marriage to his daughter. Geoffrey kept his expression purposefully blank. Well, as blank as he could while clenching his teeth together. Hell and damnation, the man was no better than Geoffrey’s own mother.
“I like you, Stratford. You’re bright, you’re forward thinking, you’re loyal and you’re a patriot.” Northumb stood, downed the remainder of his brandy and set the glass on the wooden table with a clink. Wakefield rose as well, bringing Geoffrey to his feet. “Think about what I’ve said. Family sticks together.” Northumb pinned Geoffrey with a cool gray stare. “Family votes together, too.”
Geoffrey remained standing long after the other men departed, a sick feeling twisting his gut. Faces flashed before him, of his men, gaunt and hungry. Of Tom Richards, when Geoffrey had found him several months ago, begging on the street. Of women and children whom he knew would be helped if this bill passed.
Maybe he could get the bill passed without Northumb’s support. The group of gentlemen he’d spoken with this morning had seemed convinced. Yet, only weeks remained before the vote. There might not be time to sway enough others, particularly if Northumb came out against it. And if the bill didn’t pass, it would be at least another year before Geoffrey could try again. What would become of his soldiers and their families then?
Geoffrey rolled his neck, pushing back his shoulders to release the tension and lengthening his spine, as Liliana had shown him. He noticed only a twinge of discomfort. Normally, after such a jarring hunt, he’d be in agony.
In only a few days of listening to Liliana, the quality of his life had improved immensely, in more ways than one. And she was quickly becoming the only person truly on his side, the only person who wanted nothing from him but himself. He longed to talk to her, even about this unusual situation, certain that she would understand. When had she become his safe haven?
“Congratulations are in order, I hear.”
Geoffrey’s head snapped around to look over his shoulder. His mother stood in the entrance to his study, where she must have been concealing herself. If the bookshelf-door had been open even a crack, she’d have had no trouble hearing the entire conversation, and judging from the triumphant smile on her face, she had.
“You’ll have to ask the girl, of course, but it’s clear her father has already given his blessing. I know her mother has.” The countess brought her hands together. “As do I, not that you care. Lady Jane is an excellent choice, everything you could hope for in a wife, and you’ll be guaranteeing the passage of your bill, to boot.”
Marry Lady Jane and achieve his goal. It seemed so simple. And so damned manipulative it turned his stomach. God, how he abhorred when people tried to force his hand.
And what of Liliana? This morning, when he should have been entirely focused on securing votes for the bill, instead he’d felt her absence like a deep well within him. He could no longer fail to acknowledge that when he was with her, he felt full. Whole.